Food Scientist

Jack Link's Protein Snacks; Minneapolis (MN); On-site; USD 75,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision

Life & Disability Insurance

401k

Paid Holidays & PTO

Job summary

Link Snacks is seeking a Food Scientist to drive corporate research, development, and innovation, including new product development, process improvements, quality and food safety. This role advances company growth through technology and innovation across NPD, packaging, and operations.

You will support ingredient exploration, vendor evaluation, and plant trials, collaborating with Operations, QA, and R&D to deliver test formulas and optimized products.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science or related field.
• 3+ years of product development or related food manufacturing experience.
• Laboratory procedures and equipment familiarity.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Travel up to 30% with cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Drive and support innovation from internal and external sources to fulfill strategic plans.
• Explore alternative ingredients, vendors and processes to improve margins.
• Identify and research potential new platform opportunities.
• Provide technical feedback as an R&D team member.
• Manage projects including sourcing, trials, and documentation of test formulas.
• Lead product cuttings for cross-functional teams and ensure quality across lines.
• Document product specs, nutrition labeling, and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Communication

Lab procedures

Team leadership

Problem solving

Detail oriented

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Meat Science, Food Science or Animal Science

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

At Link Snacks, we show up hungry, roll up our sleeves, plaid or otherwise, and dive straight into the hard work. We don’t hide from challenges; we hunt them down. We push harder, move faster, and take the kinds of big swings that built this business in the North Woods of Wisconsin four decades ago.

We’re everyday people who deliver extraordinary results. Innovation, creativity, and urgency aren’t buzzwords, they’re expectations. And just like the real protein snacks we make across our global house of brands— Jack Link’s® , Lorissa’s Kitchen® , Golden Island® , BiFi® , and Peperami® and KOOEE!® to name a few—there’s nothing artificial about us. What you see is exactly what you get: humble, gritty, passionate people who show up every day ready to not just be a participate in the meat snack industry that the Link Family created, but to move faster, innovate harder and keep raising the bar so high, the rest of the world needs a ladder just to see it.

Dominating this space across the world takes a team. A team that runs together, succeeds together, and celebrated together. A team that’s full of relentless energy and spirit that can only be fueled by one thing: a fist full of our delicious meat snacks.

Real Meat Protein. Real People. Real Results. THAT is Link Snacks!

Job Description

The Link Snacks the Food Scientist plays a key role in the development and execution of corporate research, development, and innovation initiatives including new product development, product and process improvement, quality, and food safety. This position will play a major role in helping the company achieve its growth objectives through appropriate uses of technology and innovation in new product development, packaging, quality control, and operations.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Drive and support the development of innovation from internal and external sources to help fulfill the company’s strategic plan.
• Support the exploration of alternative ingredients, vendors and processes to deliver higher margin for new and current product opportunities.
• Support the identification and research of potential new platform opportunities.
• Serve as a voice providing feedback and technical assistance as a member of the R & D team.
• Manage individual projects as assigned including sourcing and verification of raw ingredients and other materials, collaboration with Operations, QA, and other R & D staff to schedule and execute plant trials, hands on technical development and commercialization of new products in line with the NPD process and documentation of test formulas, procedures and net outcomes.
• Lead product cuttings for cross functional teams of existing products, product improvements, new products, or competitive samples.
• Champion quality awareness. Maintain product quality across our product lines.
• Continuously improve product and processes for greater product quality and profitability.
• Document and maintain product and process specifications, nutritional values/product labeling and regulatory requirements.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science or related field.
• 3 + years of product development experience or working in relevant food manufacturing experiences
• Familiarity with laboratory procedures and equipment
• Proficient written and oral communication skills.
• Comfortable in a fast paced, changing environment.
• Demonstrated relationship and leadership skills including effective collaboration with R&D, quality, and cross-functional partners
• Strong problem-solving skills and a bias for action
• Detail oriented with demonstrated experience of maintaining accurate records on all tests and related work
• Comfortable in a fast paced, changing environment
• Ability to travel up to 30%.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Masters degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science or related field.
• 5 + years of experience in the meat processing industry, or meat lab experience preferred.
• Understanding of USDA regulations
• Smokehouse experience including natural and atomized smoke applications
• Experience in the shelf stable meat snack industry
• Knowledge of food manufacturing regulations, standards and labeling, plant sanitation, and microbiology

Additional Information

The salary range for this role is$75,000 - $90,000 (Annually). Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, location, and candidate skill set and experience. Base pay is just one component of Jack Link’s Total Rewards package for Team Members. Other rewards may include annual incentive and program-specific awards. Jack Link’s provides a variety of benefits to eligible Team Members, including medical, dental and vision benefits, life and disability insurance, 401k participation, paid holidays, and paid time off.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to be successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job the Team Member is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The Team Member is occasionally required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms. The Team Member must occasionally lift and/or more up to twenty-five pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Team Member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The work environment is a plant/office setting with varying degrees of temperatures and noise levels. Exposure to manufacturing equipment movement and wet/slippery floors. However, the vast amount of work is conducted in a climate-controlled office. Travel may be required.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:

Link Snacks provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic that is protected by federal, state or local law.

E-VERIFY:

Link Snacks is participant in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For information about the E-Verify program, please visit: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify/employees