Purpose of the Position - Pet Food Product Development

Responsible for the development of new products and / or improvement of existing products to meet strategic  business objectives and provide customer support. Assumes complete ownership for a range of products or  customer platforms. Develops a sense of the complete product line integration of the customer rather than just  project management. Work is conducted largely independent of the supervisor although they are to be continually  updated on project progress.

Essential Position Responsibilities

Project, Product Champion. Fits new customers into our existing array of products or develops line extensions or  product improvements for existing customers. Meets with customers independently of supervisor, with sales  account manager to define scope of new projects. Drives the evaluation of target brand assessment and monitoring  efforts. Demonstrates leadership qualities with respect to product design capabilities with strong communication  skills.

Product Development. The role spans the full length of the product development cycle, which includes conceptual  development, formulation, implementation, validation and continuous management and improvement. Products  must be continuously improved to remain contemporary in response to target brand changes or customer needs.  Works closely with the technical staff of customers or suppliers. Develop, bench test, scale-up, and commercialize  new products/technologies in accordance with guidelines established in Project Initiation Request. Factors include  product attributes as well as development costs, finished product costs, and timing. Demonstrates product and  project ownership to ensure that all parameters are optimized. Plant tests will be scheduled and supported  throughout the commissioning phase, with the ability to develop a contingency plan as needed.

Nutritional, Regulatory and Finished Product Compliance. Utilizes existing product formulation approach to  assure finished product nutritional adequacy (label and nutrition claim) applying statistical data from key raw  materials (z value). Develop a label deck from a master formula which considers all potential processing locations.  Manages the submission of products for analytical, animal or consumer testing and summarizes results and next  steps. Submit products for analytical or animal resting as required by the supervisor and summarize results. Participates  in project teams to evaluate product non-conformance incidence with products under their responsibility. Collects  and analyzes information as required to analyze raw material/process interactions.

Process, Operations and Supply Chain Support. Leads supply chain initiatives including formula transfer among  plants, evaluation of new suppliers of raw materials, increased or decreased use of existing raw materials, and  evaluation of processing parameters. Assists in process evaluation testing as required by the supervisor. Develops  knowledge of critical process points in conjunction with the process engineering group. Summarizes results of previous  tests and of sequential processing conditions or runs for a particular formula to assist in troubleshooting and data  interpretation.  

Interested in either an experienced product developer in the area of food science and nutrition (Sr. Food Technologist), and/or will consider candidates as an entry level position as well (Food Technologist).

Locations can be:  Siloam Springs/Rogers Arkansas or Emporia Kansas