Job Description
Reports to: Executive Director of R&D
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Location: Onsite in Salt Lake City, Utah
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Schedule: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; flexibility may be required for production trials, travel, and urgent project needs
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Compensation: Salaried; dependent on experience (DOE)
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About REFRESH'D
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REFRESH'D is a privately owned, internally funded startup specializing in freeze-dried foods for the general market. The company pairs startup energy with a proven track record: our founding team built one of Utah's most successful food brands and scaled it from national to international retail. Harvest Right, the Salt Lake City company that pioneered home freeze-drying in 2011, is a founding partner.
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Position summary
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This is a hands-on product-development role supporting work across broad technical areas such as dairy, fruit and vegetable, and other prepared foods through freeze-drying. Each scientist will contribute wherever priorities require. Primary product or platform ownership may be assigned after hiring based on experience, strengths, team balance, and business need.
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Key responsibilities
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- Product development. Develop and improve products from concept through commercialization, including bench formulation, sample preparation, recipe scaling, pilot trials, freeze-drying parameters, production validation, and reformulation.
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- Formulas and records. Create and maintain controlled formulas, processing instructions, bills of material, ingredient statements, revision history, and supporting technical records.
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- Specifications. Develop raw-material, packaging, process, and finished-product specifications, including measurements, photographs, acceptance criteria, and product details.
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- Cost, pricing, and nutrition. Build and maintain formula cost models, provide pricing inputs, calculate or coordinate nutrition information, and support compliant labels and claims with Quality and Regulatory.
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- Samples and sensory. Prepare accurate customer and internal samples; conduct sensory evaluations; document results; and recommend formula, process, or ingredient changes.
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- Testing and research. Plan and execute analytical, stability, shelf-life, packaging, process, and competitive studies. Interpret data and provide clear conclusions and next steps.
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- Ingredients and suppliers. Evaluate ingredient functionality and alternatives to improve sensory quality, cost, availability, processing, shelf life, or supplier coverage.
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- Commercialization. Support plant and co-manufacturer trials, transfer formulas and processes, define success criteria, troubleshoot technical issues, and verify commercial product performance.
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- International manufacturing. Work directly with international co-manufacturers to transfer products, execute trials, resolve issues, and maintain consistent specifications. International travel is required.
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- Project execution. Track assigned projects, sample requests, testing, documentation, costs, risks, and deadlines; communicate status and escalate issues promptly.
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- Cross-functional support. Partner with Operations, Quality, Regulatory, Procurement, Finance, Sales, Marketing, suppliers, customers, and external laboratories.
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- Team and laboratory support. Help across projects, maintain safe and organized work areas, manage assigned ingredients and samples, and participate in routine R&D tasks.
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Qualifications
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- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Culinary Science, Chemistry, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Nutrition, or a related applied science. Equivalent combinations of relevant education and product-development experience may be considered.
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- Product-development, culinary development, laboratory, pilot plant, food-manufacturing, or commercialization experience. Two or more years is preferred, but strong early-career candidates may be considered.
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- Experience in food formulation, food processing, commercialization, dehydration, and freeze-drying is preferred. Candidates are not expected to have experience with every product type or process.
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- Working knowledge of ingredient functionality, food safety, allergens, nutrition labeling, specifications, shelf-life testing, and applicable food regulations.
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- Ability to design practical trials, calculate formulas and yields, interpret results, maintain accurate documentation, and translate laboratory work into manufacturing instructions.
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- Strong written and verbal communication, organization, attention to detail, judgment, and ability to manage multiple priorities in a startup environment.
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- Proficiency with laboratory testing equipment, spreadsheets, documents, presentations, databases, and formulation or product-development systems.
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Working and physical requirements
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- Ability to work in office, kitchen, laboratory, warehouse, freezer, and food-production environments and follow required food-safety, sanitation, allergen, and PPE practices.
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- Ability to sit, stand, and walk for extended periods and lift, carry, push, or pull items up to 30 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
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- Ability to work around common food allergens and a wide variety of food ingredients.
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- Valid passport and ability to travel domestically and internationally based on project needs, including production trials and co-manufacturer support.
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- Schedule flexibility for production trials, urgent sample deadlines, travel, and coordination across international time zones.
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Equal employment opportunity
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REFRESH'D Foods LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.