Analytical​/Micro Lab Technician; Nights

Analytical / Micro Lab Technician (Nights) – Michael Foods

Michael Foods, Inc. is located in the Village of West Jefferson, OH. The company is dedicated to producing high‑quality protein shakes and emphasizes a strong commitment to employees, community, and the environment.

West Jefferson, OH – approximately 20 minutes west of downtown Columbus.

This is a night shift role (6:00 PM – 6:30 AM) with a rotating schedule: 4 days on, 3 days off. Week 1 consists of 40 hours of regular work and 8 hours of overtime;
Week 2 consists of 36 hours of regular work. Work is paid every two weeks by standard check.

• Adheres to safe work practices, follows GMPs, maintains sanitary conditions, and ensures that product quality is maintained. Reports any conditions or practices that may adversely affect employee safety or food safety/quality to management immediately.
• Attends and actively participates in daily shift huddles and handoffs.
• Collects in‑process and finished‑product samples for analytical and microbiological quality checks.
• Performs verifications of package coding, product weights, packaging integrity, labeling, temperature, sensory, etc. to verify compliance with customer and MFI specifications.
• Assists in drafting, revising, and maintaining plant standard operating procedures.
• Acts as a liaison between Production, Distribution, Sanitation, Maintenance, and the Quality Department by communicating quality issues and assisting in corrective action implementation where necessary.
• Participates in plant food safety/quality inspections, in‑process inspections, mock recalls, label audits, HACCP audits.
• Performs analytical testing including solids content, pH, vitamin C, viscosity, organoleptic, hydrogen peroxide residual, and packaging integrity.
• Verifies proper set‑up of production lines at startup and shift change; ensures code‑date information is accurate and distributed.
• Reviews sanitary condition of production lines prior to startup by visual and mechanical inspection, performing ATP and APC testing.
• Performs pH analysis of samples for root‑cause investigations.
• Uses inventory control software to ensure non‑conforming product does not enter commerce.
• Assists in investigations in response to customer concerns or other quality related deviations to determine root cause and appropriate corrective actions.
• Manages quality hold activities, including non‑conforming product inventories.
• Ensures lab equipment, fridges, and thermometers are properly maintained and calibrated.
• Leads and organizes incubation sample collection and processing for investigations.
• Maintains MFI micro sample and shelf‑life study programs.
• Provides packaging integrity training to operations team.
• Operates with teamwork, accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement, and actively pursues customer and consumer passion.
• Attends safety meetings and trainings.
• Trains new hires as required.
• Maintains regular and consistent attendance.
• Fosters open communication and a positive attitude toward work and coworkers.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education

• High school diploma or GED or equivalent.

Required Skills

• Positive and engaging attitude towards colleagues.
• Basic computer knowledge and skills.

Preferred Skills

• One‑year college or technical school certificate or equivalent; 1+ years of food manufacturing or QA preferred.
• Experience with food manufacturing and GMPs.
• Ability to work independently or in a group.
• Ability to read and interpret safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to calculate basic mathematics.
• Ability to apply common sense to carry out instructions furnished orally and to deal with problems involving one concrete variable in standardized situations.

Pay range: $40,016 – $54,421 per year.