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Contract Research Officer Dairy Chemistry & Processing

Location: Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark
Research
Salary: Research Officer with a Salary Scale of €41,996 to €79,618
Closing Date: 17/04/2026 12:00 PM
Funded Full Time

Job Summary

Duration:

Temporary contract post, the indicative duration of which is 22 months, subject to contract. A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.

Basic Function

The appointee will be responsible for carrying out a range of pilot plant trials on dairy-based powder products, laboratory analysis of trial samples and commercial samples, and a comprehensive data analysis programme on all recorded factors. This will involve co-ordination of trial dates, raw materials, trial planning, defining batches, treatments, and plant conditions, operation of trial activities, product sampling, storage and subsequent analysis. The appointee will also be involved in collation of live data recorded within the pilot plant unit operations and analytical data generated from product samples, management and statistical analysis of this data, preparation of data reports and communication of results to collaborators. The appointee will also be required to maintain regular consultation with collaborators on trial design and to be responsible for managing and ordering consumables required by the laboratories, as well as ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.

Background

The Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark is internationally renowned for its research programme, collaborative work with academic and industry partners and pilot-scale processing infrastructure, with a strong focus on dairy based products, including liquid milk, butter, cheese and milk powders. The manufacture of dairy-based powder products involves the use of a successive combination of the majority of typical dairy plant unit operations, including heat treatment, separation, membrane filtration, pre-heating, homogenisation, evaporation and spray-drying. Therefore, each step in this complex process represents a point of change in product composition and associated functionality and a point of potential losses in efficiency. Thus, each point represents an area for potential improvement in processing factors. There are substantial improvements in the efficiency of the entire process to be achieved through monitoring and recording of data at each step, tracking any changes that may occur at critical points in the process and identifying each possible area for process control and optimisation.

Job Objectives

To conduct pilot plant trial work on processing of dairy-based powder products.
To coordinate trial dates, procurement of materials, co-ordinate trial planning, conducting pilot plant trial activities and managing subsequent samples for analysis.
To coordinate chemical and physicochemical characterization of a range of trial and commercial samples.
To manage data collation, trending, correlative and statistical analyses, preparation of data reports, and communication of research findings to project collaborators.
To develop a comprehensive and functional database using the various data streams generated in the pilot plant and from sample analysis.
To undertake ordering of consumables required by the laboratories as well as ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations
To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
To actively participate in the annual business planning and Performance Management Development System (PMDS) processes.
Fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations. This includes full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time

* This job specification is intended as a guide to the general range of duties and is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive. It will be reviewed from time to time with the post holder.

Skills Requirement

	Essential	Desirable
Qualifications	An honours Level 8 degree, (as recognised on the National Framework of Qualifications or equivalent), in science or a related discipline.	A postgraduate degree and/or research experience in dairy/food science would be a distinct advantage
Skills/Knowledge	Excellent laboratory skills, organization skills, data analysis and report writing. Excellent processing and pilot plant skills. Excellent practical chemistry and technical laboratory skills. Excellent data handling, trending and statistical analysis skills. Excellent time management skills with the ability to work to tight deadlines in an efficient manner. Good flexibility with a willingness to adapt to new methods/techniques. People and collaborative research skills. Knowledge of analytical science with an understanding of dairy science and technology. Knowledge of good laboratory practices. Knowledge of Health and Safety requirements.	Proven record of scientific communications. Aptitude for multidisciplinary approaches. Ability to problem solve. Experience in working with dairy products and particularly milk powder products Experience in working within an analytical laboratory An understanding of process unit operations in dairy product manufacture and the interpretation of analytical information. Knowledge of wet chemistry techniques. Experience in working with large datasets and applying correlative analysis.
Behavioural Competencies	Ability to work as part of a team, including consulting, collaborating and building relationships with research or industrial partners. Flexibility with an ability to prioritise tasks effectively. Strives for high quality of work and demonstrates commitment to the programme. Ability to communicate effectively to enable knowledge and technology transfer. A results-driven approach with a strong focus on goal setting, performance delivery and accountability. Ability to work independently and meet self-imposed milestones and deliverables. A proactive, solutions-focused approach to work with an ability to adapt to changing requirements and shifting priorities.
Eligibility	This is an open public competition. Should a current serving Teagasc staff member be successful in their application through open public competition for this post, their current contract of employment with Teagasc will come to an end on taking up this post.

Note: The ‘essential’ qualifications, knowledge, skills and behavioural competencies outlined above are ‘must-have’ which will be used in the selection process.

Attachment(s) :

ResearchOfficer_InformationBooklet.pdf

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