Staff Scientist Popcorn & Kid Snacking

Job Location: Hershey, PA The Staff Scientist, R&D – Fried Snacks leads complex product and process development initiatives across tortilla chips, potato chips, and other fried salty snack platforms. This role serves as an advanced technical expert in dough systems, masa processing, potato processing, extrusion for expanded snacks, frying systems, oil chemistry, seasoning application, and shelf‑life performance. The Staff Scientist works independently to design experiments, lead commercialization, identify and solve manufacturing challenges, and drive long‑term capability development. The role collaborates extensively with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Procurement, Marketing, Consumer Insights, and Sensory to deliver innovation, renovation, and productivity projects across multiple snack platforms. The ideal candidate has deep hands-on expertise in fried snacks, strong cross-functional influence, and the ability to mentor junior scientists while advancing Hershey’s salty snac...