Product Development, Innovation Internship
Company Description
Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile, who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. The cooperative’s cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, good-for-you products in over 100 countries worldwide. With more than 2,000 employees and nearly 20 receiving and processing facilities, Ocean Spray is committed to managing our business in a way that respects our communities, colleagues and the environment.
Ocean Spray believes that our colleagues are our best assets and we offer an environment where you can work with exceptionally smart, innovative and passionate teams that are motivated to deliver Ocean Spray products around the world. If you are looking for a rewarding career where you can Grow, Own, Live and Drive your career every day, Ocean Spray is for you!
Job Description
Who We are Looking For:
Are you a food lover at heart, always searching for exciting new food experiences? Do you have a knack for applying technical skills to real world problem solving? Are you immersed in academic research and looking for a chance to explore what a career in industry might look like? If you’re up for a challenge, then join us in helping connect farms to families for a better life by bringing innovative new product concepts to life
What You Will Do & What You Will Learn:
You’ll be a part of Ocean Spray’s fast paced innovation ecosystem and contribute to bringing new consumer led product innovations to market. This is an opportunity to utilize academic food science skills in a commercial setting to develop new products while learning to navigate manufacturing, marketing, and business development challenges working within a cross functional team. Specific objectives may include:
- Develop new and revised product formulations to meet target characteristics (e.g. flavor, texture, size, ingredients, nutritional composition, target shelf life, etc.)
- Collaborate with sensory and consumer insights to incorporate consumer feedback on flavor and claims positioning
- Collaborate with process and package engineering to develop product specifications and maintain product target characteristics through scale up processing and throughout shelf life
- Contribute to the development of marketing and launch plans based on product development and manufacturing feasibility considerations
Qualifications
- Interest in pursuing a career in product development and/or innovation
- Pursuing a MS or Ph.D. in food science or related field
- Experience with food/beverage manufacturing, genesis nutritional modeling software, FSPCA preventative controls for human food (HAACP), and/or sensory testing
- An understanding of human nutrition and ability to review primary scientific literature
- A strong ability to communicate basic science and technical challenges to non-technical audiences
- A strong understanding of ingredient interactions in a food/beverage matrix throughout processing and shelf life
- An ability to work in a fast paced, cross functional team environment
Duration & Location:
- Position will start on June 1, 2020 and run for twelve weeks
- Traditional workweek but with Summer Fridays (8:00am-12:30pm); flexibility and off-site work may be required for project travel, experimental test runs, customer discovery
- Position is located at our corporate headquarters in Lakeville, MA (about 45 minutes South of Boston – Exit 6 off of Rte. 495)
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, as well as individuals with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law.
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.