STEM OPT Food Scientist Jobs
Food Scientist roles in product development, quality assurance, and food safety research qualify for STEM OPT's 24-month extension, giving you up to 36 months of work authorization. Your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, and your degree must align with an eligible CIP code in food science or a related STEM field.
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Applying to this requisition will put you into considering for either Food Scientist I, Food Scientist II . Level will be determined through the interview process.
Primary focus will be red meat Cost Optimization, Innovation, Technology Development and/or Quality improvement. Focus areas are developing emerging technologies, cost optimization and commercializing new and improved products and/or processes through guidance from their manager. This covers all stages of product development and process development including writing new product specifications, ensuring regulatory labeling and food safety requirements are met. The person in this position will have a strong working knowledge of the scientific methods and is expected to leverage knowledge related to ingredients, product formulation and food processing to support best in class development of new, innovative food products.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Working with and strongly influencing marketing, insights, sales, culinary, FSQA, operations and purchasing departments, coordinating with suppliers of ingredients, ensuring smooth start‐up for new product production processes
- Modifying or optimizing existing products, developing specifications for product production labeling, and compiling cost analysis information.
- Work multiple development and optimization projects of moderate complexity, independently, from concept through commercialization with guidance from manager. This includes planning, executing experiments, analyzing data, reporting results.
- Execute the development process with activities that include bench top development, pilot plant testing, and scale‐up production at a federally inspected research facility and final commercialization at full scale production facility
- Help team to identify innovation that is treated as IP that can give Tyson a competitive edge in the industry
- Analyze data to build product specification that is process capable
- Present technical data or concepts to laypersons on their level of understanding
- Compile cost analysis information and provide to product management
- Ensure costing structure meets the financial expectations of projects
- Work on cross functional teams across the organization for project completion that will ultimately help achieve our growth and EBIT strategies
- Travel to plant product facilities
- Take on and complete special projects as needed.
- Develop culinary samples/prototypes of new products, modifying existing products, optimizing existing products, developing specifications
- Develop product production labels and compiling cost analysis information
- Strong working knowledge of the scientific methods and is expected to leverage knowledge related to ingredients, product formulation and food processing to support best in class development of new, innovative food products
- Work with and influence cross functional team members (marketing, insights, sales, culinary, FSQA, operations and purchasing departments, coordinating with suppliers of ingredients) while ensuring smooth start‐up for new product production processes
- Work with process development to develop process flow charts for engineering
- Ability and Initiative to grow within the organization and develop a personal development plan with your manager
Requirements for Food Scientist I:
Education & Experience:
- BS MS or PhD in Food Science Meat Science Food Engineering or related field. PhD or M.S with no experience. B.S. with minimum of 2 years of relevant experience. No degree with minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
Requirements for Food Scientist II:
Education & Experience:
- BS MS or PhD in Food Science Meat Science Food Engineering or related field. Alt. Protein science or equivalent Experience: PhD with no experience. M.S. with minimum of 2 years of relevant experience B.S. with minimum of 3 years of relevant experience. No degree with minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
Other:
Computer Skills:
- Requires good computer skills with ability to fully utilize MS Office products and Tyson systems (or like systems).
Communication Skills:
- Good verbal and written communication skills required
- Presentation skills required
- Must have the ability to effectively communicate with cross functional business partners
Special Skills:
- Strong critical thinking, analytical and problem‐solving skills
- Strong project management skills. Strong numerical skills
- Understanding of product formulation, food processing and the Research and Development process
- Understanding of regulatory labeling and food safety requirements
Supervisory: May supervise a team of hourly technicians that support a team of scientists.
Travel:
- 25% - 12+ domestic trips per year
- Travel will be required to accomplish our internal and external customer needs
This includes customer meetings, plant production facilities for testing and commercialization of new products, process trouble shooting and any other regular business needs
Relocation Assistance Eligible:
Yes
Work Shift:
1ST SHIFT (United States of America)
Certain roles at Tyson require background checks. If you are offered a position that requires a background check you will be provided additional documentation to complete once an offer has been extended.
Hourly Applicants ONLY - You must complete the task after submitting your application to provide additional information to be considered for employment.
The successful candidate(s) must be willing and able to perform the physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.
Tyson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, national origin, color, religion, age, genetics, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status.
We provide our team members and their families with paid time off; 401(k) plans; affordable health, life, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; and more.
If you would like to learn more about your data privacy rights and how you may use that information, please read our Job Applicant Privacy Notice here.
