November 16, 2024

Post Consumer Brands

Lakeville

FULL TIME

R&D Scientist, Pet Analytical Sciences

Business Unit Overview:

Headquartered in Lakeville, Minn., Post Consumer Brands, a business unit of Post Holdings, Inc., is dedicated to providing people and their pets with delicious food choices for every taste and budget. The company’s portfolio includes beloved brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats®, PEBBLES®, Grape-Nuts® and Malt-O-Meal® cereal, and Peter Pan® peanut butter, as well as Rachael Ray® Nutrish®, Kibbles ‘n Bits® and 9Lives® dog and cat food. As a company committed to high standards of quality and to our values, we are driven by one idea: To make lives better by making delicious food accessible for all. For more information about our brands, visit www.postconsumerbrands.com and follow us on Linked In for the latest news.

Brand:

Post Consumer Brands recently acquired several iconic pet food brands, venturing into a new market while remaining true to our purpose to provide delicious and accessible food that our consumers love. We’re always searching the center store for the next exciting product to add to our portfolio, and right now, we’re growing and need passionate, driven individuals with diverse perspectives to help us reach greater heights. That’s where you come in. Join a team where your voice is not only heard but valued. Make a real impact on brands enjoyed by millions of people and their pets.

Location Description:

Post Consumer Brands corporate headquarters in Lakeville, Minn. is about 20 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Lakeville has all the benefits of smaller town living with access to everything a large metropolitan area has to offer. Join more than 400 team members collaborating on the two-building campus to help put breakfast on the tables of millions of consumers in North America.

Responsibilities:

We are seeking a highly motivated individual to support Analytical Sciences at Post Pet Brands. As part of the Pet R&D team, this individual will be responsible for managing key analytical projects for Dog and Cat Food (Wet and Dry) and treats. You will also partner with the analytical team to provide plant support in maintaining Near Infrared (NIR )models within the Post Pet Brands manufacturing network.

In collaboration with product developers and process engineers, you will generate learnings through measurements which support the success of new projects across a wide variety of project types (innovation, cost out, renovation, etc.). You will play a critical role in problem solving and root cause analysis for driving continuous improvement. You will validate new methods, operate instruments, perform data analysis, generate reports, and share out learnings from internal and external labs.

Location: this position is Monday - Friday 1st shift on-site at our Pet Pilot Plant in Lakeville, MN.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Performing laboratory analysis and coordinating external testing needs.
Develop and validate new chemical tests and physical tests methods to meet business needs.
Analyze complex data, summarize, and report out learnings to key project members and leaders.
Enable best practices by maintaining the laboratory, documenting standard operating procedures, validations, calibration experimental plans and data in notebooks or other systems.
Train and coach team members and contractors, as needed.
Support NIR chemometric models, maintain and ensure the integrity of the models across the network.
Build strong, collaborative relationships with Pet cross-functional partners, influence & guide stakeholders, anticipate challenges, and proactively plan to address them.
Deliver the priorities against the business and Pet R&D objectives.

Qualifications:

Education

4-year B.S degree in food science, food chemistry, analytical chemistry
Master’s degree in analytical chemistry, food science, food technology, food engineering

Experience

Critical Leadership Expectations: Put Safety First, Do Right, Win As One, Be Bold, Bring Joy, Act Like An
Fundamental knowledge and practical experience in analytical measures both in chemical analysis (i.e., Chromatography) of foods and raw material ingredient and/or characterizing physical properties (i.e., rheology and texture analysis) a must.
1-2 years applied analytical experience; Food, Feed, Petfood Industry preferred.
Experience with chemometric models as it relates to NIR preferred.
Understanding of AAFCO nutrient requirement and relevant AOAC analytical test preferred.
Practical understanding of statistics and application.
Ability to multi-task and leverage resources across multiple projects or assignments.
Strong collaboration skills and experience partnering internally and externally.
Ability to effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, complex ideas to various stakeholders.
Ability to thrive in a changing and fast-paced environment, managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Willingness to embrace changing business priorities and ambiguity.
Ability to influence and lead others without direct guidance.
Job location is in Lakeville MN. Up to 25% Travel may be expected.