Head Flavorist

Sweegen provides taste optimization technologies for food and beverage manufacturers around the world. We are on a mission to reduce sugar, artificial sweeteners, and other unwholesome ingredients in the global diet. Partnering with customers, we create delicious, better-for-you products that consumers love. Sweegen delivers market-leading sugar reduction solutions that customers want, and consumers prefer.

The Head Flavorist is a full-time, on-site role based in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, responsible for providing technical and strategic leadership for flavor creation across Sweegen's portfolio of wellness-oriented ingredient technologies. The role leads and develops a team of flavorists and application technologists, driving innovation programs that deliver a robust pipeline of new flavor solutions with collaborators and customers.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated success leading and developing multidisciplinary technical teams, including flavorists, application scientists, and laboratory personnel.
• Proven track record of delivering innovative flavor solutions from concept through commercialization, with experience managing a high-volume innovation pipeline.
• Extensive expertise in flavor formulation, raw materials, flavor technologies, and sensory science, particularly for reduced-sugar, natural, and wellness-focused applications.
• Experience supporting strategic customer accounts and collaborating directly with customers to develop commercially successful flavor solutions.
• Strong understanding of food and beverage manufacturing processes and flavor performance across multiple application categories.
• Experience optimizing product development processes, managing multiple concurrent projects, and driving continuous improvement initiatives.
• Working knowledge of global flavor regulations, food safety standards, quality systems, and labeling requirements.
• Excellent leadership, coaching, and talent development skills with a demonstrated ability to build high-performing technical teams.
• Strong project management, organizational, and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance innovation, speed, and commercial priorities.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams, executive leadership, and external customers.
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed to support customers, innovation initiatives, and global collaboration.
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Flavor Chemistry, or a related scientific discipline; Master's degree or equivalent advanced qualification preferred.
• Certified Flavor Chemist/Flavorist or equivalent industry-recognized qualification preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in flavor creation and development within the food and beverage industry, including significant experience in beverage and sweet applications.