Lab Technician

City: Avondale, State: Louisiana (US-LA), Country: United States (US), Requisition Number: 45461 A Day in the Life The Lab Technician ensures the integrity and safety of food products throughout the manufacturing process utilizing various standards and established testing methods, operating procedures, and adherence to protocols and policies. Position Details After completion of training, the person in this role will primarily work a twelve-hour rotating shift to include overtime, nights, holidays, and weekends. The starting hourly wage varies from $25 to $36 depending on experience. What You'll Be Doing Demonstrates a commitment to supply safe food, maintain a food safety culture within the site, continually improve the site's food safety management system; and comply with customer and regulatory requirements. Performs physical and chemical testing of raw materials, in-process samples and finished products. Ensures timely delivery of test results and verifies that results conform to product and customer specifications; issuing certificates of analysis, filing testing information, and maintaining analysis databases. Performs set up, adjustments, and operation of lab equipment, including gas & liquid chromatographs, balances, colorimeters, refractometers, and other related equipment. Calibrates instruments used in the Quality Control lab stations in the plant and in the QA laboratory on a scheduled frequency. Troubleshoots issues with lab instrumentation, lab maintenance, and problems that affect product quality. Assists with general upkeep of the lab including cleaning of lab instruments, glass bottles, vials and tubes, as well as counters, cabinets, fixtures, and infrastructure. Maintains inventory of lab chemicals to ensure secure storing, adequate supply, safe and correct disposal of waste chemicals, and to prevent storage of expired stock. Updates and maintains critical logs; generates related graphs, charts and tables. Effectively communicates laboratory findings to leadership; must also communicate cross‑functionally among team members. Follows all site safety procedures per company policy and maintains a safe working environment. Performs other duties as assigned or needed. Minimum Qualifications High School Diploma or GED. The ideal candidate will have 4 to 6 years of lab experience in oils & fats, food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, or related industry. Education in lieu of experience will be considered. Ability to work independently sometimes without supervision. Ability to read & understand technical documents. Ability to complete routine reports and correspondence. Efficient in defining problems, collecting data, establishing facts, and drawing valid conclusions. Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations. Preferred Qualifications Post‑secondary degree in a science or technical field. Prior experience with document control systems. Familiarity with a formal quality system (SQF, GMP/HACCP, ISO 9001, etc.) and certified methods (AOCS, AOAC, etc.). Benefits Health Benefits – offering choices so you can enroll in medical, dental and vision plans that meet your individual needs. 401(k) Retirement Plan – investing in your future with an automatic 5% company contribution AND matching up to 4% of your contributions. Family Support – supporting new and growing families by providing 6 weeks of 100% paid parental leave and fertility coverage. Tuition Reimbursement – contributing to your education by reimbursing $5,000 of tuition expenses annually. Time Off – providing generous vacation time for a healthy work‑life balance. Less than 1 year: 7 days 1–4 years: 10 days 5–14 years: 12 days 15–19 years: 15 days 20+ years: 18 days *Time is accrued per pay period and based on a 12-hour shift #J-18808-Ljbffr