Lead Butcher – Product Development

Northern Farms; Canada; On-site; CAD 75,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Northern Farms in Canada seeks a Lead Butcher, Product Development to advance pork cutting standards, craft artisanal and customer-specific cuts, and support trials from concept to first production runs.

You will translate customer requirements into specs, train floor teams, and collaborate with QA, R&D, and sales to ensure product quality, safety, and on-time delivery.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands-on experience in butchery (typically 8–10+ years or equivalent expertise).
• Deep knowledge of pork carcass anatomy and fabrication (other proteins an asset).
• Demonstrated experience in product development or specification creation.
• Strong understanding of food safety standards (e.g., HACCP, CFIA requirements).
• Experience training or mentoring others in a production environment.
• Experience creating non-standard, specialty, or customer-specific cuts in a pork, meat processing, retail butchery, or culinary environment.
• Formal certification in meat cutting, butchery, culinary arts, or a related discipline is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Perform advanced fabrication of pork with precision and consistency.
• Demonstrate advanced skill in creating specialty, artisanal, and custom pork cuts based on customer needs, market trends, and product development goals.
• Convert approved product concepts into practical specifications that reflect customer requirements and operational capabilities.
• Collaborate with leadership to explore new product opportunities and value-added offerings.
• Support product trial runs and first production runs by preparing for the run, reviewing specifications, evaluating samples, checking yields, confirming product presentation, and providing post-run feedback.
• Translate customer needs into cutting standards, yields, and presentation expectations.
• Participate in customer presentations, product demos, and \"show & tell\" sessions.
• Provide expert guidance on product capabilities, cuts, and customization.
• Represent the organization with professionalism, craftsmanship, and credibility.

Education

8–10+ years hands-on butchery experience

Job description

Northern Farms is a well‑established, family‑owned pork processing company with more than 30 years of industry leadership. Our commitment to quality, innovation, and responsible growth has helped us deliver some of the freshest, highest‑quality products in the market.

Position Summary

The Lead Butcher, Product Development is a highly skilled meat professional responsible for advancing product quality and customer-specific cutting capabilities. This role combines expert-level pork butchery, practical product development, and hands‑on production support.

Working closely with operations, R&D, QA, sales, and leadership, the Lead Butcher, Product Development plays a key role in:

• Translating customer requirements into practical cutting standards and product expectations
• Creating specialty, artisanal, and customer‑specific pork cuts that support product differentiation
• Supporting product trials, first production runs, and hands‑on team training

This role requires deep expertise in pork anatomy, fabrication techniques, customer expectations, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Butchery Expertise & Product Development

• Perform advanced fabrication of pork with precision and consistency
• Demonstrate advanced skill in creating specialty, artisanal, and custom pork cuts based on customer needs, market trends, and product development goals.
• Convert approved product concepts into practical specifications that reflect customer requirements and operational capabilities
• Collaborate with leadership to explore new product opportunities and value-added offerings
• Support product trial runs and first production runs by preparing for the run, reviewing specifications, evaluating samples, checking yields, confirming product presentation, and providing post-run feedback
• Translate customer needs into cutting standards, yields, and presentation expectations
• Participate in customer presentations, product demos, and "show & tell" sessions
• Provide expert guidance on product capabilities, cuts, and customization
• Represent the organization with professionalism, craftsmanship, and credibility

Specifications & Standardization

• Support the creation and continuous improvement of product specification documents
• Establish clear cutting standards, tolerances, and visual guides
• Ensure cutting standards, product presentation, and specification expectations are applied consistently across teams

Quality Assurance & Continuous Improvement

• Investigate and respond to product quality concerns and customer complaints
• Identify root causes (cutting technique, yield loss, trim standards, etc.) and implement solutions
• Partner with QA to ensure alignment with food safety, traceability, and regulatory standards
• Support development and documentation of standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Training & Capability Building

• Deliver hands‑on training in:
  • Fabrication techniques
  • Yield optimization
  • Specialty and custom cutting techniques, including presentation, trim standards, and repeatable execution
• Act as a subject matter expert and mentor across the floor when new products, cutting standards, product trials, or first production runs are introduced

Qualifications & Experience

• Extensive hands‑on experience in butchery (typically 8–10+ years or equivalent expertise)
• Deep knowledge of pork carcass anatomy and fabrication (other proteins an asset)
• Demonstrated experience in product development or specification creation
• Strong understanding of food safety standards (e.g., HACCP, CFIA requirements)
• Experience training or mentoring others in a production environment
• Experience creating non‑standard, specialty, or customer‑specific cuts in a pork, meat processing, retail butchery, or culinary environment
• Formal certification in meat cutting, butchery, culinary arts, or a related discipline is preferred

Core Competencies

• Curiosity and innovation mindset
• Customer focus and presentation skills
• Problem‑solving and root cause analysis
• Communication and teaching ability
• Collaboration across operations and QA

Salary: $75,000 to $90,000

We do not use AI in any stages of the recruitment and selection process.

This posting is for a new position.