Food Technologist

Pound Coffee Roastery is seeking a qualified and experienced Food Technologist to support product quality, sensory evaluation and product development across our specialty coffee manufacturing operations based in O'connor, Western Australia.

The Food Technologist will play an important role in evaluating coffee products, monitoring product quality and consistency, supporting product development activities and contributing to quality assurance processes throughout the production cycle.

The successful candidate will work closely with the roasting and wholesale teams to support the development and maintenance of specialty coffee products for retail and wholesale markets.

Benefits

• Be part of a growing specialty coffee roastery committed to quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborative and supportive team environment where new ideas and continuous improvement are encouraged.
• Career development opportunities within a growing organisation.
• Competitive salary package and long-term employment opportunity.

Task & responsibilities

• Conduct sensory evaluation and cupping of coffee products to assess flavour profile, aroma, acidity, body and overall cup quality.
• Evaluate roasted coffee products using various brewing methods to assess flavour consistency and product performance.
• Identify flavour variations between batches and provide recommendations to support product consistency and quality outcomes.
• Conduct sample roasting and sensory evaluation of incoming coffee lots to assess product suitability, quality characteristics and consistency.
• Prepare sensory notes and product quality reports for internal review and product development purposes.
• Support development and evaluation of coffee blends and specialty coffee products based on sensory analysis, flavour balance and customer preferences.
• Contribute recommendations regarding coffee selection, flavour positioning and product suitability for retail and wholesale customers.
• Assist in maintaining and improving blend consistency and product quality standards.
• Review product performance and customer preference trends within the specialty coffee market.
• Conduct quality monitoring of roasted coffee products during packaging and preparation processes.
• Identify and report contamination risks, product defects or quality concerns affecting finished products.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of product quality screening and quality assurance procedures.
• Monitor product freshness, stock rotation and quality consistency of green and roasted coffee inventory.
• Communicate quality observations and recommendations to support production planning and continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualification & experience

To be considered for this role, applicants must demonstrate:

• A Diploma, Bachelor degree or higher qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Processing, Food Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Current Q Grader certification.
• At least four (4) years of experience in food manufacturing, beverage production or food product quality evaluation.
• Practical experience in sensory evaluation, product quality assessment and product consistency monitoring.
• Experience supporting food packaging quality, stock freshness monitoring and finished goods quality control.
• Strong analytical, communication and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a production and manufacturing environment.

The following will be highly regarded:

• Formal training or certification in sensory evaluation or quality assessment.
• Knowledge of food safety principles and food manufacturing practices.
• Experience in specialty coffee roasting, coffee quality evaluation or beverage product development.
• Experience using sensory evaluation to support product development and commercial product positioning.
• Experience within wholesale food or beverage production environments.