What are the responsibilities and job description for the Quality Lab Technician position at Premier Nutrition?
Here’s what all the hype is about…
Premier Nutrition Company (PNC) is one of the fastest-growing companies in the proactive wellness space showing clear leadership in the category of protein shakes and powders. We make the brands Premier Protein and Dymatize, and are part of our publicly traded holding company, BellRing Brands (NYSE: BRBR).
We have a simple, yet powerful, formula for our success, which we’ve been nailing since our founding in 1997. We start with an organization powered by our company purpose—Changing Lives with Good Energy. Then our purpose-driven people are given the support and autonomy to develop and grow. Next, we are super-intentional about designing a culture where everyone feels like they truly connect and belong, which is one of our five company core values. Purpose-driven, connected employees deliver amazing business results. And winning companies with remarkable people and thriving cultures attract and retain top talent, so the cycle becomes self-reinforcing or what we call our regenerative culture.
We don’t mind sharing our formula, since we believe the world would be a better place if more workplaces treated adults like adults and gave them the platform to do the best work of their lives—alongside some truly amazing colleagues. Why don’t more companies do this? It takes deep-in-your-bones conviction to your people, products, and purpose to pull it off. It also takes resisting the urge to try to control people, and instead, trusting them to make the right decisions. The result of our vibrant culture speaks for itself: We were certified as a Great Place to Work™ for the 9th year-running in 2025. And we currently rank #8 on Fortune Magazine’s Best Workplaces in our category and were in the top 12 for each of the last 7 years.
We have a long list of ways we take care of our people, but here are some crowd-pleasers that our employees often say they love most: Year-round ½ day Fridays, in-office massages, free lunches & snacks, dogs in the office, culture of belonging celebrations, engaging in-office events like bring your kids to work day, 6% 401k match after 1 year, generous paid family leave regardless of gender, all positions bonus-eligible, company-wide volunteer days, company-matched charitable donations, no employee handbook, no dress code, coaching conversations instead of performance reviews, and walking meetings.
PNC seeks individuals who will flourish in this type of work environment and will add to our culture and help build this high-growth company for the next phase in our amazing journey. Does this sound like you? Then read on…
We believe in the power of mindset, and specifically what we call the Challenger Mindset. Do you take smart, bold risks, display relentless hunger, and see yourself as a builder? We’re looking for individuals who choose action over analysis paralysis—those who start before they feel completely ready, make calculated moves based on the best information available, and build momentum through decisive action rather than perfect planning. You should have an insatiable drive that keeps you agile and forward-thinking, always challenging assumptions, seeking new opportunities, and focusing on long-term impact over short-term wins. Above all, you’re a builder—someone who transforms the status quo, finds smarter, simpler, faster ways to get things done, and inspires others to do the same. #LI-HYBRID
The role you’re interested in…
As a key part of the Quality team, the person filling this role will be involved in sample receipt, logging, review and storage. We're looking for someone who's flexible and has a positive outlook with a “can-do” attitude!
The work environment…
So, what’s it like to work here? If you’re based in the greater Bay Area, you’ll walk into our Emeryville office each Tuesday morning and start the in-person portion of our hybrid work week at our weekly all-company meeting and find close to 200 of your colleagues, some sitting with their dogs, talking excitedly through the week ahead and watching a newer teammate tell their personal life and career journey followed by a quick update on any hot topics that might be relevant to the week ahead.
We are a dynamic, HYBRID workplace, with an expectation that all employees come into the office Tuesday through Thursday. We are very intentional about connecting in person for things like innovation, impromptu collaboration, having respectful challenges to get to better decisions, leadership role-modeling, and culture building. Great work cultures are built on stories about what great looks like in practice, and great stories during virtual meetings just don’t happen. The expected pay scale for this role is $60k to $70k, which may vary based on relevant experience, qualifications, geographic area (if applicable), and internal equity for the role.
At the beginning of 2026, we moved into our massive modern 133,000 square foot headquarters in Emeryville, California, complete with spacious personal workspaces, gym with rock-climbing wall, a café, free onsite parking, tons of greenery, and many transportation options.
