We are looking for a Senior Food Technologist that leads customer engagements through product sampling, technical communication, and presentations with the support of their manager. Additionally, this role will act as the sole technical touchpoint to key customers and subject matter expert for internal customers. This role will be based out of our Corporate Office in Greeley, CO.
Responsibilities:
+ Lead customer engagements, both through product sampling, technical communication and presentations with the support of their manager. Sole technical touchpoint to key customers and subject matter expert for internal customers
+ Influence development across all cross-functional groups including Regulatory, Marketing, and Operations in accordance to the stage-gate process.
+ Expertly communicate technical development activities like costing, design of experiment, report analysis, etc. to cross-functional team with simplicity
+ Subject matter expert in ingredient and applications; independently able to troubleshoot product defects, (color, adhesion, etc.) while engaging vendors for both benchtop and commercial scale requests
+ Lead vendors in new strategic platform development
+ Direct and coordinate development of new products and improvement of existing products
+ Develop new plant operations and procedures and adapt to operation needs
+ Independently formulate new products and designs product specifications within the guardrails of plant process, brand fit and costing.
+ Proficiently and independently write accurate product specs/nutritional guidelines
+ Conduct sensory experiments such as shelf life independently
+ Conduct food safety experiments such as shelf life independently
+ Independently collaborate with operations pertaining to product/process yield opportunities.
+ Leads pilot plant development for existing and new process types with the support of the pilot plant team
+ Prepares technical data collection independently
+ Other duties as assigned
Qualifications:
+ Education:
+ BS & 5-7 years of relative experience
+ MS & 3-5 years of experience
+ PhD & 0-2 years of experience
+ Preferred in Food Science, Meat Science, Poultry Science, Culinology
+ Preferred internship with a technical focus
+ Excellent skills in Microsoft office; including Excel, Outlook, Word & Power Point.
+ Highly proficient hosting virtual communication tools such as Microsoft TEAMS or Cisco Webex.
+ Highly experienced operating in Project Management Systems such as SAP, Accolade, etc.
+ Very strong knowledge of USDA, FDA guidelines and able to self-correct.
+ Experience in fresh poultry processing a plus
+ As a salaried position with the company, you may be required to travel at some point to other facilities, to attend Company events, or as a representative of the Company in other situations. Unless otherwise specified in this posting, the amount of travel may vary and the most qualified candidate must be willing and able to travel as business needs dictate.
The applicant who fills this position will be eligible for the following compensation and benefits:
+ Benefits: Vision, Medical, and Dental coverage begin after 60 days of employment;
+ Paid Time Off: sick leave, vacation, and 6 company observed holidays;
+ 401(k): company match begins after the first year of service and follows the company vesting schedule;
+ Base salary range of $75,000 - $85,000;
+ Incentive Pay: This position is eligible to participate in the Company's annual bonus plan, the amount of bonus varies and is subject to the standard terms and conditions of the incentive program;
For individuals assigned and/or hired to work in Colorado, JBS and Pilgrim's is required by law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. This compensation range is specific to the State of Colorado and takes into account various factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to a candidate's relevant experience, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiencies for the role.
The Company is dedicated to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our team members and visitors. To assist in achieving that goal, we conduct a drug, alcohol, and background checks for all new team members post-offer and prior to the start of employment. It is a job expectation that all new employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who have, at minimum, the first of a two-dose vaccine in advance of their first date of employment will be required to receive the second dose within the manufacturers recommend timeframe and submit proof of their final vaccination dose once obtained. If you need assistance in obtaining a vaccine, the Company can help schedule you with one of its healthcare partners following a conditional job offer, if one is made. The Immigration Reform and Control Act requires that verification of employment eligibility be documented for all new employees by the end of the third day of work.
About us: JBS USA is a leading global provider of diversified, high-quality food products, including a portfolio of well-recognized brands and innovative, easy-to-use food solutions. We process, prepare, package and deliver fresh and value-added premium meat, poultry and retail-ready food products for customers in approximately 100 countries on six continents. We are also the majority shareholder of Pilgrim's, the largest poultry company in North America. JBS USA employs more than 100,000 team members, and our corporate office is located in beautiful Greeley, Colorado, where our 1,200 team members onsite enjoy more than 300 days of sunshine a year.
Our mission: To be the best in all that we do, completely focused on our business, ensuring the best products and services to our customers, a relationship of trust with our suppliers, profitability for our shareholders and the opportunity of a better future for all of our team members.
Our core values are: Availability, Determination, Discipline, Humility, Ownership, Simplicity, Sincerity
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How to hire a senior food technologist
Senior food technologist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring senior food technologists in the United States:
- There are a total of 6,836 senior food technologists in the US, and there are currently 94,490 job openings in this field.
- The median cost to hire a senior food technologist is $1,633.