Unsolicited Assistance: Tyson Foods and its subsidiaries do not accept unsolicited support from external recruitment vendors for open positions within the United States. Any resumes or candidate profiles submitted by recruitment vendors or headhunters to any employee or applicant tracking system at Tyson Foods or its subsidiaries, without a valid written request and search agreement approved by HR, will be considered the property of Tyson Foods. No fees will be paid if the candidate is hired due to an unsolicited referral.
Job Details:
Applying to this requisition will put you into considering for either Food Scientist I, Food Scientist II . Level will be determined through the interview process.
Primary focus will be red meat Cost Optimization, Innovation, Technology Development and/or Quality improvement. Focus areas are developing emerging technologies, cost optimization and commercializing new and improved products and/or processes through guidance from their manager. This covers all stages of product development and process development including writing new product specifications, ensuring regulatory labeling and food safety requirements are met. The person in this position will have a strong working knowledge of the scientific methods and is expected to leverage knowledge related to ingredients, product formulation and food processing to support best in class development of new, innovative food products.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Working with and strongly influencing marketing, insights, sales, culinary, FSQA, operations and purchasing departments, coordinating with suppliers of ingredients, ensuring smooth start‐up for new product production processes
- Modifying or optimizing existing products, developing specifications for product production labeling, and compiling cost analysis information.
- Work multiple development and optimization projects of moderate complexity, independently, from concept through commercialization with guidance from manager. This includes planning, executing experiments, analyzing data, reporting results.
- Execute the development process with activities that include bench top development, pilot plant testing, and scale‐up production at a federally inspected research facility and final commercialization at full scale production facility
- Help team to identify innovation that is treated as IP that can give Tyson a competitive edge in the industry
- Analyze data to build product specification that is process capable
- Present technical data or concepts to laypersons on their level of understanding
- Compile cost analysis information and provide to product management
- Ensure costing structure meets the financial expectations of projects
- Work on cross functional teams across the organization for project completion that will ultimately help achieve our growth and EBIT strategies
- Travel to plant product facilities
- Take on and complete special projects as needed.
- Develop culinary samples/prototypes of new products, modifying existing products, optimizing existing products, developing specifications
- Develop product production labels and compiling cost analysis information
- Strong working knowledge of the scientific methods and is expected to leverage knowledge related to ingredients, product formulation and food processing to support best in class development of new, innovative food products
- Work with and influence cross functional team members (marketing, insights, sales, culinary, FSQA, operations and purchasing departments, coordinating with suppliers of ingredients) while ensuring smooth start‐up for new product production processes
- Work with process development to develop process flow charts for engineering
- Ability and Initiative to grow within the organization and develop a personal development plan with your manager
Requirements for Food Scientist I:
Education & Experience:
- BS MS or PhD in Food Science Meat Science Food Engineering or related field. PhD or M.S with no experience. B.S. with minimum of 2 years of relevant experience. No degree with minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
Requirements for Food Scientist II:
Education & Experience:
- BS MS or PhD in Food Science Meat Science Food Engineering or related field. Alt. Protein science or equivalent Experience: PhD with no experience. M.S. with minimum of 2 years of relevant experience B.S. with minimum of 3 years of relevant experience. No degree with minimum of 8 years relevant experience.
Other:
Computer Skills:
- Requires good computer skills with ability to fully utilize MS Office products and Tyson systems (or like systems).
Communication Skills:
- Good verbal and written communication skills required
- Presentation skills required
- Must have the ability to effectively communicate with cross functional business partners
Special Skills:
- Strong critical thinking, analytical and problem‐solving skills
- Strong project management skills. Strong numerical skills
- Understanding of product formulation, food processing and the Research and Development process
- Understanding of regulatory labeling and food safety requirements
Supervisory: May supervise a team of hourly technicians that support a team of scientists.
Travel:
- 25% - 12+ domestic trips per year
- Travel will be required to accomplish our internal and external customer needs
This includes customer meetings, plant production facilities for testing and commercialization of new products, process trouble shooting and any other regular business needs
Relocation Assistance Eligible:
Yes
Work Shift:
1ST SHIFT (United States of America)
Certain roles at Tyson require background checks. If you are offered a position that requires a background check you will be provided additional documentation to complete once an offer has been extended.
Hourly Applicants ONLY - You must complete the task after submitting your application to provide additional information to be considered for employment.
