Food Scientist

COMPANY

DTC remains the foundation, but RYZE has expanded into mass retail , quickly becoming the #2 item in Target's overall coffee category and is now executing a multi-channel expansion, with a cross-category launch coming in early 2027 . RYZE is uniquely positioned to redefine how people think about daily wellness.

We're a lean, fast-moving, mission-driven team who believe daily rituals create the foundation for living your greatest life, and we're just getting started!

WHAT YOU'LL DO

We are looking for a Food Scientist with deep product formulation experience to join our Product Development team, someone who has personally developed and launched canned or liquid beverage products through a co-manufacturer to retail shelf and who understands the distinct science, validation requirements, and quality standards that commercial scale production demands. This role owns formulation for RYZE's innovation pipeline (new products and formats) and renovation pipeline (reformulating and improving what's already on shelf) across all current and future formats: RTD beverages, powdered instant, and whatever comes next. It reports directly to the Senior Director of R&D and works closely with Regulatory, Quality, Ops, and the Lab Team in Santa Ana.

Responsibilities will include:

• Lead formula development across RYZE's innovation projects (new products and new formats) and renovation projects (reformulating, improving, or extending existing SKUs), from concept through co-manufacturing qualification and commercial production

• Own formulation science across formats, including liquid beverage chemistry (emulsification, pH buffering, pasteurization kill steps, headspace management, ambient vs. cold chain stability) and powdered/instant formulation (solubility, moisture control, blend uniformity, shelf stability)

• Lead or support the co-manufacturing qualification process for any format in play: technical evaluation, formula alignment, line troubleshooting, and QC standards

• Support ingredient sourcing for RTD-specific inputs in partnership with Supply Chain

• Serve as the go-to technical resource across the portfolio, flexing between formats as innovation and renovation priorities shift; this role is not siloed to a single product type

• Design and implement formal ingredient validation protocols for both RTD and powdered formats, including backup supplier qualification checklists that meet retail audit standards

• Partner with Quality and Sensory to build written sensory specifications for all retail-bound SKUs, creating objective pass/fail gates that can be used without your direct involvement

• Support third-party lab testing programs: defining what gets tested, interpreting results, and working with Regulatory and Quality on action thresholds

• Contribute to formula change review triggers, helping define when a formula adjustment requires regulatory review before it ships

• Work with Regulatory to ensure active ingredient dosage levels across all formats are aligned with claim substantiation requirements before formulation work begins

• Partner with Marketing and the founders during brief development to ensure ingredient levels and format decisions are commercially viable and scientifically sound

• Contribute to RYZE's stage-gate process, building the technical documentation that allows projects to advance through gates with confidence

• Support backup ingredient reformulation decisions with science-backed validation data, working cross-functionally with Quality and Regulatory before product ships

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Required:

• Proven track record of personally owning a product end to end through a co-manufacturer to retail shelf, including hands on floor time during production runs, fill line troubleshooting, and QC alignment with external manufacturing partners (not advisory, not supporting)

• Minimum 3 years of experience in food or beverage product formulation, preferably beverage, moving fluidly between new product innovation and renovation of what's already on shelf

• Deep technical knowledge of formulation science in at least one commercial format (liquid beverage, powdered/instant, or comparable), with the ability to learn and apply the science of additional formats as the portfolio grows

• Experience developing sensory specifications and validation protocols that hold up at commercial production volume

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, or a related field

• Comfortable operating at the intersection of science, regulatory requirements, and commercial constraints: knows when a decision needs deliberate process and rigor versus when it can move fast, and can say this needs more rigor without slowing everything down

• Energized by building things that don't exist yet, including the systems and processes around them, not just the formulas

• Strong opinions about quality standards, with the patience to document them so they outlive any individual on the team

• Works independently and with cross-functional teams to get new products across the finish line

Preferred:

• Experience with functional ingredients (adaptogens, mushroom extracts, nootropics, botanical ingredients) and the formulation challenges they create in liquid matrices

• Background at a better-for-you, functional, or natural beverage brand that has successfully scaled through Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, or Costco

• Familiarity with structure/function claim requirements and the regulatory considerations affecting active ingredient dosage levels in functional beverages

• Experience working in a cross-functional environment where NPD, Quality, and Regulatory have defined decision rights, with comfort building those structures in a scaling organization

• Multi-format experience (e.g., RTD beverage plus powdered instant, or beverage plus bars/gummies/other formats), reflecting the breadth this role requires

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Low-ego, team-first: The best idea wins, no matter whose it is

• Self-starter: You see what needs doing and get after it, no waiting for direction

• Comfortable in ambiguity: Fast pace and shifting priorities energize you rather than rattle you

• Builder at heart: You're energized by a fast-moving environment where you help create the processes and playbooks, not just follow them

• Mission-driven: You genuinely care about wellness and are excited to help build RYZE's next chapter

WHAT WE OFFER

Benefits

• Competitive hourly or monthly contract compensation

• Fully remote, flexible work environment

• Opportunity to work on high-impact performance creative for a fast-growing brand

• Access to RYZE creative assets, tools, templates, and performance insights