Food Scientist, R&D

Who Are We

We're a leading Northeast family-owned food, agricultural products, and agricultural services organization headquartered in Pennsylvania. We provide animal nutrition and feeds; specialty protein production, processing, and marketing; on-farm protein production services; and grain, fertilizer, and ingredient procurement.

We're a stable company with strong core values, great benefits, competitive wage structure, and a safe and healthy work environment. With over 850 team members, we're a growing company in an essential sector – agriculture!

Learn more here: https://www.thewengergroup.com | www.Leidys.com

What Your Day Looks Like

Support the improvement, development, and commercialization of fresh pork and value-added meat products for Leidy's Premium Meats. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including FSQA, Operations, Marketing, Commercialization, Sales, Supply Chain, and Technical Services to drive innovation, process improvements, and customer satisfaction. This role is primarily based onsite in Souderton and/or Harleysville and requires travel to production facilities up to 30% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Develop and improve fresh meat and value-added meat products, including muscle cuts, ground products, marinated meats, ham, bacon, deli meats, and other specialty products.
• Evaluate carcass and meat quality to support product consistency and performance.
• Execute new product development projects from concept through commercialization.
• Plan and conduct plant trials, scale-up activities, and product launches.
• Support cost savings initiatives while maintaining product quality and performance.
• Conduct formulation, packaging, shelf-life studies, and product evaluations.
• Design experiments, analyze data, prepare technical reports, and provide recommendations.
• Identify risks and provide technical support to Operations, Sales, customers, and cross-functional teams.
• Support the development and execution of a strong innovation pipeline and product portfolio.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure successful project execution.
• Travel up to 30% to manufacturing facilities and customer locations.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
  
  

Who You Are

• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Meat Science, Poultry Science, Food Engineering, Food Safety, or a related field required.
• Experience in manufacturing, Research & Development, Food Safety, Quality Assurance, and/or related food industry functions.
• Knowledge of meat processing, product development, and commercialization processes.
• Experience with experimental design, data analysis, and technical reporting.
• Strategic thinker with strong problem-solving and organizational skills.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to present findings and recommendations to diverse audiences.
• Self-motivated with the ability to manage multiple projects and navigate uncertainty.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams.
  
  

Physical & Environmental Requirements

• Ability to work in cold environments, including coolers and freezers.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs. regularly.
• Ability to safely work around refrigerants, oils, industrial equipment, and elevated noise levels.
• Required use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when in production areas.
  
  

Benefits

In addition to our more traditional benefits, we also offer great perks and numerous resources for professional development and team building:

• Promotional opportunities
• Rewards and recognition programs
• Robust onboarding and training program
• Employee Discount Programs (Perks at Work)
• Employee referral program
• Encouraging and collaborative culture
  
  

What Our Benefits Are For Full-Time Employees

• Paid Time Off
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Medical Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Life Insurance/Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Pet Insurance
  
  

Each team member has the potential to earn a yearly bonus based on the achievement of company goals.

The Wenger Group provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type as protected by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Powered by ExactHire: 206407