Pilot Plant Technician (2nd shift) - Full-time / Part-time

Functional Overview:

Within our Innovation, Technology & Quality (ITQ) organization at the James Ford Bell Technical Center, we operate pilot plants across 4 product platforms: Cereal; Dairy (yogurt & ice cream); Meals (soup & vegetables); and Snacks (bars & fruit).

Position Overview:

The Innovation, Technology & Quality (ITQ) Pilot Plant Technician position involves setting up and running equipment for trials, exhibiting strong customer service for various ITQ platforms and supporting sanitation on unit operations in the Pilot Plant. In this role, you will be providing support to various platforms with a focus on the Cereal platform.

This position is currently planned to be a five days per week, 8 hours per day, and from the hours of 3-11pm. Actual days of the work week, start times and end times may change based on business needs. There will most likely be need for 3rd shift support a few times/month.

• With advance notification, the candidate will be required to flex to a different shift or have different hours based on evolving business needs.
• This candidate may be required to work up to 4 hours of overtime before or after their assigned shift and/or occasionally support 8-12 hours on the weekend.

Activities involve directly support new product development, product reformulation/improvement efforts to exiting products, continuous improvement initiatives, and new processing/equipment testing. Key developmental objectives in this position will include working with developers and technicians across multiple divisions and platforms, expanding individual knowledge and understanding of business essential tools, inventory management and scheduling, assisting in new product development and the opportunity to continuously rotate between several operations.

Responsibilities:

• Champion all human and food safety in the Pilot Plant
• Provide run support and facilitate communication between operations and R&D
• Execute all required post-operation sanitation activities as well as assisting in setup
• Assist and help lead/address noted deficiencies
• Participate in Continuous Improvement activities
• Collaborate with the Lead Technician, the customer, the Logistics Material Planner and the Scheduler on ingredient inventory management and scheduling
• Proactively initiate equipment repairs, working with the James Ford Bell shop as required

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School Diploma, Bachelors degree in any major preferred
• 1 year, 3 preferred relevant experience
• Previous food manufacturing equipment set-up, operation and sanitation experience
• MechTech or Preventative Maintenance experience preferred
• Must be able to work well in a team environment
• Must be able to work in a manufacturing environment, which includes handling/exposure to allergens
• Previous CI experiences preferred, including: 5S, Visual Controls, OPL creation
• Current forklift and powered walking stacker certified preferred or ability to gain certification in role (required)
• Ability to consistently and repeatedly lift, manipulate and transport ingredients or equipment, up to 55 lbs
• Self-starter, able to see and do what needs to be done without direction
• Strong customer service mindset
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Flexible to changing projects and time of support