You’re excited about this opportunity because your time will be filled with…
Routine Product Evaluation and Release: 20% of your time
- Setting up daily sensory sessions on commercial products and logging results
- Testing samples for texture and viscosity as appropriate
- Reviewing routine documentation for acceptability
- Escalating any out of specification results
- Communicating product release to the team in a timely manner
- Setting up additional sample sensory or analysis as needed
Document Organization and Storage: 25% of your time
- Assuring quality documentation is kept up to date and organized
- Assisting in making updates to existing procedures, specifications, and other files
- Making sure completed documentation is checked in to the system and available for use
Sample Receipt, Logging, and Storage: 25% of your time
- Assuring that all samples have arrived
- Providing notification if samples do not arrive or are late
- Sorting sample retains and moving to offsite storage as needed
- Organizing and upkeep of sample storage
Other Sample Evaluation: 20% of your time
- Tracking receipt of incoming complaint samples
- Performing testing on retain samples as needed to assess product performance
- Evaluating samples from any Quality shelf-life studies
- Preparing samples for tastings as needed
The daily stuff that everyone does but few quantify: 10% of your time
- Attending meetings and presentations
- Participating in company-wide activities and events galore
- Impromptu conversations with colleagues
- Administrivia like email, calendaring, expense reports, and other non-value-added work
What are we looking for?
Education:
- BA/BS degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related science field
Experience:
- Related laboratory experience
- Food manufacturing and/or corporate QA/QC experience a plus
- Sensory/Organoleptic experience a plus
Skills and mindset:
- Proactive approach and work ethic for a fast-paced company
So, if after reading through this long list you’re thinking-I’m not sure I meet 100% of these requirements, should I still apply? YES—if you embody a growth mindset, see challenges as opportunities to develop, and find innovative ways to get the real work that matters done, you sound like our kind of candidate!
The 5 capabilities or mindsets most relevant to this role:
- Being all-in
- Drive and own results
- Learning & growth mindset
- Adaptability
- Be a builder
You will thrive here and may just do the best work of your life if…
- You want to be an integral part of shaping and nurturing an amazing work culture
- You like trying out novel minimum viable product people-related ideas
- You can be flexible in your approach to people challenges and abandon past practices if they don’t make sense or would lead to a poor outcome
- You enjoy making people-centric decisions and finding ways to say ‘yes’ as often as possible to impactful and important priorities for the business or team
- You are comfortable being natural, casual, open, and even a bit playful at work
- You can be friendly, vulnerable, and self-deprecating in one moment, and deal with a challenging, delicate people-related matter as a professional in the next
- You can do periods of focused, deep work on projects that drive the needle
This may not be your ideal next career move if…
- You like a lot of structure, rules, and uniformity
- You like order, hierarchy, command and control management
- Dealing with ambiguity or experimentation are not your jam
- You try to resolve challenging interpersonal situations over email or instant messaging
- You like managing from behind your computer and demonstrating excellence through email
- You tend to chase whatever shiny object presents itself during the day even if non-strategic
Here’s the deal with our not-so-standard, ahem…standard interview process because we know you are the curious type, which is why you’re still reading this…
- Quick 30 min phone chat with a member of our Talent Acquisition team to do a quick overview of your background and answer any burning questions you have
- Team interviews are kept to a minimum to foster a more efficient, candidate-friendly process (too many interviewers yields little value and drags out the process for you—and who wants that?):
- A series of in-person or video interviews in a 1:1 setting; these are usually with the hiring manager, one or two other team members, and a person from another team to get broader perspectives (note: we don’t do panel interviews because they don’t give interviewers a chance to ask you unique questions, and we assign interviewers different roles so we’re probing different capabilities)
- A case study or job task to simulate what you’d actually be doing in the role (since your job is not actually to be interviewed for a living, so why is that the thing companies rely on so much? Yes, there will be a small panel for this one so you don’t have to do it more than once, and yes, they might ask you some kind yet probing questions at the end after the applause stops.
- Once your interview concludes, the team will meet for an in-depth consultative process to ensure we are hiring the right person for the right job. Interviewers must come in with a strong yes or no vote beforehand to avoid groupthink with supporting reasons. The collective thoughts on your candidacy will be discussed in an environment of safety to challenge ideas respectfully, debate. and be open to all important qualifications of the candidates. A trained, disinterested bias blocker will be present to help mitigate bias so the team can make a sound hiring decision. The moment of truth arrives when the hiring manager makes the big decision. If you nailed the interviews and the case study was brilliant, guess what? The offer is all yours! And the ball is in your court. Will you accept? We sure hope so because this place is the real deal, and don’t just believe us—just ask the 93% of our people who said this is a great place to work in our most recent employee survey.
We strive to create an equitable and inclusive environment to contribute to the success of our organization. Premier Nutrition provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, status as a covered veteran and any other category protected under applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws.
Salary : $60,000 - $70,000