Food & Beverage STEM OPT Jobs in Illinois

INTRODUCTION

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers. With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife's portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™, a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry-leading innovation.

JOB PURPOSE:

We are seeking an independent and driven Associate Scientist to join our R&D team as a Method Developer & Project Owner. This role marks a pivotal career step on our team, transitioning from executing assigned tasks to fully owning experiments and scientific decision-making. Operating with project-level ownership, you will be responsible for driving specific workstreams end-to-end, developing comprehensive research plans, and validating underlying physical and chemical mechanisms. This is a hands-on opportunity centered on benchtop lab work with pilot plant support as needed, where you will apply scientific judgment to translate raw data into actionable, contextualized business insights.

Responsibilities:

Experimental Ownership & Method Innovation
- Design, set up, and execute scientific experiments, ensuring all work aligns with broader project goals and strict scientific rigor.
- Innovate within the laboratory environment by adapting analytical methods, optimizing existing testing protocols, and validating new analytical approaches.
- Continually improve laboratory practices by writing, establishing, and implementing new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Root Cause Analysis & Technical Troubleshooting
- Actively engage in cross-functional root cause analysis to investigate and resolve complex technical and product quality issues.
- Apply independent scientific judgment to troubleshoot analytical and process deviations, contributing insights that go beyond simple task execution.

Cross-Functional Influence & Communication
- Translate and report complex scientific data into clear, actionable insights for an expanded group of cross-functional stakeholders, including QA, Supply Chain, Plant Operations, Marketing, and Consumer Insights.
- Communicate technical findings with clear business context and impact, focusing on the "why" behind the results rather than just reporting raw data.

Knowledge Transfer & People Leadership
- Operate with a high degree of day-to-day autonomy to lead seamless technical knowledge transfers across R&D and manufacturing networks.
- Provide active peer-to-peer coaching, technical guidance, and mentorship to junior technicians within both the R&D and Quality departments.

SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

Required:
- Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Food Science or Dairy Science, or a closely related scientific field.
- Experience: 1-3 years of laboratory experience within food, beverage, or fluid dairy R&D/manufacturing environments.
- Technical Competence:
- Proven experience in method development, protocol optimization, and authoring technical SOPs.
- Hands-on proficiency with analytical laboratory instrumentation (such as rheology, physical chemistry testing, or compositional analysis).
- Demonstrated ability to apply independent scientific judgment to move projects from data collection to mechanistic understanding.
- Strong communication and collaborative skills, with a track record of sharing data clearly with cross-functional partners like plant operations and quality teams.

Preferred:
- Direct experience supporting pilot plant operations or commercial scale-up trials.
- Strong foundational knowledge of dairy, physical chemistry, protein stability, or fluid milk matrix interactions.
- Experience training plant floor operators or QA technicians on newly implemented laboratory methods.

HOW FAIRLIFE NOURISHES YOU:

At fairlife, we believe in better — and that includes how we support our people. We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits and wellbeing resources designed to support you physically, emotionally, socially, and financially, both in and out of work.
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, effective day one!
- Supplemental health plans (hospital indemnity, accident, and critical illness insurance)
- Paid Time Off to recharge and support work-life balance
- Paid parental leave & adoption assistance (up to $10,000)
- Parental support & family care benefits, including childcare resources and lactation support
- 401(k) to support retirement planning with up to 9% in employer match
- Wellness reimbursement (up to $500 for qualified wellbeing expenses)
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for emotional wellbeing and work-life support
- Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability
- Employer HSA funding (for HDHP participants)
- Tuition reimbursement (up to $10,000) and student loan repayment ($200/month)
- Learning & development programs to unlock your full potential
- Rewards & recognition, matching gifts, free product, and Business Resource Groups

fairlife's nour!sh program is designed to meet you where you are — supporting your individual wellbeing journey while enabling you to do your best work every day.

POSITION LOCATION:

Chicago, IL

REPORTS TO:

Senior Director, Process Science & Technology

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS:

15-30%

EXEMPT/NONEXEMPT:

Exempt

Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered. Base pay range: $60,000—$80,000 USD

fairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email careers@fairlife.com.

For Recruitment Agencies

At fairlife, we manage the majority of our hiring internally through our dedicated Talent Acquisition team, which is actively engaged in direct candidate sourcing. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach by our team.

As our recruitment is primarily handled in-house, we work only occasionally with external agencies, and only those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. At this time, we are not reviewing or expanding that list.

Unsolicited resumes or submissions from external agencies not authorized by our Talent Acquisition team will be considered direct candidate applications. As such, fairlife will not assume responsibility for any placement fees associated with these submissions.