Principal Scientist, Cognitive Sensory Sciences, L’Oréal Research & Innovation

Position Title: Principal Scientist, Cognitive Sensory Sciences, L’Oreal Research & Innovation

Location: Clark, New Jersey (Hybrid)

Department: Evaluation Intelligence

Are you obsessed about human senses, emotions, and cognitive understanding? Are you curious about the science behind the product and the impact on the consumer’s senses and emotions? Are you a creative, inspiring, and inspired scientist able to lead development and engage talented people in this forward-thinking blended space of Sensoriality and Cognitive Science?

If you are, then this is the role to awaken your senses and spark your emotions! We are seeking a future-focused, forward-thinking, innovative technical leader obsessed with sensory and cognitive understanding who can take our Evaluation Intelligence: Cognitive Sensory Science teams to the next level!

For more than one hundred years, L’Oréal believes that beauty needs Science. In a world now transformed by digital technology and the emergence of new scientific domains, we are confident in our ability to turn these opportunities into major innovations, closely linked to the new consumer expectations all over the world. Science & Technology are allowing us to invent safe, trustable, sustainable & responsible beauty products and experiences that will change people’s lives.

L’Oréal Research & Innovation (R&I) has continuously invested upstream in its research with a high level of ambition. Our 4,100 L’Oréal R&I people are talented and highly skilled, located in major markets, working in a cooperative way, open to the world. L’Oréal, Research & Innovation is a vast, multidisciplinary, scientific community working in more than 30 specialized fields, spread out across the world in 21 research centers across 6 regional hubs, 14 evaluation centers, and 49 scientific and regulatory departments. Our employees represent over 60 nationalities and are united for one passion: to invent and perfect innovative, high-performance products for the well-being of all across the world.

To discover more on our scientific and technical functions at L’Oréal Research & Innovation, please check out our website

L’Oréal USA is currently seeking a talented and innovative Principal Scientist to join our Cognitive Sensory Sciences department located at our Clark, NJ facility. This position is responsible for technical leadership within our North America Sensory and Cognitive Science Center of Excellence at L’Oréal via technical investigation, facility and platform building, and mentorship of our team with strong sensory knowledge for all US L’Oréal categories (skincare, hair care, hair color, and makeup).

This role will lead critical, foundational studies and collaborate within the Cognitive Sensory leadership to strategize and drive the team to further expertise in sensory- and cognitive-enhancing technologies for the development of early-stage holistic consumer and product performance understanding. This role also will serve as internally and externally facing technical expert and liaison, partnering across departments within L’Oréal USA Research & Innovation and beyond to build knowledge, contribute to the State of the Art and Industry, represent L’Oréal technical interests, and support Cognitive Science related projects and initiatives.

This role will report to Head of Cognitive Sensory Sciences within the North America Evaluation Intelligence team and will be a key member of the local and global Cognitive Sensory leadership and Evaluation Intelligence leadership teams. Additionally, this role will partner with Cognitive Science business directors and US Head of Science to strategize and implement the overall roadmap and objectives for North America Sensory and Cognitive Science organization.

As a Principal Scientist in our Sensory Cognitive Sciences team, your main responsibilities are:

• Provide technical leadership and stewardship for our group of sensory scientists, cognitive scientists, and professional expert cosmetologists (24+) within the Evaluation Intelligence organization and be accountable of their technical development and performance in sensory/cognitive science, data, digital, and tech. Keep building an organization that is efficient with strong talent recruitment and retention by promoting teamwork, collaboration, and an inclusive work culture.
• Pioneer new sensory-enhancing technologies to better understand our evolving/diversifying consumer and their products perception/performance leveraging proof of concepts and implementation of tools such as augmented/virtual reality, behavioral science, AI, and human computer interaction, etc.
• Lead efforts to drive diversity and inclusivity in all methodologies and studies ensuring we meet the needs of all consumers in their immense diversity.
• Accountable for developing best-in-class Cognitive Science evaluation platforms, including those enhanced/enabled by augmented digital/virtual tools, to answer product development questions by delivering results that will help to enhance concepts, technologies, and formulas.
• Remain current and professionally connected regarding industry-specific topics, issues, and opportunities, especially novel cognitive sensory evaluation techniques.
• Maintain external relationships to identify potential collaborators for the explorations of the new methodologies.
• Implement and evolve Cognitive Sensory program strategies to contribute to intellectual property activities, transform learnings into internal best practices and deliver those learnings to L’Oréal global network.
• Owns with the team the communication of key and strategic project sensory/cognitive results to drive business decision/direction.
• Lead Cognitive Science deep-dive understanding of our current top products, competitors, and new innovations.
• Represent Cognitive Science and Evaluation Intelligence as recognized expert leader within the L’Oréal USA Scientific Expertise Community, providing mentorship, technical coaching, and leading technology building within L’Oréal Research & Innovation.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with global counterparts to reach objectives; integrate the international scope of sensory/cognitive evaluations by striking a balance between best practices standardization and local country requirements

To Succeed in this Position, You Have:

• A completed Ph.D. in Cognitive Science, Cognitive/Experimental Psychology, Human Factors, or related field is required
• 10+ years of Cognitive Science research related to/integrated with Sensory, Consumer, and/or Product Research and Development in a strategic function is required, including methodologies related to Behavioral Patterns, Subjective and Implicit Responses, and Physiological Activity.
• Experience within a relevant Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is preferred.
• Experience leveraging
• Experience in technical leadership with demonstrated success in developing technical platforms, partnerships, and building high-performing technical teams is required
• Excellent people and soft skills with passion for collaboration and team building across a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent technical writing skills, including authorship of abstracts and full technical articles, posters, journal submissions, and professional presentations.
• Experience working as an individual contributor, mentor, and technical coach international, multicultural environment, with ability to think and act globally.
• Able to deliver clear insights through analyzing multiple/complex data sets with experience in social media analytics, user experience, design thinking, visual and motion communication.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication (written/oral) organizational skills with strong diplomacy and influencing skills.
• Strong communication and analytical skills a must with the ability to engage and energize across multidisciplinary audiences.
• Knowledge of historical, core current, and emerging Cognitive Science principles, methodologies, tools, and equipment, with experience abiding by ethical guidelines in the development and administration of protocols as well as collection, storage, general management, and overall usage of generated data.
• Knowledge and passion in beauty, cosmetics, devices, and digital technology an advantage.
• Must be proficient in Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and statistical analytical tools/software.
• Authorization to work in the United States on a full-time, permanent, ongoing basis without the need for legal sponsorship now or in the future (required)

What’s In It For You:

• Corporate Short Term Incentives (Corporate Profit Sharing Bonus, Individual Performance Bonus)
• Competitive Benefit Package (Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, Pension Plan)
• Hybrid Work Policy (Up to 2 Days per week Work from Home)
• Flexible Time Off (Paid Company Holidays, Paid Vacation, Vacation Buy Program, Volunteer Time, Summer Fridays & More!)
• Access to Company Perks (VIP Access to L’Oréal’s Internal Shop for Discounted Products)
• Learning & Development Opportunities (Unlimited Access to E-learnings, Lunch & Learn Sessions, Mentorship Programs, & More!)
• Employee Resource Groups (Think Tanks and Innovation Squads)
• Access to Mental Health & Wellness Programs

Don’t meet every single requirement? At L’Oréal, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and innovative workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with the qualifications listed in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways! You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles!

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and take pride in a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, medical condition or disability, or any other legally protected status.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application for a recognized disability under applicable law, please email [email protected]. Please note this email will only respond to specific requests for assistance completing the application as a request for accommodation for a disability. All others will not be considered.