R&D Rotational Career Development Program

This is an area where the Johnsonville value of innovation has a distinctly scientific flavor. As a member of our research and development team, you’ll be responsible for continually finding new ways to improve upon current Johnsonville products and develop new ones. You and your team members will use the latest consumer trend data to bring new and exciting flavors to the marketplace. You may also have opportunities to work with regulatory and other experts to design new and innovative packaging for our products.

Johnsonville, LLC

Rotational Career Development Program – R&D Team

Position Overview:

As a member of our Rotational Career Development Program, you will develop and leverage competencies in a variety of cross-functional areas focused on our Research & Development team.

This program is specifically designed to provide you with the experiences and tools needed to successfully grow within our culture, ultimately preparing you for future leadership roles at Johnsonville.

You will complete a variety of rotations over a 24-month period beginning in January or May/June 2026, being exposed to experiences within cross-functional areas of focus. The areas could include Food Safety and Quality, Product Insights (Sensory and Application Team), Packaging Engineering, and Process Development, through our commercialization process and R&D’s Rotational Onboarding Program. Each rotation offers robust assignments highlighting the functional requirements and processes across Johnsonville. 

At the successful conclusion of the development program, it is expected that participants will be placed in a Technical role at Johnsonville based on existing business needs and the participant’s strengths.

In this role, you will:

• Work as part of an agile Product Development Team to identify and develop new products and processes from concept to commercialization
• Leverage competencies in product and process development of prepared foods, meat science/processing, and consumer/product insights
• Interact and develop strong relationships with other members from Marketing, Manufacturing, Food Safety and Quality, Engineering, R&D, Sourcing, and Supply Chain
• Build Superior Products and Processes by leveraging your knowledge and skill sets in Product Development, Meat/Food Science, Food Chemistry, Processing, Sensory, Packaging and Manufacturing
  • It is expected that you will continuously develop your competencies in these areas so that you are able to make significant contributions to development of new products and/or extend the gap on quality of existing products
• Challenge your ability as a technical member on multiple cross-functional teams and contribute to productivity, flexible formulation, and development projects through concept to commercialization
• Leverage your network of industry, academic, and vendor relationships to help guide rapid development and solve problems
• Expand your skills as a communicator by working effectively at all levels within the organization
• Continuously learn new skills and knowledge as you become increasingly proficient in a wide range of areas
• Become recognized within Johnsonville and the food industry as a world class Food (Meat) Scientist because of your accomplishments, continuous learning, and leadership abilities

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in food science or meat science by Spring 2026, required
  • Master’s degree, preferred

Experience:

• A minimum of three (3) years’ experience in Product Development of Prepared Refrigerated/ Frozen Foods; experience in fresh and ready-to-eat meat or equivalent experiences
• Experience working with a wide range of proteins in both fresh and ready-to-eat formats including formulation, processing, knowledge of shelf life and sensory attributes, food safety requirements and recommendation of packaging structures
• Knowledge of USDA/FDA regulations and standards required

• Prior leadership experience preferred

Skills and Competencies:

• Drive for Results
• Comfortable with ambiguity, fast pace & high degree of change
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to communicate details to both technical and non-technical members for fact-based decision making
• Demonstrated problem solving skills and the ability to function in a team-based environment
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to multitask
• Demonstrated self-growth and development
• Analytical (gathers critical data and influences informed decisions)
• Comfortable taking calculated risks

Other Requirements:

• 3.0 GPA or higher preferred
• Ability and willingness to travel 25% of the time
• Must be at least 18 years old

Date:                                 September 2, 2025

Location:                          Technical Center, Sheboygan Falls, WI

                                           (Our office is about an hour north of Milwaukee)

Coach:                               R&D Coordinator

Member Status:              Full Time, Salaried

Travel:                               About 25% of your time

Benefits:                           Members have potential for a monthly bonus and 401k with a company match. Members also have access to terrific benefits including affordable medical, dental and vision coverage; flexible spending accounts; disability and life insurance; and fertility and adoption assistance. Johnsonville also offers competitive paid time off, including paid parental time off, as well as access to the 24/7 onsite fitness center, onsite medical clinic and tuition reimbursement! 

About our Company

Since 1945, our family-owned band of sausage-makers has invented better ways to make, eat and prepare crave-able sausage. Today, we are 4,000+ Members strong. We sell our famous sausage in all 50 United States and more than 40 countries. We have a culture built on the idea that if we make developing your talents our top priority, great business results will follow naturally. We call it The Johnsonville Way. It has been our secret sauce for decades, and we hope you get to experience it for yourself!

How to Apply:  

External candidate:  Apply on-line only at: careers.johnsonville.com

Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

We value the diversity of our workforce and we embrace the principles of Equal Opportunity Employment. M/F/Vet/Disability

Johnsonville values the service Veterans and their family members have given to our country.  We support the hiring of returning service members and military spouses.