Pet Food R&D Prototyping Technician

Mars; Auburn (KY); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Champion Petfoods is seeking a Product Development (PD) Technician - Wet, Fresh & Treats to join our team in Bowling Green, KY with a hybrid schedule (3 days in‑person). You will support hands‑on prototyping, capture development data, and help coordinate palatability tests and trial activities to drive our wet, fresh, and treats categories.

You will draft and maintain SOPs, specifications, and records, ensuring safety and quality are embedded in every step.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Biology, or related field.
• Experience with food product development, lab techniques, data collection.
• Ability to prepare samples and support trials.
• Strong organization and time management.
• Proficiency with MS Office and SharePoint documentation.
• Experience writing and maintaining SOPs and project records.

Responsibilities

• Execute hands‑on prototyping and bench development in line with project objectives.
• Accurately capture and record experimental data, observations, and results.
• Draft, update and maintain SOPs, specifications, and records to support consistency.
• Prepare materials and support internal trials, including pilot activities.
• Coordinate logistics for palatability testing, including sample prep, packing and shipping.
• Procure ingredients, materials, and benchmarking samples for development work.
• Support benchmarking and competitive product evaluations.
• Ensure adherence to safety, quality, and lab best practices.
• Collaborate with product developers and cross‑functional partners for project execution.
• Build, organize, and maintain centralized systems (e.g., SharePoint) to store data and records.

Skills

Food product development

Laboratory techniques

Data collection practices

Technical documentation

Time management

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Biology, or related field

Tools

SharePoint

Microsoft Office

Job description

Champion Petfoods is seeking a Product Development (PD) Technician - Wet, Fresh & Treats to join our team in Bowling Green, KY with a hybrid schedule (3 days in‑person). You will support hands‑on prototyping, capture development data, and help coordinate palatability tests and trial activities to drive our wet, fresh, and treats categories.

You will draft and maintain SOPs, specifications, and records, ensuring safety and quality are embedded in every step.