Space Food Production Food Scientist
Listed on 2026-06-26
-
Science
Food Production
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Title
Space Food Production Food Scientist
Belong. Connect. Grow. with K !
Around here, we define the future.
We are a company of innovators, thinkers, creators, explorers, volunteers, and dreamers. But we all share one goal: to improve the world responsibly and safely.
The position will be with the Human Health and Performance Contract (HHPC) supporting NASA’s Human Systems Engineering and Integration Department (HSEID) in Space Food Systems Laboratory located (SFSL) at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.
This role directly supports production and provisioning of Space Food products for flight food hardware and research studies.
Specific activities include production support of flight food and research products, analytical testing, shelf-life determination, sensory characterization, and development of technical documents such as specifications, drawings, and processing instructions. Quality and Food safety oversight. Primary support for conducting Crew Food Sessions. Additional activities include supporting Advanced Food Technology (AFT) research scientists with product development, literature reviews, preparing/reviewing technical reports, and preparing/presenting technical presentations.
Essential Duties And
Job Responsibilities
- Freeze Dried Production at SFSL
- Work with the production team across all stages of the freeze-drying process, ensuring strict adherence to food safety protocols.
- Update food manufacturing specifications as required, create production batch sheets, review task performance sheets, and maintain processing notes.
- Support packaging, testing, and stowage of space food for Space Flight Food and Research Food.
- Perform food safety and quality reviews for SFSL operations as needed to ensure proper Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and process policies are followed.
- Additional Space Food and Research Food support:
- Support Crew Food sessions per schedule. Provide NASA and International Partner crew members with food samples per predetermined list/schedule, set up sensory software to record data and send results to crew.
- Maintain the Training Food and Research Food inventory.
- Serve as a Back Up Food scientist to support Crew Preference planning.
- Participate in NASA’s Heath Stabilization Program Food Service as needed during commercial crew launches.
- Technical writing:
Work instructions, SOPs, drawings, reports, presentations, and charts, as assigned. - Support other Space Food Systems task as needed.
Required:
BS degree in Food Science or a closely related discipline with minimum 5 years' previous experience in a commercial food production or research setting, or MS degree in Food Science or a closely related discipline with at least 1 year experience in a commercial food production setting. Previous demonstrated experience with specification development, project management, analytical evaluation, and data analysis/reporting. Strong understanding of shelf stability and food microbiology.
Desired
- Experience with shelf-stable food development, including utilization of nutrition analysis software such as Genesis
- Serv-Safe certification
- Experience maintaining product specifications
Required:
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Word, Excel, SharePoint, and PowerPoint. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Experience summarizing data and presenting research findings in front of a professional audience.
- This job requires the ability to lift 40 pounds
- This position requires a valid driver’s license
- You may be required to travel for this position (up to 20%)
K Benefits
K offers a selection of competitive lifestyle benefits which could include 401K plan with company match, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, AD&D, flexible spending account, disability, paid time off, or flexible work schedule. We support career advancement through professional training and development.
to learn more: K Benefits | K
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