Product Development Specialist

Provide technical leadership to assure safety/quality of Our Brands (OB) products.

Work to approve OB products and manufacturing plants; ensure all packaging meets legal requirements.

Monitor quality of procured OB products.

Demonstrate the company's core values of respect, honesty, integrity, diversity, inclusion and safety.MINIMUM


* Bachelor's Degree in food science technology, dairy science, bakery science, food microbiology or related field


* 2+ years experience in a food-related position/industry


* Advanced knowledge in a specialized area (e.g.

food microbiology, refrigerated foods, U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations, specialty ingredients or supplement regulations)


* Strong critical thinking skills and attention to detail with a high degree of accuracy/precision


* Strong oral/written communication skills


* Demonstrated excellence in project planning, problem solving and execution


* Advanced Microsoft Office skills

DESIRED


* 2+ years experience in quality assurance and quality control/quality systems


* Plant experience in quality assurance


* Experience with statistical process control (SPC) and Lean/Six Sigma


* Experience implementing/maintaining robust quality systems (e.g.

ISO 9001, 22000, SQF, BRC, etc.)


* Proficient with product lifecycle management (PLM), Infinity and SharePoint



* Analyze customer comments; partner with manufacturing facilities to resolve product quality issues


* Collaborate with product development teams to maintain/improve finished product specifications


* Develop/provide guidance to implement, achieve and maintain Safe Quality Food (SQF) level 3 certification at Kroger manufacturing facilities


* Oversee factory compliance and interactions with SQF certification body


* Develop/analyze statistical data/product specifications to determine present standards; establish proposed quality/reliability expectations for finished products


* Manage, develop, maintain and ensure SQF policies, procedures, training materials, logs, documentation, certificates of analysis (COAs), product specification sheets and records meet SQF level 3 certification requirements


* Provide guidance to manufacturing facilities to develop, maintain and improve food quality plans for all processes (e.g.

inspection plans, product testing protocols and methodologies)


* Oversee root cause/corrective action processes to ensure timely completion and thorough analysis of root cause/corrective actions, as well as effective implementation of sustainable changes to prevent reoccurrence


* Follow established programs, policies and practices to produce safe quality foods that meet regulatory and company requirements


* Accountable to the Kroger Manufacturing Food Safety and Quality Principles


* Must be able to perform the essential job functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation