QC Lab Technician Virtual Hiring Event

Founded by Elwood Richard in 1968, NOW Foods has grown from a small, family operation to a highly-respected manufacturer of natural health products. Today, NOW Foods manufactures and distributes over 1,400 dietary supplements, natural foods, sports nutrition, and personal care products. NOW’s state of the art manufacturing facilities are GMP-certified, and our quality testing labs are among the best in the industry. The company has over 1,500 employees and its products are sold in more than 60 countries. The company remains family-owned and committed to its original mission: to provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.
NOW offers a competitive compensation structure and a comprehensive benefit package which includes medical, dental and vision plans from tier one companies, Paid Time Off, 401k match up to $6,500 per year, educational assistance and company-paid disability and life insurance. NOW employees also enjoy a wide array of unique benefits such as company-paid profit sharing, quarterly bonuses, employee discount, wellness program, company-paid Teladoc and Rx’nGo, and much more! Many of our benefits are 100% paid by NOW – this is why NOW Foods has been awarded as one of the “101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work for” in Chicago THIRTEEN years in a row, and on the National Level EIGHT years in a row! NOW Foods also won EDAWN's 2019 Employees First-Large Award, and has been recognized as a Finalist for the 2019 Best Places to Work in Northern Nevada!
To learn more about NOW Foods, visit nowfoods.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/nowfoodsofficial, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/NOWFoods or on Instagram at instagram.com/nowfoodsofficial.

SUMMARY

Tests and inspects in-process materials, finished products, raw materials, and other laboratory samples. Conducts physical and organoleptic testing. Technician I will be assigned a primary assignment of physical, but may be assigned in any of the task areas in which he/she has been trained based on the needs of the department.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Performs physical testing on raw materials, in-process materials, finished products, stability and other laboratory samples.
• Perform organoleptic testing, including, but not limited to appearance or taste odor[PPO1] .
• Records and compares results to specifications. Notifies supervisor/lead when result is out-of specification.
• Initiates OOS investigations for any samples not meeting specification or any samples that are atypical from historical trend.
• Operates equipment at least five of the following pieces of lab equipment, including but not limited to: pH meter, FTIR, NIR, disintegration apparatus, moisture analyzer, hardness tester, Anton Paar Modular unit, sonic sifter, density tester, friability apparatus, melting point apparatus, viscometer, refractometer, Polari meter, balance.
• Enters laboratory test results into Oracle and updates Access database.
• Complies with safety and GMP requirements.

SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

Supports a culture of safe production and operations; follows all safety rules and procedures. Actively participates in the safety program by: engaging in training activities to learn what constitutes a safety hazard; reporting safety concerns to the supervisor, submitting safety suggestions, and correcting or reporting to the appropriate people when an employee sees a workplace health or safety hazard, until it is resolved. Assists with communicating safety information to new employees. Fulfills responsibilities as outlined in the company safety management plan.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

High school diploma or equivalent and minimum of 0-3 years laboratory experience. Familiarity with general laboratory equipment and basic computer skills are necessary.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read and interpret documents such as product specifications, departmental instructions, batch records and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine e-mails to communicate within QC and with operations personnel. Ability to collect data for investigations for root cause analysis and troubleshooting processing issues.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, averages, ratios, proportions, and the metric system to practical situations.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to compare results to specifications to determine if result meets requirements. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and change tasks frequently. In a rapidly-growing and changing company, the ability to learn quickly, operate independently, and to assume responsibility for new tasks is necessary. Inspection skills are desired to fill in when needed. Basic computer skills required in Word and Excel. Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills required.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to 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 employee is frequently regularly required to talk and hear; stand and/or walk throughout the facility; ascend and/or descend stairs; use hands to finger, handle, and feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is regularly required to enter information into a computer, handle product in various stages and forms (i.e. raw materials, work in progress, and finished products in liquid, powdered, and tablet forms[PPO2] ), and handle testing equipment, raw materials and finished product, tools and/or controls. The employee frequently is required to use his/her sense of taste and smell. The employee is occasionally required to reach, balance, or stoop.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision.

The employee must regularly lift, move (in some cases drag items), slide, raise and/or place:

• Lift 15 lbs. from ground level and place at 61 high inch level; return to original position.
• Push up to 30 lb. force for up to 25 feet and then pull to original position.
• Carry 20 lbs. for 3 feet at waist level; lift bag/box onto side and return to original position.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing 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 employee regularly works near moving mechanical parts. The employee is frequently exposed to herbal aromas, dust, and/or airborne particles. The employee may occasionally be exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Technical requirements

After signing up, you will be sent an email with instructions on how to connect.
Please be prepared to join the virtual interview from a quiet place using a desktop or mobile device with a working speaker, microphone, and camera. Check to see if your network connection can support an online session. A plugged in ethernet cable or a strong WiFi network signal will help avoid time delays during your conversation.

What to prepare

• Resume

Preferred dress code

Casual (come as you are, but please be presentable)

About NOW Foods

Founded by Elwood Richard in 1968 on the belief that natural is better, NOW Health Group (NHG) is still a family-owned company today. NHG comprises Puresource, Canada’s leading national distributor and manufacturer of natural health products; The Fruitful Yield, a chain of 14 natural food stores in the Chicagoland area, and NOW®, the largest division of the company and manufacturer of more than 1,400 dietary supplements, foods, sports nutrition, beauty & health products and essential oils that are sold in more than 80 countries. In addition, NOW offers an additional 200 skus through its health practitioner brand, Protocol For Life Balance® and recently acquired SuperNutrition vitamins. NOW also private labels for a variety of brands and health food retailers across the country. NHG has over 1,800 employees across North America. After more than 50 years in the natural products industry, NHG remains committed to its original mission – to provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

What is a virtual interview?

Virtual interviews help employers connect with job seekers when they are not in the same physical location. Since hiring is a human process, employers would like to talk with you online (chat, video or phone) to see if you meet the requirements for the job.