Senior Food Technologist

ABOUT US AT KINDER'S:

What's it like to work at Kinder's? Well, there's a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. But beyond that, there's also plenty of hard work. Because we don't just like flavor, we're obsessed with it.

With over 100 products sold nationwide, we're now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. But we're not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships. Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.

As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need other smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you're looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work, this is it. Every day, you'll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.

How you'll have an impact at Kinder's: The Senior Food Technologist provides technical support for all product development activities for sauces projects from exploratory/concept through commercialization. Emphasis on bench-top formulation for innovation and renovation projects, product cuttings, and documentation.

Key Responsibilities:

• With guidance, design and execute product development innovation, renovation, cost optimization and quality initiatives. Follow-through on product refinements based on PD, Marketing, and Customer feedback.
• Leverage vendor capabilities and co-packers to expand formulation possibilities, new ingredients, product technologies and to increase speed to market.
• In conjunction with Culinary Team, manage internal cuttings including coordinating sensory panels, tabulating results, and providing guidance on product development.
• Optimize product formulations based on nutritional guidelines and cost constraints.
• With PDM, support new product launches including plant trials and start of production at contract manufacturers. Confirm specifications are met for product. With process engineer, confirm specs are met for package, and process. Coordinate logistics for plant trial unique raw materials and sample delivery/acquisition.
• Design and conduct shelf-life stability testing for new products.

What You Bring to the Table

Skills and Experience

• BS Degree in Food Science, Chemical Engineering, or a similar discipline with 2-4 years food industry experience.
• Knowledge of food manufacturing, formulation and ingredient functionality for sauces.
• Some understanding of food safety and microbiology.
• Some knowledge of packaging technology to evaluate adequacy of packaging.
• Some knowledge of food labeling regulations.
• Some knowledge of sensory evaluation procedures.
• Excellent time management skills, sense of urgency, and desire to complete all assignments on a timely basis.
• Must be able to travel up to 20% - 30% of the time.

Personal Characteristics

• Growth mindset with an excitement to learn (and teach).
• Passionate people-lover excited by the opportunity to build strong relationships with teammates and consumers.
• Low ego with a strong sense of humility.
• Thrive in a dynamic, lean, and agile environment.
• Collaborative mindset with an ability to find creative solutions.
• Self-starter who takes initiative and is willing to speak their mind.
• Excited to be part of a fast-moving team with the ability to be a leader and a follower where required.
• Enjoy making decisions and finding ways to say 'yes' as often as possible to impactful and important priorities.