R&D Tech I

Blommer Chocolate Careers•Union City, CA

22h•$73,000 - $78,000

About The Position

Join Blommer! We offer HEALTH & DENTAL BENEFITS DAY 1 OF HIRE! Blommer understands that our employees are our biggest assets. With this in mind we offer a generous benefits package, tuition reimbursement and 10 pounds of free chocolate for your birthday! Blommer has been providing delicious, high quality chocolate and cocoa products to customers since 1939. Built as a family business, we are continuing to grow and are looking for motivated and reliable associates to help in our mission of Bringing Chocolate to Life! Reports to: R&D Manager Shift: 8am – 4:30pm Pay Range: $73K - $78K

Requirements

General experience with kitchen and confection equipment
Must be able to taste and consume chocolate and related products
Excellent communication skills, written and verbal
Proficient in Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Teams)
College degree in the field of science, or A combination of 2 – 3 years’ relevant industry/laboratory experience and some college courses or an equivalent certification in the culinary arts or science

Responsibilities

Requires independent thinking, analysis and deductive reasoning a majority of the time to properly develop formulas and measure physical product parameters (viscosity, particle size, fat content, color, etc) of new products based on customer needs and manufacturing capability with guidance from manager
Operate benchtop and pilot scale equipment to generate product samples from start to finish (gathering raw materials, making the sample, molding samples into a presentable format, mailing samples)
Develop and maintain corresponding documentation and data in appropriate systems (product information form, specification, nutritional, etc)
Formulate products with intention and with an understanding of how ingredients, processing and specification parameters translate and impact sensory and finished product applications with guidance from manager; understand the impact of ingredient substitutions and functional ingredients for Blommer and our customers
Contribute to research projects and conduct basic applications testing as needed to deliver results regarding product performance, new raw materials and/or functionality of an ingredient for manager approval
Maintain effective communication internally and externally on the status of new products, ongoing activities, upcoming projects, trial runs, sample generation, research results, thorough documentation and other pertinent information
Assess all aspects of a new project and provide a product recommendation of stock items in the Blommer portfolio with guidance from manager
Coordinate and conduct sensory evaluation of products for new products/ingredients and/or for supplier approvals
Participate in daily taste panels
Note: The employer reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position