Food Technologist

Actalent; Terre Haute (IN); On-site; USD 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) Retirement Plan

Life Insurance

Disability coverage

Health Spending Account (HSA)

Transportation benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Paid time off

Job summary

Actalent in Terre Haute, IN is seeking a Food Technologist / Process Technologist to lead process development, optimize thermal processing, and support scale-up of new products. You will collaborate with R&D, production, and QA to improve formulations and ensure SQF compliance.

This permanent onsite role offers opportunities to drive continuous improvement in food safety and quality while mentoring cross-functional teams in a dynamic manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in food engineering, chemical engineering, food processing, food chemistry, or a closely related discipline.
• At least 3 years of experience in food processing, thermal processing, food engineering, or related fields.
• Strong knowledge of thermal processing and its application in ensuring food safety and quality.
• Hands-on experience in food manufacturing and food processing environments.
• Experience with product formulation, scale-up, and new product development.
• Ability to investigate, troubleshoot, and design solutions for equipment and process issues in hardware, software, and systems.
• Ability to understand, monitor, and test processing equipment and systems.
• Ability to communicate effectively with cross-functional teams, including R&D, production, engineering, and other stakeholders.
• Skill in simplifying complex scientific concepts so they are easily understood by production and operations teams.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated pride and engagement in food processing and food manufacturing.
• Strong commitment to food safety, quality, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop formulations and conduct product trials.
• Collect and analyze data to develop improvement plans for processes, formulas, and equipment.
• Develop, evaluate, implement, and maintain thermal processing programs to ensure the safety and quality of food products.
• Provide technical assistance and training to internal stakeholders to support effective knowledge transfer.
• Collaborate with customers and regulatory personnel during visits, inspections, and audits.
• Support deviation analyses and recommend appropriate product dispositions as needed.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in thermal processing and provide technical assistance to optimize processes and resolve issues.
• Investigate, troubleshoot, and design solutions to problems in equipment hardware, software, and processing systems.
• Understand, monitor, and test equipment and systems to ensure reliable and efficient operation.
• Support production continuous improvement initiatives and drive efforts to identify and reduce process inefficiencies across Engineering, R&D, and Operations.
• Comply with documentation standards, maintenance plans, and system specifications in accordance with SQF requirements.
• Apply knowledge of ingredient functionality and processability to improve formulations and processing outcomes.
• Follow all company safety policies and procedures while performing job duties.
• Comply with established production processes and quality systems per SQF requirements.
• Maintain proper housekeeping at the job site during tasks and upon completion, in line with SQF standards.
• Communicate daily with R&D leadership regarding special needs, issues, and progress on projects.
• Optimize processes for new projects, including scale-up from development to production.
• Identify and solve recurring processing issues, particularly those related to gums, starches, and meats.

Skills

Thermal processing

Food safety

Cross-functional collaboration

Scale-up experience

Data analysis

Troubleshooting

Communication

Laboratory/production experience

Education

Food engineering degree

Food science degree

Chemical engineering degree

Job description

Job Title: Food Technologist / Process Technologist

Job Description

The Food Technologist / Process Technologist plays a key role in developing, standardizing, and improving food processing operations. This position leads process development and optimization, supports new product scale-up, and ensures thermal processing programs consistently deliver safe, high-quality products. The role also promotes the professional competence of cross-functional teams through daily collaboration, training, and technical support.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and implement product formulations, conduct product trials, and ensure adherence to quality and safety standards.
• Collect and analyze operational data and trends to develop improvement plans for processes, formulas, and equipment.
• Develop, evaluate, implement, and maintain thermal processing programs to ensure the safety and quality of food products.
• Provide technical assistance and training to internal stakeholders to support effective knowledge transfer.
• Collaborate with customers and regulatory personnel during visits, inspections, and audits.
• Support deviation analyses and recommend appropriate product dispositions as needed.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in thermal processing and provide technical assistance to optimize processes and resolve issues.
• Investigate, troubleshoot, and design solutions to problems in equipment hardware, software, and processing systems.
• Understand, monitor, and test equipment and systems to ensure reliable and efficient operation.
• Support production continuous improvement initiatives and drive efforts to identify and reduce process inefficiencies across Engineering, R&D, and Operations.
• Comply with documentation standards, maintenance plans, and system specifications in accordance with SQF requirements.
• Apply knowledge of ingredient functionality and processability to improve formulations and processing outcomes.
• Follow all company safety policies and procedures while performing job duties.
• Comply with established production processes and quality systems per SQF requirements.
• Maintain proper housekeeping at the job site during tasks and upon completion, in line with SQF standards.
• Communicate daily with R&D leadership regarding special needs, issues, and progress on projects.
• Optimize processes for new projects, including scale-up from development to production.
• Identify and solve recurring processing issues, particularly those related to gums, starches, and meats.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in food engineering, chemical engineering, food processing, food chemistry, food science, or a closely related discipline.
• At least 3 years of experience in food processing, thermal processing, food engineering, or related fields.
• Strong knowledge of thermal processing and its application in ensuring food safety and quality.
• Hands-on experience in food manufacturing and food processing environments.
• Experience with product formulation, scale-up, and new product development.
• Ability to investigate, troubleshoot, and design solutions for equipment and process issues in hardware, software, and systems.
• Ability to understand, monitor, and test processing equipment and systems.
• Ability to communicate effectively with cross-functional teams, including R&D, production, engineering, and other stakeholders.
• Skill in simplifying complex scientific concepts so they are easily understood by production and operations teams.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated pride and engagement in food processing and food manufacturing.
• Strong commitment to food safety, quality, and continuous improvement.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Background in food science, food technology, chemistry, or chemical engineering.
• Experience in research and development and new product development within food manufacturing.
• Knowledge of ingredient functionality, including gums, starches, and meats, and their behavior in processing.
• Experience with scale-up from laboratory or pilot trials to full production.
• Familiarity with food safety standards and quality systems, including SQF requirements.
• Experience with retort and other thermal processing technologies.
• Exposure to process improvement methodologies and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong analytical skills for collecting and interpreting operational data and trends.
• Motivated to learn and continuously develop technical and professional skills.
• Comfort communicating with a wide range of stakeholders across the organization.

Work Environment

This role operates in a food manufacturing environment that combines production floor activities with technical and analytical work. The position requires regular standing, walking, sitting, talking, and hearing, as well as frequent use of hands to finger, handle, or feel and reaching with hands and arms. The role involves climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling as needed to access equipment and work areas. The employee regularly lifts and moves up to 10 pounds, frequently lifts and moves up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lifts and moves up to 50 pounds. Vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus, due to the need to inspect products, equipment, and documentation. The facility produces products that may contain allergens such as egg, shellfish, fish, and gluten, and appropriate awareness and adherence to allergen control procedures are required. The environment emphasizes strong safety practices, adherence to SQF standards, and maintaining good housekeeping in all work areas.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Terre Haute, IN.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $80000.00 - $80000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Terre Haute,IN.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 2, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.