Sr. Food Technologist (Beverage)

At Niagara, we're looking for Team Members who want to be part of achieving our mission to provide our customers the highest quality most affordable bottled water.

Consider applying here, if you want to:

• Work in an entrepreneurial and dynamic environment with a chance to make an impact.
• Develop lasting relationships with great people.
• Have the opportunity to build a satisfying career.

We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages for our Team Members.

Essential Functions

• Lead primary development of beverages either internally or through working with external partners like flavor companies.
• Formulate products to achieve target flavor and nutritional profile, and label claims, while keeping cost in mind.
• Be technical lead on beverage formulations, ingredient functionalities, and the different processing capabilities at Niagara. Act as technical expert during commissioning of new formulas by applying key knowledge of ingredient functionalities, formulas, and processes, as well as troubleshooting skills to ensure successful scale-up.
• Independently develop specifications for finished products and ingredients.
• Manage internal sensory evaluations to determine product acceptability and provide summary and recommendations to proceed.
• Support Sales objectives by in/directly interact with target/key customers in support of existing and new business growth opportunities.
• Lead evaluation of ingredients for shelf life extensions and support various manufacturing plants with cost avoidance
• Keep abreast of new ingredients, technologies, and processes that are applicable to Niagara product portfolios.
• Maintain records of documents during development process independently with great attention to accuracy and details that will allow repeatability of data. This includes, but are not limited to: lab notebooks, analytical/organoleptic and sensory test results, formulas, and specifications.
• Ensure streamlined communications between Product Development, Marketing, Supply Chain, Procurement, PLM, QA, Operations and Sales to maintain great rapport with all cross functional teams and ensuring awareness of key project milestones.
• Responsible for producing (or work with flavor houses to produce) samples for customer evaluations while ensuring product specifications and safety are met.
• Collaborate with QA, tech service, and operations to conduct line trials of new formulations to verify manufacturing feasibilities.
• Travel requirements: 10-25%
• Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without prior notice.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications:
  • 4 Years - Experience in Beverage Product Development and Commercialization

*experience may include a combination of work experience and education

• Preferred Qualifications:
  • 6 Years - Experience in Beverage Product Development and Commercialization

*experience may include a combination of work experience and education

Competencies

Proficiency in, but not limited to:

• Strong understanding of ingredients and its functionality used in the beverage industry,
• Strong understanding of product development processes and different manufacturing processes preferably in sparkling/carbonated soft drinks
• Demonstrated excellent problem solving, continuous improvement and strategic thinking skills with very minimal guidance.
• Ability to work collaboratively cross-functional team environments
• Must be well organized
• Excellent communication skills - written and verbal
• Detail oriented; able to work independently and with minimal supervision
• Fluent with all MS Office software (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Knowledge of Genesis label development tool is a plus
• Knowledge of Agile/Oracle project management system is a plus
• Experience of working with Tracegains is a plus

This position embodies the values of Niagara's LIFE competency model, focusing on the following key drivers of success:

• Lead Like an Owner
  • Makes safety the number one priority
  • Keeps alert for safety issues and escalates immediately
  • Effectively prioritizes tasks based on department goals
  • Shows respect to others and confronts interpersonal issues directly
  • Prioritizes resolution of customer issues effectively
  • Responds promptly and honors commitments to internal and external customers
• InnovACT
  • Makes recommendations to continuously improve policies, methods, procedures, and/or products
  • Demonstrates adaptability by reacting appropriately to unexpected changes in situations or circumstances
  • Increases performance through greater efficiency
• Find a Way
  • Seeks to develop technical knowledge through learning from other experts
  • Understands interdepartmental impact of individual decisions and actions
  • Seeks solutions rather than placing blame
• Empowered to be Great
  • Consistently looks for ways to improve one's self through growth and development opportunities
  • Communicates clearly and promptly up, down, and across
  • Communicates effectively to manage expectations

Education

• Minimum Required:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or Nutrition Science
• Preferred:
  • Master's Degree in Food Science or Nutrition Science
    

Typical Compensation Range

Benefits

Our Total Rewards package is thoughtfully designed to support both you and your family:

Regular full-time team members are offered a comprehensive benefits package, while part-time, intern, and seasonal team members are offered a limited benefits package.

• Paid Time Off for holidays, sick time, and vacation time
• Paid parental and caregiver leaves
• Medical, including virtual care options
• Dental
• Vision
• 401(k) with company match
• Health Savings Account with company match
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Expanded mental wellbeing benefits including free counseling sessions for all team members and household family members
• Family Building Benefits including enhanced fertilitybenefits for IVF and fertility preservation plus adoption, surrogacy, and Doula reimbursements
• Income protection including Life and AD&D, short and long-term disability, critical illness and an accident plan
• Special discount programs including pet plans, pre-paid legal services, identity theft, car rental, airport parking, etc.
• Tuition reimbursement, college savings plan and scholarship opportunities
• And more!

https://careers.niagarawater.com/us/en/benefits

* *Los Angeles County applicants only** Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the California Fair Chance Act, and any other applicable local and state laws.

Any employment agency, person or entity that submits a resume into this career site or to a hiring manager does so with the understanding that the applicant's resume will become the property of Niagara Bottling, LLC. Niagara Bottling, LLC will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.

Employment agencies that have fee agreements with Niagara Bottling, LLC and have been engaged on a search shall submit resume to the designated Niagara Bottling, LLC recruiter or, upon authorization, submit resume into this career site to be eligible for placement fees.