R&D – Associate Scientist

Instinct Pet Food•Lincoln, NE

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Research & Development Associate Scientist, responsibilities involve scheduling and conducting plant trials, evaluating and giving feedback on product test runs, and the evaluation of new ingredients. Working with outside labs to submit samples for nutritional analysis, collecting, summarizing, and tracking data, and scheduling product testing with outside vendors. Work cross functionally to write specifications for new products, new raw materials, manage existing specifications, and lead management of change for product or specification changes.

Requirements

BS Degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or Animal Science is preferred
3+ years relevant work experience in product development in the food industry; experience in pet food is desirable
Strong understanding of product development, food manufacturing, and processing equipment.
Product formulation and formulation chemistry with food products, knowledge of functional ingredients desirable.
Working knowledge of product development protocols, including formula development, testing, specifications setting.
Basic project management skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word.

Nice To Haves

experience in pet food is desirable
knowledge of functional ingredients desirable

Responsibilities

Proactively manage cross functional interactions during the development and commercialization process
Coordinate and manage test run process
Data collection, entry, analysis, and reporting
Responsible for all testing protocols including digestibility, palatability and chemical testing
Establish routine stability studies
Partner with procurement to search for alternative ingredients for new product development and cost optimization projects
Develop ingredient and finished product specifications for all product forms
Manage and update existing specifications
Effective communication with all departments regarding changes with products or processes
Understanding of food safety including SOP’s, GMP’s and HACCP requirements
General knowledge of animal nutrition
General knowledge of AAFCO requirements