Description

The Senior Process Development Technologist is responsible for supporting the transition of new recipes into production, owning new product launches in production, and providing support to ensure consistent product quality through the products lifecycle, working collaboratively with members of the Process Development, Operations, Culinary, QA and Procurement teams. The site Process Development Technician will be a direct report.

Role and Responsibilities

New Product Development

• Collaborate with the cross functional team to develop and commercialize new products, highlighting any risks from manufacturing and quality aspect.
• Responsible to fully approve recipes from The Culinary Team to move forward with the recipe to the local factory.
• Transition R&D recipes to scaled-up, factory ready recipes including step by step preparation and cooking procedures.
• Lead pre-production batch trials to ensure recipe scale-up is successful in a production environment and ensure the Operations team has no issues with repeatability or adhering to specification, coordinating internal approval before product can be moved to Launch status.
• Organize information needed to finalize product specifications.
• Support Operations with product launches.
• Host Post- Launch Review meetings, publishing notes and follow-ups as needed.
• Maintain up to date product and process information within the ERP, The varying different kettle recipe management systems, cooking procedure etc.
• Maintain process preparation information for all prep rooms & sub-process areas.
• Assist & potentially travel to our sister factory on all new/existing recipes development for product transfers and launches.

Change Management

• Support the cross functional team with proposed product changes through trials and updating systems as needed.
• Assist Culinary in the evaluation of proposed new ingredients

Optimization

• Support Senior Manager & Operations team product optimization projects, collaborating with the cross functional team to ensure efficient, to spec product is being produced.
• Involved with The Operations Team to assist with process flow of the day-to-day production.
• Work with the Sales team & QA teams to investigate customer complaints & provide feedback for the customers; performing testing as needed and provide next steps for solutions to recurring issues.
• Make recommendations to the Operations team for potential equipment improvements or investments.

Qualifications

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of 3-5 years of manufacturing experience in the food industry
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Food Science or related work experience
• Must be familiar with a variety of food technologies, practices, and procedures.
• Experience working in variable temperature environments.
• Flexibility with schedule to allow for oversight of second shift production when required.
• Good understanding of food manufacturing principles, GMPs, HAACP, and government regulations.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills (particularly Excel)
• Knowledge of ERP systems (preferably Ross)
• Strong time management, data management, planning and organizational skills.
• Ability to lift 40lbs.
• Comprehension, written and oral Spanish language skills a plus.

Required Attributes

• Passion for food and high quality
• Customer-Centric thinker
• Obsessive attention to detail
• Creative problem-solving skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills

CORE VALUES

Kettle Cuisine takes the utmost pride in its people, products, and reputation. Each employee is expected to understand and live our Core Values every day.

• Honor Food – We create and produce the best tasting, safest, all natural recipes that strive for perfection in every batch, from bench to kettle
• Honor Each Other – We seek to develop trusting, respectful and mutually rewarding relationships with all our team members and business partners
• Honor Development – We recognize and nurture each other’s talents, strengths and interests in order to further strengthen and grow our team
• Honor Innovation – We continually strive for creative and sustainable ways to achieve excellence