The successful candidate(s) must be willing and able to perform the physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.
Tyson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, national origin, color, religion, age, genetics, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status.
We provide our team members and their families with paid time off; 401(k) plans; affordable health, life, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; and more.
If you would like to learn more about your data privacy rights and how you may use that information, please read our Job Applicant Privacy Notice here.
Unsolicited Assistance: Tyson Foods and its subsidiaries do not accept unsolicited support from external recruitment vendors for open positions within the United States. Any resumes or candidate profiles submitted by recruitment vendors or headhunters to any employee or applicant tracking system at Tyson Foods or its subsidiaries, without a valid written request and search agreement approved by HR, will be considered the property of Tyson Foods. No fees will be paid if the candidate is hired due to an unsolicited referral.
See all STEM OPT Food Scientist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new STEM OPT Food Scientist Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Food Scientist
Verify your CIP code before applying
Check that your food science, nutrition science, or agricultural science degree maps to an approved STEM CIP code. Your DSO can confirm this using your program's catalog entry. A mismatch delays or disqualifies your STEM OPT extension filing.
Use O*NET to frame your job description
Pull the Food Scientist occupation profile from O*NET and compare it to your offer letter's duties. Roles focused on product formulation, sensory analysis, or food safety testing align well. Vague job titles like 'lab associate' may not satisfy USCIS's degree-relatedness requirement.
Filter employers by E-Verify enrollment status
Food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers aren't automatically E-Verify enrolled. Search Migrate Mate to browse Food Scientist roles at employers already verified for STEM OPT. Confirming E-Verify enrollment before you interview saves time if an offer falls through at the compliance check.
Build an I-983 training plan around your actual role
Your I-983 must describe specific learning goals tied to your STEM degree, not just list job duties. For food scientists, frame objectives around food chemistry, regulatory compliance, or process optimization. Your DSO must sign off before your STEM OPT start date, so draft this during offer negotiations.
Target employers with established food safety compliance teams
Companies operating under FDA or USDA oversight, such as those with FSMA compliance programs, are more practiced at I-983 documentation and E-Verify requirements. Asking HR about their existing OPT or STEM OPT onboarding process during interviews signals how prepared they are.
Time your H-1B registration to protect your STEM OPT window
If you're in your second year of STEM OPT when H-1B visa registration opens in March, cap-gap protects your authorization through September 30 if you're selected. Confirm your STEM OPT end date with USCIS and plan your job search timeline to avoid gaps between extensions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a food science degree qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Food science degrees typically qualify, but eligibility depends on whether your specific program's CIP code appears on the STEM Designated Degree Program List maintained by DHS. Degrees in food science, nutritional science, agricultural science, and food engineering commonly qualify. Your DSO can look up your program's CIP code and confirm eligibility before you apply for the extension with USCIS.
Do Food Scientist employers need to be enrolled in E-Verify?
Yes. E-Verify enrollment is a federal requirement for any employer hiring a STEM OPT student. The employer must be enrolled before your STEM OPT extension is approved, not just at the point of your first paycheck. You can ask HR directly for their E-Verify company ID or request written confirmation of enrollment. Searching on Migrate Mate surfaces Food Scientist roles at employers already enrolled in E-Verify.
What goes in the I-983 training plan for a Food Scientist role?
The I-983 requires a description of how your job duties directly relate to your STEM degree, your learning objectives, and a supervision plan. For food scientists, strong I-983 objectives include applying food chemistry principles to product reformulation, conducting sensory evaluation studies, or implementing HACCP protocols. Generic language like 'gain industry experience' is insufficient. Your employer's supervisor and your DSO must both sign the form before your extension begins.
Can I work for a food startup or small manufacturer on STEM OPT?
Yes, employer size doesn't affect STEM OPT eligibility, but smaller companies often haven't enrolled in E-Verify or navigated I-983 documentation before. Before accepting an offer, ask whether the company is currently E-Verify enrolled and whether HR has supported STEM OPT students previously. A company willing to enroll in E-Verify and complete the I-983 is a valid STEM OPT employer regardless of headcount.
How does cap-gap work if my STEM OPT is still active when H-1B selection happens?
If you're selected in the H-1B lottery and your STEM OPT is still valid on April 1, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30 of that year, when the new H-1B fiscal year begins. You can continue working without interruption as long as you remain with the same employer and your I-983 training plan is current. USCIS handles the cap-gap extension automatically once your H-1B petition is filed.