R&D Meat-Food Scientist Intern

At Link Snacks, we show up hungry, roll up our sleeves, plaid or otherwise, and dive straight into the hard work. We don’t hide from challenges; we hunt them down. We push harder, move faster, and take the kinds of big swings that built this business in the North Woods of Wisconsin four decades ago.

We’re everyday people who deliver extraordinary results. Innovation, creativity, and urgency aren’t buzzwords, they’re expectations. And just like the real protein snacks we make across our global house of brands—Jack Link’s®, Lorissa’s Kitchen®, Golden Island®, BiFi®, and Peperami® and KOOEE!® to name a few—there’s nothing artificial about us. What you see is exactly what you get: humble, gritty, passionate people who show up every day ready to not just be a participate in the meat snack industry that the Link Family created, but to move faster, innovate harder and keep raising the bar so high, the rest of the world needs a ladder just to see it.

Dominating this space across the world takes a team. A team that runs together, succeeds together, and celebrates together. A team that’s full of relentless energy and spirit that can only be fueled by one thing: a fist full of our delicious meat snacks.

Real Meat Protein. Real People. Real Results. THAT is Link Snacks.

Join our team as a Research & Development Meat/Food Scientist Intern during the summer of 2027 and Feed Your Wild Side! Your internship will be based in Minneapolis, MN. You will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through formal and informal training, managing projects, attending events, networking with fellow interns, working with key Jack Link’s leaders and team members. At the completion of your internship, you will conduct a final presentation on your internship experience.

From concept to commercialization, R&D Meat and Food Scientists are the leaders and drivers of new product development at Jack Link’s. As a Meat/Food Scientist Intern you will join us in a highly collaborative role, working closely with the R&D team, operations, food safety & quality (FSQ), business management, marketing, sales, consumer insights, and procurement; in order to run pilot plant tests, execute plant trials, and to effectively launch new protein snacks.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:

• Provide hands on support in determining root cause and finding solutions for problems in food products such as sensory, quality, or processing issues. Participate on cross-functional teams to identify areas of opportunity in cost reduction, yield improvement, and formulation/process improvement and efficiencies.
• Support the design and execution of appropriate testing methodologies to validate changes to raw materials, formulations, and process. Coordinate testing plans with food safety, regulatory, quality and operations. Generate written reports, interpret results, and make next step recommendations.
• Some travel may be required

Minimum requirements:

• Working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Meat Science, Food Science or related field
• Proficient written and oral communication skills
• Comfortable in a fast paced, changing environment
• Must be able to communicate effectively with various manufacturing and marketing functional groups at various levels
• Must be flexible and able to work well in a team environment
• Express a strong work ethic and execute responsibilities in a professional manner
• Comfortable working in refrigerated environments while performing tests, though vast majority of work will be in standard office setting

Preferred Qualifications:

• Completed junior year coursework in a Bachelor’s degree program
•  Meat processing industry knowledge and experience

The hiring range for this role is $23 to $25 per hour for a Bachelor's degree candidate and $30 per hour for a Master's degree candidate. Actual wages will vary based on several factors, including but not limited to external market data, internal equity, location, and candidate skill set and experience. 

LINK SNACKS CORE VALUES:

Company values: Be Real, Speed Matters, Stewardship, Relationship Driven, Self-Discipline, and Show Awesome Character.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to be 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 Team Member is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The Team Member is occasionally required to stand, walk and reach with hands and arms. The Team Member must occasionally lift and/or more up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Team Member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The work environment is a plant/office setting with varying degrees of temperatures and noise levels. Exposure to manufacturing equipment movement and wet/slippery floors. However, the vast amount of work is conducted in a climate-controlled office. Travel may be required.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER:
Jack Link’s provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic that is protected by federal, state or local law.

E-VERIFY:
Jack Link’s is a participant in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees.  For information about the E-Verify program, please visit:  http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify/employees

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Disclaimer:

This job description is intended to generally describe the nature and level of work to be performed by employees in this position. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and skills required of employees performing this role.