Job Description

Engagement Type:

Full-Time

Organisation:

Chirandu Botanica

Location:

Cape Town, South Africa (Laboratory-Embedded)

The Role

Chirandu Botanica is seeking a Flavour & Aroma Systems Development Scientist to translate clearly defined sensory intent into scientifically grounded flavour and aroma systems that are bounded, explainable, and reusable.

This is a hands-on scientific role rooted in laboratory experimentation, system design, and disciplined interpretation. Your responsibility is not to optimise finished products or develop customer-specific flavours, but to determine how and why flavour and aroma systems behave as they do, and under which conditions those behaviours remain valid.

Your work will sit upstream of conventional product development and downstream of sensory direction. It will contribute to the creation of flavour and aroma systems that can be applied predictably across formulations, processing contexts, and future projects without ambiguity.

How You Will Work

You will be present in the laboratory regularly and actively engaged in experimental work. You will operate with a high degree of intellectual ownership and scientific accountability. You will be expected to challenge assumptions, refine hypotheses, and close uncertainty rather than accumulate exploratory data. Your focus will be on: Mechanism-driven experimentation System behaviour and boundaries Translating sensory intent into scientific logic All work will feed into Chirandu Botanica's internal flavour and aroma systems knowledge base, designed for long-term reuse rather than one-off application.
This role requires focus, consistency, and depth. It is not compatible with peripheral, purely conceptual, or short-term engagement.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Design & Execution

Design and execute laboratory experiments to explore biological, chemical, and processing routes relevant to flavour and aroma systems. Select substrates, transformations, and processing conditions based on defined sensory direction. Generate reproducible, decision-grade experimental results rather than exploratory or impressionistic outputs.
Flavour & Aroma Systems Logic

Translate sensory intent into structured scientific parameters, hypotheses, and constraints. Identify drivers of flavour and aroma behaviour, including stability, persistence, volatility, and degradation. Define sensitivities, boundaries, and failure conditions under which systems perform or break down.
Formulation-Relevant Insight

Build formulation logic explaining how flavour and aroma systems behave across application and processing contexts. Support the development of transferable frameworks rather than recipe-based solutions. Work closely with laboratory intelligence and quality functions to ensure conclusions are defensible and evidence-backed.
Analytical Interpretation

Define the purpose and scientific context for analytical work (e.g. GC, LC, MS) where appropriate. Interpret analytical data in relation to sensory behaviour and system performance. Ensure analytical outputs contribute to understanding system behaviour rather than existing as isolated datasets.
Scientific Collaboration

Work closely with the Head of Chirandu Botanica to align scientific work with strategic intent and scope. Collaborate daily with laboratory intelligence and quality roles to maintain evidence integrity and traceability. Contribute to a disciplined scientific culture where conclusions are tested, earned, and clearly bounded.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

MSc or PhD in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, or a related discipline (or equivalent industry experience). Several years of experience in applied scientific or laboratory-based environments. Strong experimental design and scientific reasoning capability. Ability to translate complex results into clear, structured scientific logic.

Preferred

Exposure to flavour, aroma, botanical, or applied chemistry systems. Comfort working across sensory, biological, and analytical domains. Familiarity with analytical techniques such as GC, HPLC, or mass spectrometry.

Why Join Chirandu

At Chirandu, you will be part of a small, focused team building foundational scientific assets rather than disposable outputs. You will have the opportunity to work deeply, think rigorously, and contribute scientific work designed to endure, transfer, and compound over time.

If you are motivated by clarity, scientific integrity, and the challenge of building systems rather than samples, this role will suit you.

How to Apply

Please submit:

Your CV A short cover note describing a scientific problem you worked on where understanding why something behaved the way it did was more important than simply achieving a result.
Applications should be sent to:

recruiting@moyochiranduholdings.com

Job Type: Full-time

Application Question(s):

Do you hold an MSc or PhD in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, or a closely related scientific discipline? How many years of experience do you have working in applied scientific or laboratory-based environments? Have you worked in a role involving flavour, aroma, food systems, or applied chemistry beyond routine analysis? Have you independently designed and executed laboratory experiments (not only followed existing protocols)? Have you been responsible for defining experimental hypotheses or scientific questions based on sensory or functional intent? Have you worked on understanding why flavour or aroma systems behave as they do, rather than optimising a finished product? Have you identified boundaries, constraints, or failure conditions of a flavour, aroma, or biochemical system? Have you translated sensory observations into structured scientific parameters or system logic? Are you available and willing to be regularly present in a Cape Town-based laboratory environment? Are you comfortable working in a laboratory-embedded role with high intellectual ownership and accountability? Have you worked with analytical techniques (e.g. GC, LC, HPLC, MS) in a role where interpretation mattered more than data generation?
Work Location: In person