Lab Technician Cheese

A Typical Day

The Cheese Laboratory Technician is responsible for successfully perform daily Finished Product and In-Process analysis on cheese samples, In – Process sampling, and job responsibilities as assigned.  Ensure accurate and timely flow of information to Operations, Product Release Teams, and Site and Corporate QA. Help to support production quality.

Job Responsibilities

• Efficiently perform lab analysis cheese finished product and in-process samples and sample pulling.
• Efficiently perform lab analysis and sampling of cheese samples.
• Read, study, understand and implement published lab procedures and tasks.  As new tasks are introduced, staff may be asked to take a written procedure and perform testing with little input.
• Perform multiple tests and steps simultaneously.
• Input report results and take the initiative to act on the basis of the data.
• Must follow instructions completely and in detail.
• Work with minimal supervision.
• Successfully comply with EMP (Evaluating the Measurement Process) and proficiency studies.
• Possess strong written and oral communication skills.
• Must possess basic math skills and successfully pass the laboratory basic skills math test.
• Annual completion of OSHA required safety training. 
• Active participation and ownership in your training and development program and associated activities, classes and events, which will be held before, during, after shifts and during scheduled days off. 
• Help coach and train teammates and participate in on the job, buddy training. 
• Place high priority on food safety and sanitation by understanding and executing HCC’s food safety and sanitation policies and procedures.
• Hold self and others accountable to HCC’s food safety & sanitation guidelines and policies by communicating any food safety incident, observation, or opportunity to your leadership team or teammates. 
• Participate in food safety and sanitation root cause analysis and improvement activities when required.  
• Prioritize safety above all other job duties by having a safety first approach at all times.
• Report any safety issues, observations, opportunities to your teams and follow up. 
• Participate in departmental safety teams.
• Promote Company Culture
• Achieve common business goals through cooperative alignment with all departments.

What You Will Need

• English skills must be proficient to understand, read, write and speak English
• High School Diploma or GED from an accredited institution
• 4 months lab or production experience (lab experience can include high school courses)
• Must be open to working weekends, holidays and rotating shifts (day/swing/graveyard) as necessary) and working overtime as necessary
• Intermediate experience with Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook
• Ability to lift 50 lbs

What Will Put You Ahead

• Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry or related field
• 6 months experience in a laboratory or production setting
• Intermediate experience with SAP

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be required to:

• Stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel and reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl and talk or hear.
• Stand and walk almost the entire workday.
• Employees must be physically capable of working in any of the job tasks within their respective area.
• Required to work at heights and in fairly small areas.
• Pushing, pulling, reaching, bending, stooping, squatting, kneeling, handling and grasping, twisting/turning, repetitive bending.