Skip to content
CV Rocket
Get started
How it worksThe enginePricingBlogContactSign in

Open nowPosted yesterday

Senior Lead Scientist

IFF110 open roles

Where
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Work mode
On site
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Your applicationOpen nowSenior Lead ScientistIFF · Palo Alto, CA, USA

  1. YouYes, apply to this one.

  2. CV RocketCV written for this posting.

  3. 25 readersRecruiter, hiring manager, skeptic. Round after round.

  4. CV RocketApplied on IFF's own form.

The reply lands in your private mailbox

3×more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

The clock on this job

Early applications get read.

9.5% of postings close within 7 days. Measured by our own scanner across the market. IFF postings stay open a median of 5 days.

Share of postings closed within
  1. 1.8%1 day
  2. 3.9%3 days
  3. 9.5%7 days
  4. 15.5%14 days
  5. 33.9%30 days
This job: posted yesterday

IFF median: 5 days open

The posting

Job Summary

Are you passionate about using science to solve complex industrial challenges and develop enzyme solutions that create meaningful business impact?

IFF is a global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients and health & biosciences. We deliver sustainable innovations that elevate everyday products.

Health & Biosciences channels our passion for nature and bioscience into sustainable, life-enhancing technologies that power innovative solutions across healthcare, food, consumer and industrial markets.

The role is based on-site in Palo Alto, California. Be part of a motivated, passionate and open-minded team where together we can achieve greatness and make a real impact. Your potential is our inspiration.

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Lead Scientist in Biochemistry and Analytical Chemistry to provide scientific leadership in the discovery, characterization and development of enzymes for our Grain business. You will combine deep expertise in biochemistry, enzymology, analytical chemistry and mechanistic assay development to guide multidisciplinary programs from concept through technology development. As a recognized technical expert, you will help shape scientific strategy, solve complex challenges involving industrially relevant substrates and mentor scientists across the organization.

Where You’ll Make a Difference

  • Lead innovative research programs in enzyme engineering, catalysis, protein chemistry and biochemical mechanisms, translating scientific questions into clear experimental strategies.
  • Develop kinetic and thermodynamic models that explain enzyme performance and guide protein engineering priorities and decision-making.
  • Investigate enzyme interactions with complex matrices, including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, plant-derived materials, fermentation broths and other industrial substrates.
  • Develop, validate and deploy robust biochemical, enzymatic and analytical assays for screening, mechanistic characterization and process development, including high-throughput and medium-throughput workflows where appropriate.
  • Lead the implementation and interpretation of advanced analytical methods, including liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), high-performance and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/UPLC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), ultraviolet-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy, chromatographic separations and biophysical characterization methods.
  • Integrate analytical, biochemical and process datasets to identify performance bottlenecks, generate actionable insights and support rigorous technical decisions.
  • Partner across protein engineering, microbial engineering, fermentation, applications, bioinformatics and computational teams, while supporting technology transfer and scale-up activities as needed.
  • Mentor scientists and research associates, strengthen best practices in experimental design and data quality, and contribute to intellectual property through invention disclosures, patents, publications and scientific presentations.

What Makes You the Right Fit

  • Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Enzymology, Analytical Chemistry or a related scientific discipline.
  • Typically 10 or more years of relevant industrial and/or postdoctoral experience in biochemistry, enzymology, analytical chemistry, industrial biotechnology or a related field.
  • Demonstrated expertise in enzyme characterization, protein chemistry and/or mechanistic biochemistry.
  • Deep understanding of enzyme kinetics, reaction mechanisms, binding interactions, thermodynamics and quantitative data analysis.
  • Proven experience developing, validating and implementing biochemical, enzymatic and analytical assays.
  • Hands-on experience interpreting data from advanced analytical techniques used to characterize proteins, metabolites, reaction products and complex mixtures.
  • A strong record of solving complex scientific problems involving biological systems, heterogeneous materials or challenging industrial substrates.
  • Demonstrated scientific leadership in multidisciplinary research environments, supported by a record of publications, patents and/or technical innovation.

How Would You Stand Out?

  • Expertise with carbohydrate-active enzymes, protein engineering programs, industrial biotechnology and/or biocatalysis.
  • Experience with mass spectrometry-based methods, structural biology, computational modeling and/or biophysical characterization techniques.
  • Experience leading research programs through technology development, commercialization or product launch.

Why Choose Us?

  • Shape the scientific direction of enzyme discovery and development for IFF’s Grain business.
  • Tackle complex, real-world scientific challenges involving industrial processes and challenging substrates.
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary experts across protein engineering, fermentation, applications, bioinformatics and computational science.
  • Influence technology development from early scientific concept through scale-up and potential commercialization.
  • Mentor scientists while strengthening scientific rigor, analytical capabilities and best practices across the organization.
  • Contribute to meaningful innovation through patents, publications, external collaborations and scientific conferences.

We are a global leader in taste, scent, and nutrition, offering our customers a broader range of natural solutions and accelerating our growth strategy. At IFF, we believe that your uniqueness unleashes our potential. We value the diverse mosaic of the ethnicity, national origin, race, age, sex, or veteran status. We strive for an inclusive workplace that allows each of our colleagues to bring their authentic self to work regardless of their religion, gender identity & expression, sexual orientation, or disability.

Visit IFF.com/careers/workplace-diversity-and-inclusion to learn more

Salary Ranges:

159,467.00ㅤ-ㅤ227,810.00ㅤUSD

From $25, paid onceGet the CV for this job

What happens when you press

One press. We do the rest.

  1. A CV for this posting

    Written against IFF's own wording, from every piece of relevant proof in your profile.

  2. 25 readers review it

    Recruiter, hiring manager, skeptic and more read every draft, round after round. You get the best round.

    The review screen in CV Rocket: how each CV was read, round by round.

  3. We apply on IFF's form

    Our application engine gets through the hardest forms there are. Where a question needs you, AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

    An application in CV Rocket: every answer filled in on the employer's form.

  4. Every reply, sorted

    IFF's answer lands in your private mailbox, and we classify it on arrival: interview, question, rejection.

    The CV Rocket inbox: each employer reply classified as an interview, an action or a rejection.

  5. Reply with AI

    AI helps you write the email, checks it and sends it. We show you whether the recruiter read it.

  6. The interview in your calendar

    Full integration with your calendar. The invitation goes straight in.

    An interview invitation in the CV Rocket inbox, added to the candidate's calendar.
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Why it works

3×

more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

ChatGPT writes a CV and never learns what happened to it. We see every reply. For each CV we know:

  • How it was written, and how the review scored it
  • When we applied, and how long after the posting went up
  • Which posting, which company, which city
  • Who got the interview, and who heard nothing

That is how we know which CVs get called.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

The numbers game

More applications. More interviews.

Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting and paid once. Send enough of them and the law of large numbers finds you the job.

Get the CV for this job
By hand5–10
With CV Rocket100
applications a day

Nearby

Live postings like this one

Same employer first, then the same role elsewhere.

Before you press

Straight answers

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

What if my background isn't good enough?

We make the most of the background you have. The CV uses every piece of relevant proof your profile holds, and one of the 25 readers reads your whole profile and flags what the CV left out.

Do you really apply for me?

Yes, on the employer's own form, the hardest ones included. Where a question needs you, you answer it right there and AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay once per CV, from $25. Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting.

One job. One CV.
Paid once.

Pick the posting you want. We write for it, apply for you and catch the reply.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.