Food Technologist

Responsible for the development of new products and/or the improvement of existing products to meet strategic business objectives. Assumes a formulation leadership role for a range of food and supplement products to include but not limited to jelly beans, gummies, jellies, mellocremes, chocolates, hard-panned confections, etc., with the work largely conducted independently with minimal supervision, with the status of projects continually being communicated to the department manager.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Organize, communicate, and coordinate information and activities related to various phases of product development from initial bench, plant scale-up testing, to commercial launch, while considering technical issues such as: food safety, food stability, shelf-life, scalability, cost, nutritional and ingredient guidelines, etc.
• Understand and highlight the cause and effect of product/ingredient/process changes and identify effective solutions.
• Evaluate and propose alternate ingredients that may be used in existing products, which can lead to better processing or cost savings.
• Basic knowledge of sensory evaluation with ability to recognize and choose among appropriate test methods.
• Knowledge of ingredient functionality, formulation, and processing and be able to formulate new products based on that knowledge.
• Basic knowledge and/or willingness to learn more related to food and dietary supplements as it relates to product development (i.e. Title 21 CFR 101, 111, and 117).
• As assigned, assists R&D Manager with generating ingredient statements and nutritional and/or supplement information utilizing Genesis R&D Food Development & Labeling Software for preliminary evaluation.
• Basic knowledge and/or willingness to learn more related to packaging technologies and their effect on finished goods shelf life and quality.
• Drafts raw material and finished product specifications for food and/or dietary supplements for review and approval by R&D Manager.
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently to achieve project goals/objections with little to some supervision.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with overlapping timelines.
• Work with cross-functional teams that include Marketing, IT, Operations, Purchasing, Accounting/Finance, Engineering, etc.
• As assigned, provides support to the Quality Assurance team to investigate customer complaints and/or product issues.
• Research current consumer markets and latest technologies to assist in developing or optimizing new and existing products.
• Builds and maintains solid working relationships with internal and external customers, suppliers, etc.
• Collect all information to be reviewed and approved by the R&D Manager for final publishing onto shared documents such as moldboard weight spreadsheet, curing parameters spreadsheet, etc.
• Collect and evaluate all Tier 1 and as appropriate any Tier 2 supplier documentation.
• Create reports and export data for additional finished product or raw material analysis.
• Creates, opens, and closes Material Orders (MO’s) for test batches in the ERP system.
• Monitors and supports production staff on the first production run and on subsequent runs as appropriate.
• Maintains an organized, clean, and safe R&D Kitchen/lab.
• Utilizes M3 and JB Intra to run reports, review formulations, costs, etc.
• Utilizes Optiva to upload new product formulations.

Inherent in each position is a general duty to maintain each respective work area in a safe and sanitary condition. Regular, predictable, full-time attendance is required as an essential function of this position. The employee may be required to perform other such duties within the scope of their employment as may be assigned. The employee must also possess the ability to take direction, follow instructions, work with others, follow work rules and schedules, and focus on details.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts and moderate noise level.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES No supervisory responsibilities exist in this position.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from a four-year college or university (preferably in Food Science, Nutrition, or Chemistry), minimum of three to five years related experience and/or training or equivalent combination of education and experience.

LANGUAGE SKILLS Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization.

MATHEMATICAL…