Quality Lab Technician

Business Unit Description:

Here's what all the hype is about: Premier Nutrition Company (PNC) is one of the fastest-growing companies in the convenient nutrition space showing clear leadership in the category of protein shakes and protein powders. We make the brands Premier Protein, Dymatize, and PowerBar, which is sold internationally, and we are part of our holding company, BellRing Brands (NYSE: BRBR).

We have a simple, yet powerful, formula for our success, which weve been nailing for over 15 years. We start off with an organization powered by our company purposeChanging Lives with Good Energy. Then our purpose-driven people are given the support and autonomy to develop and grow. Next, we are super-intentional about designing a culture where everyone feels like they truly connect and belong, which is one of our five company core values. Purpose-driven, connected employees who are consistently mastering new skills deliver amazing business results. And winning companies with amazing people and thriving cultures attract and retain top talent, so the cycle becomes self-reinforcing or what we call our regenerative culture.

We dont mind sharing our formula since, as people who we believe in the power of changing lives with good energy, we think the world would be a better place if more workplaces treated adults like adults and gave them the platform to do the best work of their livesalongside some truly amazing colleagues. Why dont more companies do this? It takes deep-in-your-bones conviction to your people, products, and purpose to pull it off. It also takes resisting the urge to try to control people, and instead trusting them to make the right decisions. The results of our vibrant culture speaks for themselves: We were certified as a Great Place to Work for the 7th year-running in 2023. And we currently rank #2 on Fortune Magazines Best Workplaces in our category, and in the top 12 for each of the last 5 years.

We have a long list of ways we take care of our people, but here are some crowd-pleasers that our employees often say they love most: Year-round day Fridays, in-office massages, free lunches & snacks, dogs in the office, month-long cultural annd diversity celebrations, monthly over-the-top in-office events like bring your kids to work day, 6% 401k match after 1 year, as-needed sick leave, generous paid family leave regardless of gender, all positions bonus-eligible, company-wide volunteer days, company-matched charitable donations, no employee handbook, no dress code, coaching conversations instead of performance reviews, walking meetings, free exercise classes, and company-paid gym membership for Emeryville-based employees.

PNC seeks individuals who will flourish in this type of work environment and will add to our culture and help build this high-growth company for the next phase in our amazing journey. Does this sound like you? Then read on#LI-hybrid

The Role

As a key part of the Quality team, the person filling this role will be involved in sample receipt, logging, review and storage. We're looking for someone who's flexible and has a positive outlook with a can-do attitude

PERSONAL CONNECTON, WHICH IS WHY WEVE CHOSEN A PERMANENT HYBRID WORK ENVIRONMENT WITH NORMS THAT EQUATE TO 3 DAYS MID-WEEK IN THE OFFICE FOR EMPLOYEES BASED IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. The expected pay scale for this role is $50k to $60k, which may vary based on relevant experience, qualifications, geographic area (if applicable), and internal equity for the role.

Youre excited about this opportunity because your time will be filled with

Routine Product Evaluation and Release: 20% of Time

• Set up daily sensory sessions on commercial products and log results
• Test samples for texture and viscosity as appropriate
• Review routine documentation for acceptability
• Escalate any out of specification results
• Communicate release to the team in a timely manner
• Sets up additional sample sensory or analysis as needed

Document Organization and Storage: 25% of Time

• Assure quality documentation is kept up to date and organized
• Assist in making updates to existing procedures, specifications, and other files
• Assure completed documentation is checked in to the system and available for use

Sample Receipt, Logging, and Storage: 25% of Time

• Assure that all samples have arrived
• Provide notification if samples do not arrive or are late
• Sort samples and move to offsite storage
• Organize and upkeep sample storage

Other Sample Evaluation: 20% of Time

• Track receipt of incoming complaint samples
• Perform testing on retain samples as needed to assess product performance
• Evaluate samples from any Quality shelf life studies
• Prepare samples for tastings as needed

The daily stuff that everyone does but few quantify: 10% of Time

• Attending meetings and presentations
• Participating in company-wide activities and events galore
• Impromptu conversations with colleagues
• Administrivia like email, calendaring, expense reports, and other non-value-added work

What are we looking for?

