Associate Scientist Internship - Kent Pet Group
Position Summary
Kent Corporation, of which Kent Pet Group and Grain Processing Corporations are subsidiaries, is a recognized national leader in Agriculture, Food, Food Additives, and Pet Products. A family owned privately held corporation in Muscatine, IA with operating subsidiaries involved in corn wet milling.
Kent Pet Group is looking for a passionate professional excited about the challenge of product development and research for this fast growing organization. For the right individual, this opportunity could start in February during the Spring semester!
Primary Responsibilities:
• Balance basic research with commercialization
• Evaluate ingredient and technology opportunities
• Manage development timelines to maintain a consistent innovation
• Deeply understand formula and process to drive consistent quality and efficiency
• Understand relationship between physical attributes and consumer experience as well as between plant in-process and lab quality control tests and results
• Leverage best practices in research documentation
• Work across functions to integrate research opportunities within entire organization
• Support all areas of the business as needed
• Requires flexibility in dealing with multiple priorities and interaction with a variety of individuals
• Quantity costs of ingredients or technology in application
• Hands-on laboratory testing of processes and materials
• Greater than 80% of normal work load is lab based
Required Education:
• Working toward B.S. in Cereal Chemistry, Grain Science, Food Science or other science-based curriculum
• Preferred candidates will be in their final two years of study
Required Skills and Experience:
• Basic understanding of Food Science, Cereal Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry
• Food laboratory experience including use of laboratory equipment and safe laboratory practices
• Hands on experience with Texture Analyzer
• Strong written and verbal communications skills including presentation skills
• Proven computer skills
• Ability to work in teams and interact positively with a variety of individuals
• Self-motivating, has a broad interest in the use of food ingredients in diverse applications, and is able to work independently to develop testing protocols
Travel: Between 5-10% overnight travel