Job Description

At Jack Link’s, we feed the journey. We take pride in rolling up our sleeves and getting things done together. Fueled by creativity, passion, and a commitment to doing things the right way, we tackle the hard stuff first and focus on real progress, bold moves, and no excuses. We create opportunities, celebrate wins, own our misses, and push forward as a team, knowing our strength comes from supporting one another and having fun along the way. We cultivate a workplace where passion meets purpose and our Team Members are inspired, recognized, and rewarded for their contributions. 

If you’re ready to make a difference and build something meaningful, we want you! 

Jack Link's Protein Snacks is a global leader in snacking and the No. 1 meat snack manufacturer worldwide. Headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin, Jack Link’s is strategically positioned with production, distribution, and support centers in key locations throughout North America, Brazil, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. This global network allows Jack Link's to deliver a wide variety of high-quality, great tasting protein snacks to consumers around the world. The company’s portfolio of brands includes Jack Link’s®, Lorissa’s Kitchen®, Wild River®, Golden Island®, Country Fresh Meats®, BiFi®, Peperami® , Mariani and Local Legends Meat Snacks.

Job Description

Join Jack Link's in a Food Scientist key role in the development and execution of corporate Research and Development (R&D) initiatives with meat proteins including new product innovation, brand maintenance projects, and product and process improvement. This position will play a major role in helping the company achieve its aggressive growth objectives through appropriate uses of technology and innovation in new product development, packaging, quality control, and operations. 

The responsibilities of this position shall consist of, but not be limited to, the following:

Manage individual projects:

• Experience developing meat protein products and snacks
• Formula creation – providing technical knowledge to achieve organoleptic & shelf life goals
• Sourcing and verification of raw ingredients and other materials
• Collaboration on developing manufacture process to deliver concept
• Perform sensory reviews of product improvements, new products, or competitive samples
• Collaboration with Operations, QA, and other R&D staff to schedule and execute plant trials
• Provide necessary input for new product cost analysis
• Collaboration with Operations, QA, and other R&D staff to schedule and execute plant trials
• Hands on technical development and commercialization of new meat products in line with the NPD process
• Shelf-life studies
• Working cross functionally to deliver projects on time, in budget and with good first-time production quality
• Document and maintain records of test formulas, procedures, and net outcomes

Innovation pipeline, near term and three year outlook:

• Researching potential new flavor, texture, & platform opportunities

Quality & product improvements, plant support:

• Identify potential quality improvements
• Identify potential product cost savings
• Champion quality awareness as well as maintain product quality across the product lines
• Continuously improve product and processes for greater product quality and profitability
• Help problem solve & resolve issues that arise at plant level

Continuous Improvement of R&D systems (filing system, templates, process & procedures):

• Create and maintain product and processing specifications
• Build and maintain nutritional values/product labeling and regulatory requirements
• Log and maintain records of test formulas, procedures, and net outcomes

Performs other duties and responsibilities as necessary

Qualifications

REQUIRED EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Science degree in Meat Science, Food Science, Animal Science or related field or equivalent

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years of relevant experience in meat product development
• Understanding of USDA regulations
• Proficient with a computer. Demonstrated experience with MS Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams
• Strong written and oral communication skills; must be able to communicate effectively with various manufacturing and marketing functional groups
• Comfortable in a fast paced, changing environment
• Comfortable in a processing (plant or pilot plant) environment operating equipment  (Slicers, Tumblers, Mixer, Grinder, Casing stuffer, Ovens)
• Flexible and able to work well in a team environment
• Demonstrated understanding of food safety and human safety
• Strong problem-solving skills and a bias for action
• Detail oriented with demonstrated experience of maintaining accurate records on all tests and related work
• Demonstrated relationship and leadership skills including effective collaboration with R&D, quality, and cross-functional partners
• Demonstrate critical thinking
• Ability to communicate effectively and contribute to a team environment
• Effectively manage and prioritize multiple competing priorities and projects
• Agile, ability to flex across teams within the platform as work needs shift
• Ability to assess and solve technical problems including leveraging others accordingly
• Strong self-starter and holds a high regard for quality of work
• Familiarity with laboratory procedures and equipment
• 30% travel to plants to commercialize products

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Smokehouse experience including natural and atomized smoke applications
• Experience in the shelf stable meat snack industry
• Knowledge of food manufacturing regulations, standards and labeling, plant sanitation, and microbiology

JACK LINK’S CORE VALUES:

• Company values: Be Real, Speed Matters, Stewardship, Relationship Driven, Self-Discipline, and Show Awesome Character.

Additional Information

The salary range for this role is $74,600 - $102,600(Annually). Actual salaries will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, location, and candidate skill set and experience. Base pay is just one component of Jack Link’s Total Rewards package for Team Members. Other rewards may include annual incentive and program-specific awards. Jack Link’s provides a variety of benefits to eligible Team Members, including medical, dental and vision benefits, life and disability insurance, 401k participation, paid holidays, and paid time off.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

E-Verify
We provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. IMPORTANT: If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, we are required to provide you written instructions and an opportunity to contact SSA and/or DHS before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment. We may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants or to re-verify current employees and may not limit or influence the choice of documents presented for use on the Form I-9. In order to determine whether Form I-9 documentation is valid, we use E-Verify’s photo screening tool to match the photograph appearing on some permanent resident and employment authorization cards with the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) photograph. If you believe that your employer has violated its responsibilities under this program or has discriminated against you during the verification process based upon your national origin or citizenship status, please call the Office of Special Counsel at 1-800-255-7688 (TDD: 1-800-237-2515).

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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