Description

What makes this a great opportunity?

• The spirits industry is an exciting, dynamic, and fast-paced business. Suntory Global Spirits is a top player in the spirits business and focused on driving both category and brand growth.
• The Principal Scientist role is a key leader related to liquid innovation, optimization, quality and production of Suntory's Global spirits portfolio, and provides broad exposure to operations, marketing/business teams, finance, sourcing and other internal and external partners, providing R&D support on cross functional teams globally.
• This role will be instrumental in the building and development of our R&D capabilities in the region in support of our market growth in the region.
• This role is responsible for leading high-complexity, development related to the enhancement & expansion of product development capabilities, alongside cross-functional teams, to drive key strategic priorities.
• In this role, there is opportunity to provide global product development expertise, coaching & input into a variety of straight spirit & RTD category initiatives through the broader team.

This position will report to the Senior Director Product Innovation and Technical Research within Global R&D. This role will work with cross-functional partners in the creation of innovative consumer and customer driven new products/platforms, quality improvements and cost savings, to drive SGS profitable growth and business success. This is a technical leadership position providing broad exposure to operations, marketing/business teams, finance, sourcing and other internal and external partners, providing R&D support on cross functional teams especially in relation to Product Development of Ready-To-Drink products. This position will serve as an internal expert on technical processes, procedures and ways of working within the global team.

Role Responsibilities

• Initiate and/or lead large global, regional, or cross-functional projects that pertain to the exploration, improvement, development or implementation of new or existing products and solutions, specifically providing leadership in various aspects of product development for formulated products.
• Build and maintain relationships across the organization, cutting across functional and location boundaries.
• Manage the Gemba Laboratory in Shanghai, collaborating with the global team on equipment, materials, and processes.
• Collaborate with external suppliers and develop concepts to extend product possibilities and identify, evaluate, and implement new enabling technologies and raw materials.
• Proactively seek, demonstrate, and share understanding of the alcohol and non-alcohol market. Effectively incorporate this learning into business plans to drive new idea and technology potential.
• Partner with the Global Center of Excellence in Kentucky, USA on project support and execution.
• Participate actively in team building and broader SGS and external initiatives.
• Continuous improvement mindset and ability to learn from past projects and find ways to reduce complexity, utilize learnings, and increase efficiencies within the process.
• Serve as internal technical expert with broad technical & scientific knowledge. High emphasis on coaching and mentoring other scientists and engineers, often leading team initiatives and complex experiments.
• Actively partner with external suppliers and development companies to extend possibilities and identify, evaluate and implement new technologies and raw materials.

Qualifications

• Must be fluent in Mandarin and English (speak, read, write). Understanding Japanese a plus.
• M.S Food Science or related field preferred with 6 years experience, or B.S. degree with 8+ years experience.
• Minimum 6 years work experience in food and/or beverage industry. Experience in research initiatives and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages or carbonated soft drinks preferred.
• Ability to develop strong cross -functional relationships within R&D as well as with Marketing, Supply Chain, Procurement, Engineering, etc. to drive strong collaboration and results.
• Culturally sensitive, with ability to work in a global multi-cultural & cross-functional organization, requiring ability to work effectively across cultures &/or time zones to accommodate global responsibilities.
• Must be able to taste limited quantities of alcoholic beverage samples in accordance with evaluation/research needs.
• Ability to travel globally to partner in project work with internal and external clients, as well as support implementation at Suntory Global Spirits facilities - travel approx. 10-30% globally to various SGS locations, vendors, etc.
• Must train in Kentucky, United States, for 30 days as soon as reasonably possible after beginning employment. After training is completed, this role will be based in Shanghai, China.
• Physically fit for work primarily in a lab, pilot plant and manufacturing environments, which includes long periods of standing, moving, and carrying or lifting up to 20 kilograms.