Food Technologist, R&D Canada

Aspire Bakeries is a North American baking company with a leadership position in specialty frozen baked goods. Formed from leading bakery companies, its innovative food portfolio includes breads, artisan breads, buns, cookies, donuts, muffins and pastries from beloved brands like La Brea Bakery®, Otis Spunkmeyer®, and Oakrun Farm Bakery®. With 13 bakeries in North America, we are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers’ expectations. Aspire Bakeries champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration.

Position Purpose     
The R&D Food Technologist will support Aspire Bakeries’ innovation and product development pipeline. You will work on creating and optimizing baked goods, scaling formulations from bench-top to commercial lines, ensuring quality, and supporting cross-functional teams including Bakery Operations, FSQA, Commercialization, and Customer Development. 

Responsibilities

• Responsible for the creative development of new products from conception to production.
• Creates lab prototypes of new products for submission to customer.
• Assist in scaling up bench-top recipes to plant.
• Actively involved and is present during all plant trials and first production for new products.
• Prepare new product samples for sales and marketing presentations.
• Works closely with other members of the cross-functional teams in developing formulations, scaling sheets, product make-up specifications and finished product specifications.
• Works with bakery operations in the continuous improvement of efficiencies and waste reduction.
• Trouble shooting process related issues.
• Ensuring creative initiatives meet the customer expectations and can be duplicated on the production line.
• Respond to performance issues in the field based on feedback from customer.
• Demonstrates a strong passion for food and innovation.
• Undertake any special assignment or project as directed.
• Adhere to all applicable job procedures as outlined in SOP manual.
• Adhere to GMPs and Health and Safety rules as outlined in employee handbook.
• Adhere to food safety practices and ensure they are being followed.
• Perform all other duties assigned.

Skills, Experience & Qualification

• 3 to 5 years of experience in food product development, ideally in bakery or frozen baked goods. Additional culinary development experience preferred.
• Technical competence in science of baking.
• Excellent baking skills.
• General awareness of ingredient functionality and production process for different product categories.
• Creativity and passion for food and new product development.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Excellent communication skills, including active listening and collaboration across teams.
• Expert grasp of English (verbal and written) required.
• Highly responsible with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.    
• Proficient in computer applications including Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel.  
• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and HACCP principles.

Education, Technical Qualifications, Experience and Competencies Proficiency Level
Required

• Degree in Food Science or Diploma/Certificate training in pastry or culinary arts

Aspire Bakeries is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status.