R&D Food Scientist

Description

Join a Mission That Matters – Enrich Lives with Butterball® Farms

At Butterball® Farms, we’re more than a world-class food manufacturer — we’re a company on a mission: to Enrich Lives. For over 60 years, we’ve proudly partnered with the world’s premier food brands to deliver innovative, value-added butter products. But our impact goes far beyond the food industry.

Recognized globally for our excellence and named one of West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies, we invest deeply in our people, our communities, and our future. From fostering innovation and personal growth to supporting local neighborhoods, we believe success starts with a strong, supportive workplace.

When you join Butterball® Farms, you’re joining a team that values growth, innovation, and making a difference — together.

What We Offer

At Butterball® Farms, we believe that when our people grow, our company grows. That’s why we’re proud to offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support your success — both on and off the job.

• Opportunities for Growth & Advancement Build your career in an environment that encourages development and internal promotion.
• Innovative & Inclusive Culture Join a workplace that celebrates innovation, continuous improvement, personal growth, and diversity.
• Paid Time Off Enjoy paid vacation and holidays to support work-life balance.
• 401(k) with Company Match Plan for your future with our generous retirement savings program.
• Tuition Reimbursement Continue your education with financial support for approved programs.
• Access to The Source Get connected to community resources, support services, and more.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Confidential support for personal, family, or work-related issues.
• Comprehensive Benefits Plan Includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Critical Illness, Flexible Spending Accounts, Dependent Care, and Accident Insurance.

Position Summary

The Food Scientist leads assigned product-development projects from concept and

bench formulation through plant trials and commercialization, while providing

technical support for existing products. This hands-on, customer-focused role turns

ideas into products that meet expectations for flavor, functionality, food safety,

quality, cost, and manufacturing consistency.

The position collaborates closely with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Engineering,

Procurement, and Food Safety & Quality. The role supports BBF’s collaborative

development approach, which connects customer needs, sample development,

refinement, and manufacturing scale-up

Key Responsibilities

•  Provide research, data analysis and summary of information on a variety of projects, processes, ingredients, and packaging to assist in the development of potential new product for customers and Butterball Farms. 
•  Maintain the organization and management of current R&D formulations file and nutritional data base. 
•  Generate product information and nutritional data on Labelcalc system 
•  Submit draft R&D formulations and reformulations to accounting for costing 
•  Obtain and utilize working knowledge of current ingredient inventory. 
•  Accountable for the sample request process from calendar scheduling through sample generation, packaging, and shipping 
•  Implement the customer’s request for information on formal sites and portals such as PLM, SafetyChain, Tracegains, Repositrak, Rizepoint and others. 
•  Work with the teams – Ops, Sales, Purchasing, (cross-functional teams) and Quality to commercialize new SKUs, including the sourcing of ingredients, ingredient approval, supplier approval, process development, process control, packaging, labeling and HACCP integration through the customer evaluation process. 
•  Assure an integrated Quality Systems approach to assure that new products are designed for food quality and food safety 
•  Align with engineering and quality/food safety to research and identify needed equipment related to a new process or process improvement. 
•  Work with purchasing to maintain current ingredient supply list and appropriate substitutions 
•  Maintain an understanding and working knowledge of current process equipment capabilities as well as improvement needs and plans. 
•  Support sales and customer confidence by meeting with current and potential customers on behalf of R&D. 
•  Be an available resource for Food Safety Assessments 
•  Support sensory panel development and testing. 
•  Create recipes utilizing current and proposed products and new formulations. 
•  Use creativity and innovation to solve production related issues. 
•  Study flavor and flavor utilization and basic culinary science 
•  Cultivate and maintain cooperative working relationships with the multi-functional team members. 
•  Maintain a grasp of current food ingredient functions for use in product development. 
•  Encourage the culture of Food Safety and Quality. 

Requirements

 We believe a successful R&D Technologist will have the following qualifications:

Education / Certificates / Licenses / Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science (required). 
• Food Safety Training (preferred).
• Minimum 3 years in Product Development or related discipline.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of food science, culinary science, and flavor applications.
• Broad process and equipment knowledge for scaling up lab formulations.
• Familiarity with ingredient functions, inventory management, and substitutions.
• Proficiency with R&D and food industry systems (Labelcalc, PLM, SafetyChain, Tracegains, Repositrak, Rizepoint).
• Understanding of cGMPs, food quality, and food safety practices.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and maintain detailed formulation/nutritional databases.
• Strong collaboration and leadership skills; able to lead cross-functional teams.
• Excellent customer-facing communication skills with professional tone and temperament.
• Creativity and innovation in product development and problem-solving.
• Flexibility and willingness to share responsibilities and adapt to business needs.
• Cultural alignment with guiding principles and commitment to a Food Safety Champion role.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience that demonstrate the required knowledge, skills, and abilities will be considered on an individual basis.

Essential Physical Requirements

(This role requires the following physical activities)

Continuous (67–100% of the time):

• Seeing
• Standing (up to 8+ hours per shift)
• Reaching
• Lifting (up to 50 lbs)
• Repetitive hand motions
• Eye-hand coordination
• Working at a consistent pace for extended periods
• Reading and understanding work instructions

Frequent (33–66% of the time):

1. Walking
2. Talking
3. Hearing
4. Grasping
5. Bending at the waist
6. Twisting upper body
7. Climbing stairs
8. Problem-solving and interpreting instructions
9. Using general math skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

Occasional (Up to 33% of the time):

• Stooping
• Crouching
• Pushing
• Kneeling
• Additional reaching
• Driving (if applicable)

Physical Effort

Frequent lifting and carrying of up to 10 lbs (sedentary)

Frequent lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling of up to 50 lbs (medium)

Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling of up to 20 lbs (light)

Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling of up to 100 lbs (heavy) or more (very heavy)

Working Environment

This position is located in a production/processing environment, which may involve:

• Cold temperatures ranging from 45°F with occasional exposure to freezer environments as low as -10°F
• Exposure to manufacturing equipment and machinery
• Standing and working on concrete floors for extended periods
• Fast-paced, physically demanding tasks in a team-oriented setting
• Adherence to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and safety protocols

DISCLAIMER: The above information on this job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by the employee within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of any employee assigned to this job. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Butterball Farms, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO/AA).