Chemist

Safe Foods a Division of Fortrex; Kieler (WI); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Basic Life Insurance

Short Term Disability

Company Paid Long-Term Disability

401k Retirement Plan

Paid Holidays

Paid Vacation

Paid Sick Time

Employee Assistance Program (“EAP”)

Job summary

Safe Foods, a Division of Fortrex, is seeking a Chemist to join our R&D team in Kieler, WI. You will support manufacturing facilities, drive innovation projects, and improve sanitation/intervention formulations across multiple applications.

The role blends lab work with cross-functional collaboration across processing and distribution. The right candidate will have a chemistry/related background, 1–3 years of experience, and the ability to manage projects in a fast-paced environment while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, microbiology, or engineering or related field.
• 1–3 years of related experience in R&D, product development, or lab setting.
• Familiarity with GLP/GMP and SQF standards is a plus.
• Ability to work independently and in cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Support chemical product manufacturing facilities and drive key innovation projects.
• Design and execute experiments for new formulations and process improvements.
• Assist in product quality investigations and CAPA-related updates.
• Collaborate with plants, engineering, supply chain, and R&D to transfer products to commercialization.
• Prepare technical reports and specifications; communicate improvements to field staff.
• Evaluate new raw materials and vendors following SOPs.

Skills

Self-motivated

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Education

Bachelors degree in chemistry, biology, microbiology, or engineering

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

MS Project

Job description

Relocation to Dubuque, Iowa is required - assistance is available!

Up to 25% travel

WHO YOU ARE:

Are you looking to join a growing company? Based out of Kieler, WI with plants located from coast to coast, we are looking for a professional, friendly Research and Development Chemist to join our team!

WHO WE ARE:

• Leader in food safety solutions for both contract sanitation and chemistry in the food processing industry.
• Over 10,000 dedicated team members across North America.
• Corporate headquarters in Atlanta, GA with team members working in over 250 plants throughout North America.
• Over 50+ years of experience in creating long-lasting partnerships.

OUR MISSION:

We protect the food supply by eliminating risks so families everywhere can eat without fear.

• Protect What Matters: We are in service of safety at every step, ensuring the health of everyone is central to all we do – from plant team members to consumers.
• Deliver On Our Promises : We speak honestly and are dedicated to doing the right thing by upholding ethical standards and following through on our commitments to our teams, our customers, and our business.
• Win as a Team : We believe in the power of collaboration, uniting our diverse strengths while working hand-in-hand with our team members and customers to unlock potential and achieve stronger results together.
• Advance a Safer Future : We are committed to innovating more effective, sustainable, and cost-efficient food safety solutions to develop a safer world for all.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

As a Chemist, you will be a member of our R&D team responsible for providing support for our chemical product manufacturing facilities (internal and external) as well as contribute to and drive key innovation projects, and for enhancing existing solutions through continuous improvement in areas such as cleaning solutions, sanitizers, processing aids, and antimicrobial interventions.

This role is mulitdisciplinary in nature and will require the ability to work in a laboratory setting as well as across the boundaries of processing, distribution, chemistry, and dispensing/control solutions in multiple customer applications such as conveyor lubricants, animicrobials, CIP, environmental cleaning, animal health, and direct food contact applications.

The successful candidate will be able to gather information from multiple sources and arrive at cost effective solutions to provide quality products for the Safe Foods portfolio of offerings. You should be a self-starter with the ability to work independently as well as in a team environment, and an individual of high integrity and character with a proven record of creativity and innovation:

• Conceptualize new sanitation/intervention formulations through public domain literature research.
• Design and execute experiments to produce new chemical formulations.
• Design and execute process improvement experiments for existing sanitation/interventions and manufacturing processes.
• Assist in product quality investigations that resulting in reworking plans or specification updates as part of the CAPA process
• Works cooperatively with manufacturing plants, distributors, engineering, supply chain, procurement, R&D, and quality assurance in the transfer of new products to commercialization
• Drives new product development projects from ideation to commercialization as assigned.
• Apply scientific skill to solve complex problems utilizing knowledge of Safe Foods & Fortrex customers and markets
• Prepares and tests chemical product formulations utilizing appropriate SOPs and test methods
• Communicate with field staff and Technical Services on the improvement of existing sanitation/intervention formulations & allocation systems.
• Evaluate and approve new raw materials and raw material vendors following appropriate SOPs
• Review and author technical reports, process and packaging specifications, recommend product quality enhancements, and commercialization materials
• Perform any other related duties as required or assigned.

YOUR MUST HAVES:

• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Bachelors degree in chemistry, biology, microbiology, or engineering (chemical, biochemical, materials) or other related scientific field
• 1-3 years of related experience in a research and development, product development, and/or laboratory setting

WHAT WE PREFER YOU HAVE:

• Advanced technical degree in a related scientific field and < 2 years experience
• Self-motivated, able to work proactively and independently in a fast paced environment
• Experience with project management
• Familiarity with food safety and or the food manufacturing industry
• Experience working with cross-functional teams
• Familiarity with working in a GLP/GMP environment and SQF for GFSI standards
• Experience with EPA and/or DIN disinfectant regulations
• Experience using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and MS Project
• Demonstrated written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated attention to detail and problem solving skills

OUR ENVIRONMENT:

This position is based in our manufacturing plant environment. Expected exposure to wet, hot, cold, various shifts, requiring Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Constant (role requires this activity more than 66% of the time (5.5+ hrs/day)

Use of fingers and hands. Lift/Carry 10 lbs or less & push/pull 12 lbs or less.

Frequently (role requires this activity from 33% - 66% of the time (2.5 - 5.5+ hrs/day)

Stand, climb stairs, walk, sit, reach outward, squat/kneel, bend. Lift/Carry 11-50 lbs & push/pull 13-40 lbs.

Occasional (role requires this activity up to 33% of the time (0 - 2.5+ hrs/day)

Climb & crawl. Lift/Carry 51+ lbs & push/pull 41-100 lbs.

WHAT WE OFFER:

• Basic Life Insurance
• Short Term Disability
• Company Paid Long-Term Disability
• 401k Retirement Plan
• Paid Holidays
• Paid Vacation
• Paid Sick Time
• Employee Assistance Program (“EAP”)

Safe Foods, a Division of Fortrex is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, creed, sex, gender, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, uniform service member status, veteran status, age, genetic information, disability, or any other protected status, in accordance with all applicable federal state, and local laws. Safe Foods is committed to complying with the laws protecting qualified individuals with disabilities. Safe Foods will provide a reasonable accommodation for any known physical or mental disability of a qualified individual with a disability to the extent required by law, provided the requested accommodation does not create an undue hardship for the Company and/or does not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others in the workplace and/or to the individual.If a team member requires an accommodation, they must notify the site manager or the Corporate Human Resources Department. If an applicant requires an accommodation, they must notify the hiring manager and/or the Recruiter hiring for the position.