WE ARE LOOKING FOR A RESEARCH SCIENTIST TO JOIN OUR TEAM OF VALIOPEOPLE
At Valio, people have always looked forward. Valio Ltd's R&D is an expert organization responsible for innovations, new product development and product quality maintenance of the company's product portfolio. The group of over 120 experts offers a unique environment to work within food industry and a track record of international breakthrough innovations from the one hundred years of Valio R&D history. Valio R&D works closely together with our product groups, production and with the experts of different export markets globally. We are the biggest innovator in our field, and we have a warm and supporting company culture.
We are currently looking for a Research Scientist to join our enthusiastic and innovative Future Raw Materials and Technologies -team for a fixed-term position until 31.1.2027. Would you be a perfect fit to our group of ambitious individuals, setting off for the next great Valio innovation?
You will be part of the innovative team that focuses on what we eat in the future. Our team works closely together with Gold&Green and Oddlygood product development teams and business units as well as factories. In your role, you will participate in research projects aiming to widen our understanding within plant-based materials to create future competitive advantage. We are looking for a process-oriented person with expertise in food technologies and a strong scientific mindset. Your work will focus on assessing and developing new process opportunities for plant-based raw materials as well as plant protein functionality and application trials. You will work in close collaboration with other experts from R&D, internal stakeholders and with various external partners in Finland and abroad.
Requirements:
- M.Sc, PhD or appropriate degree in a relevant field (e.g. food science, process or chemical engineering, biotechnology)
- Experience in food technologies, plant-based ingredients and food applications
- Knowledge of protein separation processes, fermentation technologies and/or plant-based meat and dairy alternative products is highly appreciated
- Food industry work experience in the areas of product/process development, ingredient research, and scale-up from lab to pilot and production is an advantage
- Great team player with passion for collaboration
- Good self-leadership and problem solving skills
- Customer-centric and solution-oriented mindset - hat full of ideas and courage to bring those up
- Good communication and reporting skills
- Flexibility and adaptability in changing environment
- Ability and willingness to travel
- Fluent in spoken and written English, knowledge of Finnish is an advantage
We offer you:
- A position where you can show your skills in creating and developing world-class products and processes
- Challenges that give you opportunities to grow every day and develop your expertise
- Inspiring work in a team with skilled and supportive colleagues
- Possibility to affect what we eat in future
- Benefits of a large, renowned Finnish food company
We work in a hybrid model, the office location is in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki.
We all share the same passion working at Valio: together we make life better. We invest in people-centered leadership, and the development of team collaboration. We want every Valio employee to have a clear understanding of their own job and goals, and the opportunity to influence their own work and expertise. We pay attention to, among other things, employee well-being and engagement at work and workplace safety with various metrics. You will also have access to the benefits of a large, renowned Finnish food company.
For more information, please call Technology manager Enni Kerola (phone +358 50 398 7539, Tuesday 24.2. at 9-10 or Thursday 26.2. at 9-10). She will be happy to answer any additional questions and tell you more about this opening.
Please send your applicationby 1.3.2026 via application link. You don't need to wait until the last minute, as we will start interviewing candidates already during the application process.
At Valio, we work together to make life better. Our innovative community develops and produces nutritious food products that are loved by our consumers in 50 countries. We are Finland's biggest food exporter. We are driven by responsible mindset in everything that we do, and together with our partners, our goal is to make our milk carbon neutral by 2035.
Valio is a company owned by Finnish family farmers, employing over 4,000 people around the world in various career fields. Our priority is that our people can grow and develop in their work, and we want to give them the best ingredients for doing it.
More information about us www.valio.fi or www.valio.com
Application period starts: 2026-02-12 15:00Application period ends: 2026-03-01 23:59