Fragrance Evaluation Scientist – Trainee Perfumer

Fragrance Evaluation Scientist – Trainee Perfumer

Location: Chennai

Experience: 5+ Years

Function: R&D – Fragrance / Perfumery

About the Role

We are looking for a Fragrance Evaluation Scientist – Trainee Perfumer with strong sensory and olfactive capabilities to support fragrance evaluation, application testing, stability assessment, and benchmarking within R&D. The selected candidate will also undergo structured development toward becoming an in-house perfumer.

Key Responsibilities:

• Evaluate and grade fragrance submissions based on character, strength, bloom, diffusion, dry-down, substantivity, and brief-fit.
• Conduct structured sensory evaluation, olfactive profiling, ranking, discrimination, and benchmarking studies.
• Assess fragrance stability, dosage optimization, and application performance across personal care and related product bases.
• Identify fragrance issues including odour shift, discoloration, instability, and base interactions.
• Maintain evaluation formats, sensory scores, olfactive vocabulary, and technical documentation.
• Support consumer sniff tests, sensory panels, fragrance benchmarking, and trend analysis.
• Work with analytical teams to interpret GC / GC-MS / headspace data alongside olfactive observations.
• Build knowledge of fragrance raw materials, accords, naturals, synthetics, and application behaviour.
• Undergo structured perfumery training covering raw-material recognition, accord creation, fragrance construction, formula modification, and dry-down design.
• Ensure fragrance evaluations align with IFRA, allergen, BIS, and internal safety requirements.

Candidate Profile:

• 3–5 years of experience in fragrance evaluation, olfactive assessment, sensory science, fragrance application laboratories, consumer sensory research, or related R&D evaluation roles.
• Master’s degree in Chemistry, Food Technology, Life Sciences, or B.Tech/M.Tech in Chemical, Cosmetic, or Food Technology.
• Strong ability to detect, differentiate, memorize, and articulate olfactive nuances.
• Experience in cosmetics, personal care, fragrance houses, sensory laboratories, or FMCG R&D preferred.
• Exposure to GC/GC-MS, IFRA standards, sensory statistics, or formal perfumery training will be an advantage.
• Strong documentation, analytical thinking, and communication skills.
• Must have a highly developed sense of smell and be comfortable working in a fragrance-sensitive laboratory environment.

Important: Product formulation or product-development experience is not mandatory. Selection will primarily focus on sensory and olfactive capability.