Employee Development Specialist jobs in Bakersfield, CA

Are you a Food Science graduate looking for an incredible early-career role in R&D/New Product Development with household brands you know and love? Take your ideas from the Test Kitchen through our Pilot Plant and see them industrialized at full-scale in one of our Production locations. Our Bakersfield facility at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream is an incredible place to launch your career in the Food Science industry!

We need you to help us drive our explosive innovation agenda! Work on brands like Häagen-Dazs, Dreyer’s, Edy’s, Outshine, and Drumstick in a time of enormous expansion and growth across our sites. Learn from both US and European Ice Cream experts and best in class leaders while driving a tangible and delicious difference in an exciting category. Don’t wait! Indulge yourself with a SWEET career move. Domestic relocation support possible for the right candidate. Role can be scaled down to entry level.

About us:

At Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, we are excited to start a new chapter of accelerated growth as part of Froneri – a global pure-play ice cream leader. Come help us transform DGIC into the #1 ice cream brand! With nearly 100 years of winning experience in the U.S, a robust portfolio of powerhouse brands that consumers know and love such as Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick, Outshine, Dreyer’s & Edy’s, and the backing and coaching of European-based ice cream experts, we know we have the winning recipe.

Our teams across our offices and factories are raising the bar on all things ice cream. We are investing in significant capital expansions to grow our Operations and Supply Chain, and are transforming how we work at every level to become agile, accelerate growth and elevate our quality. With a renewed focus on frozen treats, our tight-knit team of ambitious innovators are fully immersed in the business and encouraged to flex and make decisions quickly. We are committed to pursuing every great idea and delivering the best ice cream experience for our consumers, when and where they want it. Unleash your potential at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and discover what a sweet career we have in store for you.

About the Role:

The New Product Development Specialist will provide technical leadership for innovation and renovation projects for the ice cream business! This role serves as the technical and project management lead on project teams driving delivery of the “Innovation & Renovation”, “Buy Better”, “Factory support”, “Quality improvement” “Alternative supply” and “Vertical Integration” projects.

Ensures that all the products are developed and handed over effectively to run efficiently in the factories.

The New Product Development Technologist provides product & process knowledge and support to the factories to solve technical issues and drive continuous improvement.

This person will also drive efficiency by being the link between idea and execution, and ensuring products are transitioned to the plants in a way that removes barriers to production and enables speed as well as quality. They will spend time on the plant floor to provide product & process knowledge and support to the factories to solve technical issues and drive continuous improvement. Accelerate your development with tangible real-time feedback – bring your ideas to life and be part of what happens next!

Key Actions and Accountabilities:

• Own the Implementation of Innovation & Renovation projects in the Market from brief to Factory handover.
• Work with cross functional team (Marketing, Factories, Procurement, Material suppliers, etc.) to scope, and drive project team, utilizing project management tools, to achieve project goals, respect factory capabilities, keep to deadlines to ultimately delight the consumer.
• Perform product & process development activities (e.g. mockup, bench top, pilot plant, distribution testing, and factory testing) to achieve project goals and deadlines.
• Assure accuracy and a timely hand-over of new product documentation to the factory team to allow for a successful industrialization.
• Completion of costs, concept and technical dossier forms and ensures technical and commercial sign-off.
• Ensure adherence to all regulatory, legal and company standards. Align with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream requirements (includes Nutritional Requirement and Sustainability), external standards, and local regulatory framework.
• Work closely with internal procurement teams, and technical to ensure all new materials don’t add additional complexity and / risk and or waste to the factory
• Continuous improvement of technical skills and personal development, while growing internal and external networks.
• Develop expertise for product/process mastership within NPD. Develop the proficiencies required for product/process mastership to be able to support our factory operations.
• Provide first line support to factories. Ensure knowledge transfer related to product/process mastership to eliminate the root cause of assistance requests
• Has a strong knowledge of ice cream raw materials, recipe, product and process across the factories (Factory experience, Pilot plant, formalized learning and mentorship programs)

QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Chemistry, Nutrition, or a similar field required

EXPERIENCE:

• 2-5 years of experience in the Food & Beverage industry, ideally in product development, nutrition, quality assurance, or food manufacturing preferred.
• Successful Food Science internships or co-ops or prior food manufacturing experience preferred.
• Understanding of industry quality and food safety standards
• Knowledge of food and beverage raw materials, food packaging materials, food additives and allergens

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

The pay scale for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. The pay range for prospective employees in this role is between $65,000 and $80,000 per year.