Senior Microbiologist

Missouri Ag Connection; Chesterfield, Northern (MO, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) Retirement Plan

Family support

Tuition reimbursement

Generous PTO

Job summary

Bunge in St. Louis, MO is seeking a Senior Microbiologist to ensure food safety and microbiology alignment across production and co-manufacturing facilities, providing technical expertise for analyses, contamination investigations, and CCP validation.

You will help develop strategies to prevent foodborne illnesses and support regulatory compliance. The role supports product development, global food safety programs, and continuous improvement, collaborating with Engineering, Operations, and R&D,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Chemical Engineering or Chemistry.
• 6–10 years of related experience or an equivalent combo of education and experience.
• Ready-to-Eat experience required.
• Environmental Monitoring and Critical Control Point Validation experience required.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SAP.
• Demonstrate ability to work safely and promote safe work practices in others.
• Excellent verbal, written, and listening skills.
• Travel requirements 20-30%.

Responsibilities

• Provides technical/scientific expertise for critical control point validations and lethality validations across product lines.
• Establishes sanitation and Environmental Monitoring Programs to ensure food safety and regulatory compliance for RTE and non-RTE operations.
• Collaborates with facilities to implement continuous improvement in food safety and microbiological practices across the business.
• Acts as subject matter expert on microbiological hazards and preventive controls, and on research and development of food safety plans.
• Assists plants with regulatory compliance and investigations (FDA, CFIA, USDA, State/Province Health Department).
• Serves on the NA Corporate Recall Team.
• Supports QA leads to identify root causes and corrective actions related to customer concerns, audits, regulatory requirements and non-conformances.
• Works with Engineering, Operations, and R&D to ensure process changes are documented via change management without compromising food safety.
• Audits and approves third-party microbiological testing laboratories.
• Performs other related duties as necessary.

Skills

Excellent verbal skills

Written communication

Listening skills

Travel 20-30%

Education

Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Chemical Engineering or Chemistry

Tools

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

SAP

Job description

City : St. Louis

State : Missouri (US-MO)

Country : United States (US)

Requisition Number : 45511

A Day in the Life:

The Senior Microbiologist will ensure food safety and microbiology alignment at our production and co-manufacturing facilities across Bunge by providing technical expertise for microbiological analyses and specifications, investigating contamination, validating critical control points and developing strategies to prevent foodborne illnesses. In addition, this position will be critical in supporting product development and regulatory compliance and driving continued effectiveness, improvement, and alignment of Bunge’s global food safety policies and programs.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Provides technical/scientific expertise for critical control point validations and lethality validations across Bunge product lines.
• Establishes effective sanitation and Environmental Monitoring Programs and training to ensure food safety and regulatory compliance for both Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and not RTE operations.
• Works closely with the manufacturing facilities and across functions to implement effective continuous improvement methodologies across Bunge’s businesses to improve food safety and microbiological practices.
• Functions as the subject matter expert on microbiological hazards, their analysis and preventive controls, and on the research, development, auditing and enhancement of food safety plans and critical/preventive control points.
• Assists the plants with regulatory compliance and investigations (FDA, CFIA, USDA, State/Province Health Department, etc.).
• Serves on the NA Corporate Recall Team.
• Provides support to the QFS Facility and Regional Leads to utilize appropriate methodology to identify root causes and associated corrective actions related to customer concerns, third party audits, regulatory requirements and plant identified non-conformances to prevent re-occurrences of food safety/microbiology issues.
• Works with Engineering, Operations, and R&D to ensure that any process changes in the facilities are documented via a robust management of change processes and will not adversely affect the overall food safety performance of the process or products.
• Audits and/or approves third party testing laboratories for microbiological testing.
• Performs other related and assigned duties as necessary.

Skills/ Educations Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Food Science, Chemical Engineering or Chemistry preferred.
• Minimum 6-10 years of position related experience, or equivalent combo of education and experience level.
• Ready-to-Eat experience required
• Environmental Monitoring and Critical Control Point Validation experience required
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SAP and other technical software packages, as needed.
• Demonstrate ability to work safely and to promote safe work practices in others.
• Excellent verbal, written, and listening skills.
• Travel requirements 20-30%

Benefits:

• Health Benefits Offering choices so you can enroll in medical, dental and vision plans that meet your individual needs.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan Investing in your future with an automatic 5% company contribution AND matching up to 4% of your contributions.
• Family Support Supporting new and growing families by providing 6 weeks of 100% paid parental leave and fertility coverage.
• Tuition Reimbursement after one year of service, eligible for tuition expenses reimbursement of up to $5000 per year.
• Time Off Providing generous PTO based on professional work experience
  • 0 9 years: 25 days
  • 10 19 years: 30 days
  • 20+ years: 35 days

At Bunge (NYSE: BG), our purpose is to connect farmers to consumers to deliver essential food, feed and fuel to the world. As a premier agribusiness solutions provider, our team of 34,000 dedicated employees partner with farmers across the globe to move agricultural commodities from where they’re grown to where they’re needed in faster, smarter, and more efficient ways. We are a world leader in grain origination, storage, distribution, oilseed processing and refining, offering a broad portfolio of plant-based oils, fats, and proteins. We work alongside our customers at both ends of the value chain to deliver quality products and develop tailored, innovative solutions that address evolving consumer needs. With 200+ years of experience and presence in over 50 countries, we are committed to strengthening global food security, advancing sustainability, and helping communities prosper where we operate. Bunge has its registered office in Geneva, Switzerland and its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. Learn more at Bunge.com.

We Are One Team Collaborative, Respectful, Inclusive
We Lead The Way Agile, Empowered, Innovative
We Do What’s Right Safety, Sustainability, With Integrity

If this sounds like you, join us! We value and invest in people who believe in our purpose and are excited to live it every day people who are #ProudtoBeBunge