Will AI replace food scientists and technologists?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 42m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by robots. The other 7h 18m (91%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 6.2% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 42m of a typical shift. 2 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 6 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value. (42m a shift; e.g. Robi III (Eurofins WEJ Contaminants / Elbatron), in use)

7h 18m of a typical shift, or 91%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development. (1h a shift)
• Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences. (1h a shift)
• Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards. (54m a shift)
• Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience. (48m a shift)
• Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications. (36m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 90% talk face to face with others every day
• 64% carry high or very high responsibility for other workers' safety

On Indeed, job postings in the Scientific Research & Development sector are at 84% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 19.9% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 1,000 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $88,720 a year ($42.65 an hour), 74% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $52,920 and $145,280 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 6.2% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 15,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 1,000 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 13,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 622nd largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 15,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a bachelor's degree: about 82% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 4 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: bachelor's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Science, Systems Evaluation, Active Learning, Systems Analysis
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 18m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: R, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Test processing equipment to ensure products are produced according to specifications.

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Animal Scientists (0m touched, $69k median pay)
• Microbiologists (1h 10m touched, $88k median pay)
• Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers (24m touched, $171k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 with robots in real deployments, 12 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.