How to hire a food chemist

How to hire a food chemist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step food chemist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a food chemist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new food chemist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a food chemist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A food chemist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, food chemists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of food chemists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Food Chemist	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Chemist	Chemists and materials scientists study substances at the atomic and molecular levels and the ways in which the substances interact with one another. They use their knowledge to develop new and improved products and to test the quality of manufactured goods.	$21-41
   Research And Development Chemist	A research and development chemist primarily works at laboratories to conduct extensive tests and experiments aiming to develop new products and technologies. Although the extent of their duties may vary, it typically revolves around conducting research and studies, observing chemical reactions, maintaining records and databases, collaborating with fellow experts, and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing components or mixtures... Show more	$25-54
   Analytical Research Chemist	An Analytical Research Chemist works on analyzing and interpreting data generated from experiments to aid other research. They organize and produce reports and findings, which scientists will use to create principles, ideas, and strategies in the scientific field... Show more	$25-59

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Laboratory Equipment
   • FDA
   • Sops
   • R
   • HPLC
   • Food Products
   • Product Quality
   • Wet Chemistry
   • GC
   • Ms
   • Analytical Instrumentation
   • ISO
   • Data Analysis
   • GMP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage food chemistry testing laboratory and measure clenbuterol levels in beef samples by HPLC
   • Position are focused around ensuring that the different products being test pass the specifications put in place by the FDA.
   • Provide calculated electronic absorption (UV/Vis) spectra for molecular candidates suspect to be impurity chromophores in a commercial nylon process.
   • Establish extraction profiles and develop appropriate QC methods for product certification and annual qualification.

   More food chemist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your food chemist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A food chemist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, food chemists' average salary in florida is 56% less than in delaware.
   • Seniority. Entry-level food chemists 49% less than senior-level food chemists.
   • Certifications. A food chemist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a food chemist's salary.

   Average food chemist salary

   $62,727yearly

   $30.16 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level food chemist salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average food chemist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$83,797	$40
   2	Washington	$83,714	$40
   3	Washington	$82,909	$40
   4	New Jersey	$77,191	$37
   5	Michigan	$73,036	$35
   6	Michigan	$72,372	$35
   7	Ohio	$66,739	$32
   8	Ohio	$66,472	$32
   9	Indiana	$64,648	$31
   10	South Carolina	$64,204	$31
   11	Iowa	$63,401	$30
   12	Connecticut	$62,515	$30
   13	Illinois	$58,509	$28
   14	California	$57,442	$28
   15	California	$57,070	$27
   16	New York	$53,850	$26
   17	Nebraska	$52,100	$25

   Average food chemist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cargill	$81,913	$39.38	12
   2	Goldbelt Falcon	$74,004	$35.58
   3	United Food Group	$62,338	$29.97
   4	Kellogg	$61,542	$29.59
   5	T. Hasegawa USA	$59,736	$28.72
   6	Washington State University	$57,898	$27.84
   7	Kelly Services	$56,840	$27.33	78

4. Writing a food chemist job description

   A food chemist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a food chemist job description:

   Food chemist job description example

   Want to build a stronger, more sustainable future and cultivate your career? Join Cargill's global team of 155,000 employees who are committed to safe, responsible and sustainable ways to nourish the world. This position is in Cargill's food ingredients and bio-industrial business, where we anticipate trends around taste, nutrition and safety to innovate and provide solutions to manufacturers, retailers and foodservice companies.
   Job Purpose and Impact
   
   The Food Safety and Quality Chemist, will ensure products meet or exceed customer requirements for quality and food safety. In this role, you will apply basic understanding of plant processes to monitor quality assurance systems including instrumentation calibration, maintenance, crosschecks, methods, procedures, raw materials, food safety and training. You will provide technical advice and support to production operations to ensure product quality, minimize process variation, process recoveries, waste reduction and cost minimization and improve customer satisfaction.
   
   Key Accountabilities
   
   * Assure product meets compliance specifications and overall final product approval checks.
   * Data analysis, trend identification, troubleshooting, corrective action and communication with regard to processing data.
   * Assess process quality parameters and food safety and quality systems daily, including cross checks, raw materials, calibration, maintenance, procedures, food safety, training, auditing and oversight of analytical testing performed in control rooms.
   * Training of new food safety and quality chemists, analysts, operators, technicians and personnel from other functional areas.
   * Handle basic issues and problems under direct supervision, while escalating more complex issues to appropriate staff.
   * Other duties as assigned.
   
   Qualifications
   
   Minimum Qualifications
   
   * Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience.
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   
   * Ability to anticipate, recognize, and seek process and laboratory problems, implement improvements based on the findings.
   * Strong analytical skills to evaluate change factors and formulate independent decisions.
   * Experience with email, spreadsheet and word processing applications.
   
   #LI-EV2
   
   Position Information
   
   * Relocation assistance will not be provided for this position.
   * This is an onsite job in Eddyville, IA.
   * The work schedule is: 12-hour rotating shifts (6am-6pm / 12pm-12am), 2-5 days per week including weekends and holidays.
   * A Sign on bonus + an extensive benefit package will be offered!
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disability/Vet.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right food chemist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your food chemist job on Zippia to find and recruit food chemist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting food chemists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new food chemist

   Once you've found the food chemist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new food chemist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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