Senior Vice President, Research & Technology (m/f/d)

Symrise is a global supplier of fragrances and flavors, cosmetic active ingredients as well as functional ingredients. Its customers include perfume, cosmetics, food and beverage manufacturers, the pharmaceutical industry and producers of dietary supplements and pet food.

With sales of around €5.0 billion in the 2024 financial year, the company is one of the world's leading providers. The Group, headquartered in Holzminden, Germany, has more than 100 locations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Asia, the USA and Latin America.

Together with its customers, Symrise develops new ideas and market-ready concepts for products that form an indispensable part of everyday life. Economic success and corporate responsibility are inextricably linked.

Symrise – always inspiring more...

We are recruiting a Senior Vice President (SVP), Research & Technology for Symrise’s global Food & Beverage division with full responsibility for the strategic direction and operational execution of future-ready innovation through advanced science, applied research, and technology development across flavor and food ingredients.

As a visionary scientific leader, you will guide the end-to-end innovation process from early-stage research to commercialization, while overseeing the function’s global budget, resource allocation, and cross-regional execution. As a core member of the Food & Beverage leadership team, you will lead functional integration with cross-divisional scientific platforms and shared services, while fostering talent development and scientific excellence across the global Research & Technology organization.

Furthermore, you will ensure strong alignment between scientific innovation and commercial strategy by managing a balanced pipeline across flavor design, ingredient research, and customer-driven development, ensuring strong alignment with evolving consumer needs across diverse food and beverage categories.

Key responsibilities

• Define and lead a global innovation strategy that aligns with Symrise’s divisional and corporate growth plans, translating emerging market trends, scientific developments, and customer needs into impactful product and technology innovations
• Oversee the end-to-end product innovation lifecycle, from early research, formulation, and ingredient development to testing, process scale-up, and commercial launch, ensuring quality, safety, and regulatory compliance throughout
• Direct and prioritize a global innovation portfolio, managing project pipelines, budgets, and timelines across regions and scientific domains to deliver on strategic business objectives and ensure cross-functional alignment
• Embed data science and AI into R&D workflows, steering the digital transformation of the function by integrating predictive models, automated systems, and scientific data infrastructure to accelerate product development and enhance technical precision
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams in food technology, chemistry, sensory science, toxicology, and application development, fostering cross-regional collaboration and excellence in scientific practice, pilot-scale production, and process innovation
• Scout, assess, and integrate new raw materials, technologies, and external partnerships, including collaborations with startups, academic institutions, and tech partners, to expand Symrise’s innovation ecosystem and pipeline
• Strengthen technical differentiation across product categories (including culinary, savory, plant-based, sweet, confectionery, bakery, cereals, dairy, and beverages) by guiding the development of proprietary ingredients, flavor systems, and texturization technologies
• Ensure functional integration and collaboration with Global Operations, Marketing, Key Account Management, Sensory & Consumer Insights, and Category Management to drive customer-centric innovation and global best practices
• Represent Symrise externally as a recognized scientific and technical leader in industry associations, research consortia, and innovation forums, shaping the external perception of the company’s scientific leadership
• Build and sustain internal R&D capabilities, nurturing a culture of innovation and accountability while investing in the development of future talent through the Flavor Academy and structured learning and succession planning initiatives

• Master’s degree in Chemistry, Food Science, Food Technology, or a related scientific field required; advanced degree (PhD) strongly preferred
• Deep expertise in flavor chemistry, product formulation, food ingredient development, and process engineering
• At least 15 years in innovation, R&D, or product development in the Flavor, Food, or Food Ingredients industry
• At least 10 years in senior R&D leadership roles within multinational, matrixed organizations
• Strong track record in launching new formulations, technologies, and ingredients at global scale
• Strong understanding of food safety, global regulatory frameworks, toxicology, and compliance standards
• Deep insight into the competitive landscape and emerging technology trends across the global Flavor and Ingredients market
• Experience in forming and managing strategic external partnerships at the intersection of food science and AI is advantageous
• Familiarity with intellectual property strategies and patent lifecycle management
• Strong cross-disciplinary collaboration skills across science, tech, and commercial functions
• Strong customer focus and history of co-development with key clients and commercial teams
• Entrepreneurial mindset with commercial orientation and executional drive
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, and external representation skills
• Professional fluency in English and German required; additional languages are a plus

Become part of our open and transparent culture. It will give you the opportunity to flourish and to develop inspiring experiences that contribute to the health and well-being of consumers in 160 countries around the world. Putting our employees in the focus fuels our strong company growth above market rates and makes us an excellent place to develop your career.

Come join us and embark on a fascinating journey with Symrise.

If you feel that you fit the above criteria, then please apply by using our online application system. Your application will be treated confidentially.