Education:

• BA/BS degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or related science field

Experience:

• Related laboratory experience
• Food manufacturing and/or corporate QA/QC experience a plus
• Sensory/Organoleptic experience a plus

Skills:

• Proactive approach and work ethic for a fast-paced company

So if after reading through this long list youre thinking--Im not sure I meet 100% of these requirements, should I still apply? YESif you embody a growth mindset, see challenges as opportunities to develop, and find innovative ways to get the real work that matters done, you sound like our kind of candidate

Five capabilities that differentiate this role and are key to candidate success:

1. Being all-in
2. Drive and own results
3. Learning & growth mindset
4. Adaptability
5. Be a builder

You will thrive here and may just do the best work of your life if

• You want to be an integral part of shaping and nurturing an amazing work culture
• You like trying out novel minimum viable product people-related ideas
• You can be flexible in your approach to people challenges and abandon past practices if they dont make sense or would lead to a poor outcome
• You enjoy making people-centric decisions and finding ways to say yes as often as possible to impactful and important priorities for the business or team
• You are comfortable being natural, casual, open, and even a bit playful at work
• You can be friendly, vulnerable, and self-deprecating in one moment, and deal with a challenging, delicate people-related matter as a professional in the next
• You can do periods of focused, deep work on projects that drive the needle

This may not be your ideal next career move if

• You like a lot of structure, rules, and uniformity
• You like order, hierarchy, command and control management
• Dealing with ambiguity or experimentation are not your jam
• You try to resolve challenging interpersonal situations over email or instant messaging
• You like managing from behind your computer and demonstrating excellence through email
• You tend to chase whatever shiny object presents itself during the day even if non-strategic

Heres the deal with our not-so-standard, ahemstandard interview process because we know you are the curious type, which is why youre still reading this

• Quick 30 min phone chat with a member of our Talent Acquisition team to do a quick overview of your background and answer any burning questions you have
• Team interviews are kept to a minimum to foster a more efficient, candidate-friendly process (too many interviewers yields little value and drags out the process for you
• and who wants that?):
  • A series of in-person or video interviews in a 1:1 setting; these are usually with the hiring manager, one or two other team members, and a person from another team to get broader perspectives (note: we dont do panel interviews because they dont give interviewers a chance to ask you unique questions, and we assign interviewers different roles so were probing different capabilities)
• A case study or job task to simulate what youd actually be doing in the role (since your job is not actually to be interviewed for a living, so why is that the thing companies rely on so much? Yes, there will be a small panel for this one so you dont have to do it more than once, and yes, they might ask you some kind yet probing questions at the end after the applause stops.
• Once your interview concludes, the team will meet for an in-depth consultative process to ensure we are hiring the right person for the right job. Interviewers must come in with a strong yes or no vote beforehand to avoid groupthink with supporting reasons. The collective thoughts on your candidacy will be discussed in an environment of safety to challenge ideas respectfully, debate. and be open to all important qualifications of the candidates. A trained, disinterested bias blocker will be present to help mitigate bias so the team can make a sound hiring decision. The moment of truth arrives when the hiring manager makes the big decision. If you nailed the interviews and the case study was brilliant, guess what? The offer is all yours And the ball is in your court. Will you accept? We sure hope so because this place is the real deal, and dont just believe usjust ask the 93% of our people who said this is a great place to work in our most recent employee survey.

If we havent convinced you to apply already, here are some of our favorite perks and benefits:

• Summer hours (and of course a hefty PTO package plus 11 holidays)
• 401K match. Literally free money
• Free food. Plus kombucha, cold brew coffee, sparkling waterall on tap
• All people and roles are bonus-eligible
• Quarterly team building events/happy hours (city-wide scavenger hunt, bowling, ropes course, putt-putt)
• Bring your dog to work (3 days/week)
• Extended paid parental leave regardless of gender or familial make-up