Process Technologist at Bel Brands USA

You know our brands, The Laughing Cow, Babybel, Boursin, Kaukauna, Merkts and Price's, which elicit smiles across America. They are daring, responsible and deliver dairy goodness. As you imagine, this mindset is contagious! Bel Brands USA is part of an international family company, which has led an ambitious growth strategy for 150 years and is today the world's third largest branded cheese company. If like our 12,000 employees globally, you want to have an impact in an entrepreneurial and demanding company, and share smiles around the world, dare to live the Bel experience!

Be you. Be ambitious. Be Bel.

Bel Brands USA has been named Chicago's "101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For" for 10 years in a row. The company is headquartered in Chicago and operates three manufacturing plants in Little Chute, WI, Leitchfield, KY, and Brookings, SD.

Location: Little Chute, WI

Department: Industrial Development

Reports to: Quality Manager

Job Description Summary:

The Process Technologist is the primary representative of innovation and renovation (inno/reno), and continuous improvement for the plant. This position is responsible for implementing the innovation, renovation, and industrial excellence projects which are managed by or developed at the plant.

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Representative of inno/reno and industrial excellence at the plant:
  • Primary technical resource for the development and implementation of cold pack brand changes in process or recipe, and the creation of new formulas.
  • Coordinates and manages any development project (inno/reno or industrial excellence) through the development process with marketing and the production department.
  • Responsible for planning and procedures when performing trials, as well as planning and optimizing activities, taking both marketing requests and factory constraints into consideration.
  • Accountable for the validation of the performance level (OEE, waste, cost) in the decision process (go/no go gates).
• Trials preparation and follow-up:
  • Responsible for trials budget preparation in collaboration with the Marketing Managers.
  • Accountable for the reliability of the results and the conclusion/recommendation of the trials.
  • Defines and sets-up a trial plan for the Marketing team, Coordinators, or Plant Director.
  • Processes data and carries out trial reports; shares conclusions and recommendations with technical project leaders or project teams.
• Continuous improvement:
  • Works closely with all the supervisors related to daily production concerns, including but not limited to packaging, process, and environment.
  • Oversees and adjusts to the daily cheese converting processes when necessary.
  • Develops and maintains all necessary reporting to assess production performance. Partners with the Quality and Production to set goals and KPIs.
  • Ensures compliance with Company standards for cost control, waste reduction, quality, OSHA, safety, and complete on-time delivery at lowest possible cost.
  • Proactively pursues improvement projects identified. Responsible for assisting with diagnosing and continuous improvement in accordance with Performance Improvement program.
• Communication and leadership
  • Factory Project Manager for development projects from concept through execution.
  • Provides leadership for employees through effective communication, coaching, training and development.
  • Plays a lead role in the implementation of projects (innovation, renovation, industrial excellence), change management and training of operators.
  • Leads and conducts virtual and in-person meetings to rally employees behind common goals.
  • Reports on current and future workload, giving visibility on the portfolio to the plant manager, Co-Dev, and USLT.
  • Manages projects on time, on task, on budget through completion.
• All other duties as assigned.

Safety, Environmental and Quality

• Follows all safety rules and procedures by working safely and ensuring safety of others.
• Follows all environmental protocols as applicable to the job.
• Follows all Good Manufacturing Practices as stated within the policy.
• Follow all food safety procedures.
• Maintains a sanitary and safe work area; performs housekeeping duties as necessary and/or required.
• Detects potentially hazardous conditions and problems and takes appropriate action to report and/or correct.

Knowledge and Experience Requirements

• Master’s degree in food science or related field preferred, Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum of 3 years experience in the food industry required; dairy experience preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working with continuous improvement tools and lean methods including Reliability Excellence is preferred.
• Must be analytical, detail-oriented with demonstrated ability to multi-task, make decisions and/or take actions to solve a problem or reach a goal.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively (oral and written).
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of MS Office software required.
• Must be able to work flexible work hours and shifts, based on projects and production demands, including ability to travel to various locations.

Competencies and Abilities

• Ability to communicate and develop good working relationships with team members.
• Strong management skills with the ability to clearly communicate expectations and motivate peers and other interested parties.
• Excellent communication skills; understands audience and adjusts communication to drive desired results.
• Must be able to accurately and efficiently perform all job duties with a sense of urgency.
• Exhibit Bel’s core values of:
  • CARE - Care is about developing others through a “high challenge / high support” approach. It’s about empowerment, encouraging those who take measured risks. It’s also about being able to manage tough discussions for the sake of others and for the sake of the organization.
  • DARE - Dare is about challenging our orthodoxies and challenging a “good enough” mindset, which begins with identifying imperfection and then taking measured risks. It’s also about learning from failures and ensuring the right level of feedback to foster continuous improvement.
  • COMMIT - Commit is about our ability to execute and our results orientation. It starts with committing to deliver ambitious results, making decisions according to our customers and committing to those decisions through unconditional collaboration.

Working Conditions: Work is performed largely in an office environment. Hours of work will generally be during regular business hours with at least 40 hours a week. At times there will be some variation in work hours due to special projects, deadlines, and other concerns.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to use hands to finger, handle, or touch objects or controls. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, reach above shoulders, taste and/or smell, or talk and/or hear.

The employee must be able to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds collecting samples and performing laboratory tests. Specific vision requirements of this job include close vision, peripheral vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Acknowledgement: This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed by employee assigned to this position. It does not state or imply that these are the only duties and responsibilities assigned to the job. The employee may be required to perform other job-related duties as requested by the Plant Director. All requirements are subject to change over time and to possible modifications to reasonably accommodate individuals with a disability.

Bel Brands is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran status, disability status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Bel Brands also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories. It is also Bel Brand’s policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions.

Bel Brands is committed to recruiting, hiring and promoting people with disabilities and veterans. If you need an accommodation or assistance in using the website, please call 312-462-1500.

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