Position Title: Assistant Sensory Scientist
Date: December 2021

Department: Brewing Solutions
FLSA: Non-exempt

Location: Yakima
Grade/Level:
 
 
Reports to:  Sensory Scientist

Direct Reports:  None

 Position Summary:
As a member of the Sensory Team, the Assistant Sensory Scientist actively participates in sensory and flavor projects and tasks.  This position requires the use of sensory methods and analytical chemistry to drive new product development, product improvements, and provide internal and external technical support.  The Assistant Sensory Scientist collaborates on projects with Research & Development, Sales/Marketing, Brewing/R&D (Haas Innovations Brewing), Hop Breeding/Agronomy, QA/QC, Procurement, and Manufacturing to execute plans and achieve desired goals.

Primary Responsibilities: (Must consider: 1) knowledge required; 2) problem solving; and 3) accountability.)

% of time

1.   Day-to-day Sensory activities and technical support:

• Works with the Brewing Solutions team on projects related to sensory panel, HBC experimental variety evaluation, Compusense®, hop field sensory, new product support, customer education programs, and ad hoc technical support requests.
• Generates data from sensory evaluations of hops, hop products, and the use of these products in beer and other beverages.
• Assists in maintaining and updating the Hop and Product Libraries.
• Supports activities in establishing, maintaining, and updating the Hops and Product Libraries sensory/chemistry database.
• Answers customer sensory questions.
• Assists in roots cause analysis and responses to customer complaints.
• Assists in the development and publication of product specification sheets.

  2.Selection:
Works closely with Supply Chain to assist in executing customer varietal/lot quality evaluation, identifying and providing appropriate varietals/lots to specific customers, participating in customer selection sessions, track customer lot preferences, and communicate lot preferences to Supply Chain team.


  7.Other duties as assigned.

 Conditions of Employment:

1. Position requires a high degree of latitude and time flexibility.  When no special circumstances exist, working hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Hours worked more than 40 in a workweek are compensated at the overtime rate.
2. Position requires working with hops and other beer/beverage ingredients.  It will require tasting of beer and other alcoholic beverages. The employee must be able perform assigned duties (assisting with hops, beer and other related ingredients) to be employed and/or remain employed.
3. Will be expected to work in and around an analytical laboratory setting containing chemicals, solvents, and hop products.
4. Must comply with the John I. Haas, Inc. Environmental Management (EMS) and Quality Management (QMS) systems and have been trained on systems requirements.
5. Must be trained regarding procedures for managing significant environmental aspects, specifically:

1. Importance of conformity
2. Significant environment aspect
3. Roles and responsibilities
4. Potential consequence for departure from procedure

 

1. Travel may be involved as well as special projects, activities and customer entertainment that may require working during evening hours and weekends.

 Qualifications:  (Education/Experience/Skills required of the Position)Required:

1. B.S. in Food Science, Chemistry, Biology, or related field and relevant working experience OR an equivalent combination of education and experience which clearly demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the role.
2. Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel.
3. Strong interpersonal communication (written and verbal) skills, including success collaborating with others and working in a team environment.
4. Experience in or exposure to evaluating flavor materials and quality processes.
5. Experience managing multiple projects/job tasks with competing priorities and successfully adhering to defined timelines.

 Preferred:

1. Practical beer, wine, spirits, seltzer, and/or food Sensory Panel experience outside of college coursework. This includes being a participant, executing sensory panels, and data analysis.
2. Sensory experience in Descriptive Analysis, Preference Testing, Difference Testing, Consumer Testing, and Shelf Life Testing.
3. Compusense Cloud software experience.

 

1. Proficiency in statistics software XLStat or JMP.
2. Passion for hops, beer, brewing, or homebrewing.

 This form indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees with this job title.  It is not designed to contain nor should it be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of all employees with this job title.

Interested?  Apply HERE

Associate Scientist
 CID Bio-Science, Inc., has been designing instruments for agricultural and environmental plant research for over 28 years. The company was established in 1989 with the introduction of a state-of-the-art handheld photosynthesis system. Since then, they have expanded to develop 17 instruments to measure plant function, continuously employing new innovations and technologies. Headquartered in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, CID instruments are used in over 150 countries, have been featured in more than 2300 peer-reviewed research papers, and is represented by distributors in 44 countries.
 CID Bio-Science, Inc. is seeking a highly motivated and innovative Associate Scientist to join our team. The Associate Scientist will work closely with the Application Science department to help drive the R&D process.
 Job Responsibilities:

• Perform analytical testing on various agricultural and food commodities to be used in development of new technologies and validation of existing technologies.
  
• Maintain all laboratory equipment and instrumentation.
  
• Organize and manage all data – both in hard copy form and electronically using the Microsoft Office suite of applications.
  
