Job Description

R&D Technologist – Food & Meat Product Development

Salary: $80,000–$90,000/year
Bonus: $7,500–$10,000 annual bonus
Schedule: 1st Shift, typically around 7:00 AM–4:00 PM

What You'll Do

• Manage approximately 20 R&D and product development projects at a time
• Take new products from benchtop development through full commercialization
• Develop and modify meat product formulations
• Create prototypes and conduct pilot plant testing
• Coordinate and execute plant trials
• Evaluate ingredients and their functionality within meat products
• Identify opportunities to improve product quality, cost, and manufacturing efficiency
• Troubleshoot formulations and processing challenges
• Document test results, formulations, specifications, and project progress
• Work closely with FSQA and food safety teams
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Finance, and other departments
• Communicate directly with production employees and plant leadership during trials
• Learn the capabilities and processes of multiple manufacturing facilities
• Support continuous improvement and cost optimization projects
• Ensure products and processes meet applicable USDA/FDA requirements
• Travel to manufacturing facilities to conduct trials and support projects

What We're Looking For

Meat industry experience is required.

Candidates should meet one of the following experience/education combinations:

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Animal Science, Meat Science, Biology, Microbiology, or a related field plus 2+ years of relevant experience
• Master's degree in a related field with relevant meat/food industry knowledge
• High school diploma/GED plus 6+ years of directly relevant industry experience

Internship experience within food or meat manufacturing may also be considered as part of a candidate's experience.

Must-Have Qualifications

• Experience working with meat products or within the meat processing industry
• Understanding of meat ingredients, formulations, processing, or product development
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with both plant-floor production employees and corporate teams
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously
• Comfortable working independently
• Willingness to spend significant time in a manufacturing environment
• Ability to travel approximately 40% (day travel, very limited overnight travel)