About Knouse Foods Co-op, Inc.
Knouse Foods Co-op, Inc. is a grower-owned agricultural cooperative and leading manufacturer of high-quality fruit and food products. We are committed to operational excellence, food safety, regulatory compliance, ethical business practices, and the long-term success of our growers, customers, employees, and communities.
Position Summary
Serve as the culinary partner to the Marketing team for innovation planning, development and product launches. Collaborate on annual innovation roadmaps and new product calendars.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Lead new food product development from concept through commercialization, including formulation, recipe development, prototypes, pilot trials, plant validation, production scale-up, menu concepts, and culinary solutions.
- Develop and improve products for commercial production based on customer requirements, consumer and culinary trends, market demand, operational capabilities, and company growth strategies.
- Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Sales, Technical Services, Operations, Quality Assurance, Consumer Affairs, Procurement, Packaging, and Supply Chain to successfully develop and launch new and improved products.
- Plan and support pilot plant and commercial production trials, establish processing parameters, document results, troubleshoot issues, and ensure a successful transition to full-scale production.
- Develop and maintain accurate product documentation, including formulations, ingredient specifications, batch records, processing instructions, product specifications, and project reports while protecting confidential information.
- Conduct sensory evaluations, shelf-life studies, benchmarking, and quality assessments to confirm product performance, food safety, consistency, and customer expectations.
- Evaluate new ingredients, suppliers, processing technologies, and culinary techniques to improve product quality, functionality, cost effectiveness, manufacturing efficiency, and market competitiveness.
- Provide technical support to manufacturing facilities and co-manufacturers, including investigating quality concerns, identifying root causes, implementing corrective actions, and supporting formulation or processing changes.
- Ensure products comply with applicable FDA, USDA, customer, labeling, food safety, GMP, sanitation, and quality requirements, in partnership with Quality Assurance and Consumer Affairs.
- Support customer and company innovation initiatives through product presentations, culinary demonstrations, employee training, supplier collaboration, cost savings, waste reduction, and continuous improvement projects.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Food Science, Product Development, or Food Technology.
- 5+ years of in-plant product development and research and development experience required in fruit fillings, Canning, UHT, and Aseptic production environment. Other related product development experience will be considered.
- Working knowledge of food manufacturing processes, production operations, and plant sanitation practices.
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply
Education:
Experience:
- Research & development: 3 years (Required)
- Food and/or beverage manufacturing: 2 years (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Peach Glen, PA 17375 (Required)
Work Location: In person
