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R&D
Technologist - Blue Buffalo (Wet Pet Food Innovation & Renovation) - Golden
Valley, MN 55427
Blue Buffalo
Job Description:
Blue Buffalo (BLUE), is one of the strongest and most recognized
pet food brands in America, and the undisputed leader in Wholesome Natural
pet food, the fastest growing segment of the market. At over four times the
size of the next largest brand in this segment, BLUE has become the new
mainstream brand that’s delivering products that pet parents are looking for,
and connecting with them in a true, authentic way.
BLUE thinks of dogs and cats as family members, and
believes their food should be natural and healthy. In fact, this was the
motivation for the Bishop Family’s decision to create the Blue Buffalo
Company. When the beloved Bishop family dog, Blue, faced a variety of health
issues, Bill and his two sons, Billy and Chris, set out to create a pet food
that was made with only the highest quality natural ingredients—the kind of
things a family member deserves. Fifteen years later BLUE has, in many ways,
accomplished what the Bishops set out to do—help our dogs and cats live
happy, healthy lives.
BLUE has a broad portfolio of natural pet foods, enabling pet parents to
satisfy their pet’s specific dietary, lifestyle and life-stage needs,
offering them no-compromise product solutions.
https://www.generalmills.com/en/Brands/Pet/Blue-Buffalo
The Blue Buffalo Wet Applications team has an opening for an R&D
Technologist role supporting innovation, renovation and projects across wet pet
food products. The role will encompass bench, pilot plant and occasional
scale-up plant support to enable the development and commercialisation
of product launches. An ideal candidate for this role should have a strong
curiosity to learn and refine pet processing technologies, be comfortable in
a fast-paced dynamic environment, bring organization and oversight to project
details, and enjoy working with cross-functional teams.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Design, coordinate and execute
experiments of Blue Buffalo wet pet food products from bench top to
pilot scale manufacturing in concert with R&D scientists
- Build “go-to” technical expertise in wet
product pilot plant equipment and processing
- Lead and hold accountability for trial
management including scheduling, ingredient/material procurement, setup,
product manufacture, thermal processing, data collection, and finished
product testing
- Collect data both manually and
electronically; organise and document for
future interpretation
- Manage some projects independently while
collaboratively supporting others
- Build and leverage cross-functional and
external networks to support and execute work
- Participate in cross-functional meetings
and represent ITQ points of view and next steps
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- 2-year degree preferred; high school
diploma with 5 years of relatable experience
- Comfortable in processing environment
(pilot or plant scale) and operating equipment
- Prior experience with food product
development and associated laboratory work
- Experience working in collaborative teams
to deliver results
- Basic computer and technology skills (MS
Office, other computing programs)
- Basic understanding of food safety and
human safety
- Critical thinking and strong problem-solving
skills
- Desire to learn new concepts quickly and
apply in productive ways
- Results-oriented with strong bias for
action and high regard for quality of work
- Ability to complete work without frequent
daily direction
- Ability to communicate effectively and
collaborate in a cross-functional team environment
- Effectively manage and prioritise multiple competing priorities
- Agile with sound ability to flex across
responsibilities as work needs shift
ADDITIONAL SKILLS / EXPERIENCES
- Prior work experience in meat or pet
processing preferred; knowledge with thermal process/retort operation
preferred
- Demonstrated passion and creativity
around equipment set-up and modification, food processing and product
evaluation
- Interpersonal ability to build
relationships at all levels within the organization to advance work
- A successful candidate may be asked to
work overtime or weekends, before or after shift, to meet flexing
project demands.
Company Overview:
We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than
that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place
to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities,
every day. We look for people who want to bring their best — bold thinkers
with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming
the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are
hungry for what’s next.
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