R&D Technician

UNC Dairy • Town of West Seneca, NY

8d • $22 - $35 • Hybrid

About The Position

This position exists to provide support to the R&D Department. The R&D Technician supports research, product development, and process optimization activities across dairy and beverage categories, including cultured products (yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese), fluid milk, and ice cream mixes. This role provides hands-on exposure to formulas, data collection, analytical testing, and cross functional collaboration with Operations, Quality, Procurement and Regulatory teams.

Requirements

• Strong interest in food science, dairy processing, and analytical testing
• Ability to follow lab protocols, formulas, and SOPs
• Strong attention to detail, organization skills, and willingness and desire to learn new skills
• Comfort working in lab, pilot plant, and production environment
• Proficiency in Microsoft excel and basic data analysis

Responsibilities

• Conduct routine dairy physical and chemical tests including, but not limited to: pH, titratable acidity, salt, viscosity, solids, fat, protein, sensory observations.
• Prepare benchtop formulations, ingredients, and samples for testing and evaluations.
• Understand pasteurization principles and pilot plant operating procedures and basic maintenance.
• Support scale-up trials, ingredient evaluations, and process optimization.
• Conduct and track shelflife studies with subsequent documentation.
• Packaging and shipment of product samples to customers and vendors.
• Responsible for sample preparation, equipment calibration & operation, experiment set-up, and clean up.
• Compile and organize experimental data, trial summaries, and observations.
• Support preparation of technical reports and presentations and effectively communicate results.
• Under direct supervision of the R&D Scientists, will support and assist in R&D activities and support development of products from concept through commercialization.
• Follow GMP’s, food safety, and sanitation practices in the lab and manufacturing environment
• Participate in team meetings, project updates, and problem-solving discussions.
• Travel to UNC Dairy Manufacturing Facilities 20% of the time

Benefits

• group health and/or dental insurance
• retirement plan
• wellness program
• paid time away from work
• paid holidays

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level