- Small businesses spend $1,105 per senior food technologist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
- It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
- It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
- HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
- Greeley, CO, has the highest demand for senior food technologists, with 4 job openings.
How to hire a senior food technologist, step by step
To hire a senior food technologist, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a senior food technologist:
Here's a step-by-step senior food technologist hiring guide:
- Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
- Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
- Step 3: Make a budget
- Step 4: Write a senior food technologist job description
- Step 5: Post your job
- Step 6: Interview candidates
- Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior food technologist
- Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
Post a senior food technologist job for free, promote it for a fee
Identify your hiring needs
First, determine the employments status of the senior food technologist you need to hire. Certain senior food technologist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.
Determine employee vs contractor statusIs the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?A senior food technologist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior food technologists 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.
This list shows salaries for various types of senior food technologists.
Type of Senior Food Technologist Description Hourly rate Senior Food Technologist Agricultural and food scientists research ways to improve the efficiency and safety of agricultural establishments and products. $16-45 Food Manager A food manager oversees the operations at various dining establishments, ensuring efficient food services and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities typically include managing the staff, setting schedules and guidelines, establishing objectives and budgets, liaising with vendors and suppliers, delegating tasks, and developing strategies to optimize overall operations... Show more $11-27 Food Safety Scientist A food safety scientist's responsibility is to improve food quality and packaging and to create new food products by developing excellent processing, storage, and transportation procedures with proper compliance with the health and safety standards. He/she is skilled at analyzing the nutritional food content, discovering new food sources, and researching safe and healthy food processing... Show more $23-63 Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:- Food Safety
- QA
- FDA
- Pilot Plant
- Technical Support
- Culinary
- USDA
- HACCP
- Product Development
- GMP
- Plant Trials
- Technical Assistance
- Product Improvements
- BARS
Responsibilities:- Conduct GMP audits, review key performance metrics to correct non-conformities and achieve BRC food standards.
- Organize schedules for employees and set payroll -Provide direction and solve employee problems -Be extremely personable & manage stock control
- Provide technical support to operation, sales, purchasing and QA with product and project relate issues.
- Start the establishment and implementation of HACCP and cGMP.
- Leverage knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and culinary to improve the quality and the image of the brand.
- Supervise production runs in company/ USDA co-packer facilities.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in your senior food technologist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior food technologist can vary based on:
- Location. For example, senior food technologists' average salary in florida is 48% less than in ohio.
- Seniority. Entry-level senior food technologists 63% less than senior-level senior food technologists.
- Certifications. A senior food technologist 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 senior food technologist's salary.
Average senior food technologist salary
$58,083yearly
$27.92 hourly rateEntry-level senior food technologist salary$35,000 yearly salaryUpdated December 18, 2025Average senior food technologist salary by state
Rank State Avg. salary Hourly rate 1 Ohio $69,336 $33 2 Maryland $68,101 $33 3 New York $67,171 $32 4 California $60,827 $29 5 New Jersey $60,589 $29 6 Washington $49,825 $24 7 Idaho $48,494 $23 8 Texas $45,916 $22 9 Mississippi $44,007 $21 10 Kentucky $43,651 $21 11 Colorado $37,797 $18 Average senior food technologist salary by company
Rank Company Average salary Hourly rate Job openings 1 Rich Products $81,314 $39.09 2 TreeHouse Foods $76,279 $36.67 2 3 Campbell Soup $73,149 $35.17 3 4 Koch Foods $69,428 $33.38 2 5 Northwest Arkansas Naturals $65,563 $31.52 6 Mars $65,444 $31.46 7 Steuben Foods $65,405 $31.44 1 8 Parkland Hospital $64,213 $30.87 13 9 International Flavors & Fragrances $63,009 $30.29 10 Allied Reliability $59,055 $28.39 11 Symrise $58,943 $28.34 12 Impossible Foods $56,953 $27.38 13 Harris Freeman & Co $56,669 $27.24 14 Olam $51,234 $24.63 15 JBS USA $50,804 $24.43 1 16 Trident Seafoods $50,669 $24.36 17 Perdue Farms $48,063 $23.11 12 18 Gruma Corporation $46,547 $22.38 19 Pilgrim's $45,947 $22.09 14 20 Parkland College $29,728 $14.29 Writing a senior food technologist job description
A senior food technologist 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a senior food technologist job description:
Senior food technologist job description example
Post your job
There are a few common ways to find senior food technologists for your business:
- Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
- Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
- Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
- Post your senior food technologist job on Zippia to find and recruit senior food technologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit senior food technologists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new senior food technologist
Once you've found the senior food technologist 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.
You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.
To prepare for the new senior food technologist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.
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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How much does it cost to hire a senior food technologist?
Before you start to hire senior food technologists, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire senior food technologists pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.
You can expect to pay around $58,083 per year for a senior food technologist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for senior food technologists in the US typically range between $16 and $45 an hour.
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Updated December 18, 2025