• Use data acquired in the lab to create and validate chemometric models with our proprietary AppBuilder software.
  
• Draft clear and concise reports containing statistical analysis of data, as well as SOPs.
  

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a chemistry or biology field - preferably Food Science/Technology, Agronomy/Crop Science, or Agricultural Technology.
  
• Associate degree in a chemistry or biology field with 2+ years of experience in an R&D or Laboratory role.
  
• An in-depth understanding of common analytical laboratory equipment, instrumentation, and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP).
  
• Proficiency with computers and the Microsoft Office suite of applications.
  
• Ability to communicate effectively and work with a cross-functional team.
  

 The Ideal Candidate Will Possess:

• Experience working autonomously in an analytical laboratory setting.
  
• Experience performing quality assessment for various agricultural commodities and food products.
  
• Experience with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and chemometric techniques such as partial least-squares (PLS) regression, artificial neural networks (ANN), and convolutional neural networks (CNN).
  
• Technical writing experience.
  

 Employee Benefits:

• 401(k) with employer match.
  
• Health, dental, and vision insurance.
  
• Company-paid personal time off and holidays.
  
• Flexible work hours.
  
• An award-winning workplace located in downtown Camas, WA.
  

 To apply for this position, please submit a Resume/CV to Galen George at [email protected]. ​

​OREGON FRUIT PRODUCTS

Job Title: Quality Assurance Supervisor

Department: Operations

Reports To: Quality Manager

FLSA Status: Nonexempt

Prepared By: Amy Nieto

Prepared Date: 6/12/20

Approved By: Gabino Gispert

Approved Date:  
​
 
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Assists QA Manager in different activities and conducting inspections to look for areas of improvement and enforce proper GMP adherence. 
 
Assists QA Manager with all external audits. 

Provides leadership and supervision of QA and QC technicians. Tracks daily, weekly and monthly performance goals for QA and QC technicians. Provides formal and informal feedback through coaching, monitoring and evaluating job results.  

Audits the procedures of lab personnel and other plant staff to ensure quality standards are being met.  Trains employees and ensure food safety and quality parameters are met. 

JOB DUTIES: 

• Reviews and signs daily quality paperwork as completed by technicians, operators and supervisors.  
• Engages in pre-operational and in-process inspections during the day, communicating and providing technical expertise and support for production and QC.
• Maintains and orders laboratory supplies, equipment inventory calibration and repairs.
• Must be flexible with work schedule and work weekend and extra hours as needed
• Maintains a proficiency with ERP system including positive release, holding non-conforming product and lot tracking.
• Ensures compliance with company quality/food safety system programs.
• Provides oversite microbiological, analytical and sensory testing, sales samples, and product returns positive release, raw material incoming inspection, preoperational inspection, internal audits, root cause analysis.
• Works collaboratively in a team environment with a spirit of cooperation.
• Frequently works under tight time constraints or with business activities of a seasonal/cyclical nature
• Display excellent communication skills including presentation, persuasion, and negotiation skills required in working with internal customers and coworkers.
• Respectfully takes direction from manager. 
• Other duties as assigned.
•  

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES 
Directly supervises employees in the Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) Departments. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

 
QUALIFICATIONS 
Ability to perform essential job duties with or without reasonable accommodation and without posing a direct threat to safety or health of employee or others. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE 
Bachelor's degree (B.S.) from four-year college or university in the field of Microbiology, Food Science, Chemistry or closely related field. Minimum of one to three years’ experience in quality systems management in a food manufacturing environment including supervisory responsibilities; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience in Lean Manufacturing/Continuous Improvement is a plus. Knowledge of principles and practices of food processing and food sensory, manufacturing, and packaging. Solid knowledge of food safety and food quality standards (regulatory and customer). Knowledge of principles and practices of laboratory methods and equipment.

 
LANGUAGE SKILLS 
Ability to create professional written reports and correspondence; to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of the organization.

 
MATHEMATICAL SKILLS 
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, statistics, area, circumference, and volume; to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

 
COMPUTER SKILLS
Has computer job skills including logging on to systems, ability to communicate by email, ability to compose documents, enter database information, download forms, and preserve/backup important data. Has knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook.  

 
REASONING ABILITY 

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situation where only limited standardization exists; to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form.
 
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS 

HACCP, PCQI, BRC and/or SQF practitioner’s certification are highly preferred.
 
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.
 
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk.

 
WORK ENVIRONMENT  
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. This position requires hands on supervisory duties, spending most of the time in the production floor in a manufacturing/plant, occasionally has exposure to an outdoors environment. Must be able to multitask in a fast-paced environment and work under pressure. Occasionally travels, including overnight stays, to other worksites, for off-site meetings, and for training purposes

Interested?  Please send resume and cover letter to Amy Nieto at [email protected]