• Join a business that’s passionate about quality, innovation and pets!

• Great Career Opportunity in Meat Processing/Manufacturing

• Join an industry that is GROWING and based in Southwest Sydney / Close to Home

At Real Pet Food Company, we’re leaders in fresh, healthy pet food, trusted by families and retailers across Australia and beyond. We are passionate about being REAL. Real starts with food — but it doesn’t end there. We believe in real partnerships, real ambition, real ethics, and real opportunities for our people to make their mark.

We create some of Australia’s most loved pet brands — Ivory Coat, Nature’s Gift, V.I.P. Petfoods, Love ‘Em and Fussy Cat — and we’re growing fast across every category and channel. That’s where you come in.

We’re looking for an experienced Analytical Chemist / Lab Technician to join our Ingleburn Team and play a key role in maintaining product integrity, supporting innovation, and ensuring compliance with food safety standards. Our Ingleburn site is known as a 'wet site' so you must be comfortable working in a meat processing environment that handles raw animal protein.

About the role

Reporting to the Head of Quality and Safety, you’ll provide analytical and technical support across Operations, Quality, and R&D. From managing raw material and finished goods testing programs to liaising with external labs, you’ll ensure that everything we produce meets regulatory and customer standards.

You’ll also support exciting NPD projects and continuous improvement initiatives — helping us deliver the very best for pets everywhere. This is an on-site, 5 day a week permanent role. And whilst this role is a Lab Technician, you will have a broader remit than our other site lab technicians in that you will liaise closely with our R&D Team and you will be the site SME and Training Lead across the RPF Group including our sites at Dubbo, Yatala and Somersby.

What you’ll be doing

• Manage raw material and finished goods testing programs to ensure compliance with specifications, standards and schedules

• Oversee external testing protocols and liaise with external laboratories

• Analysing data and contribute insights for continuous improvement

• Act as the site SME and training lead for laboratory testing equipment

• Maintain compliance with calibration programs and manage consumables

• Participate in GMP audits and general quality activities

What you’ll bring

Essential:

• Minimum 5 years’ practical laboratory experience in the food industry

• Strong communication, problem-solving and time management skills

• Sound computer literacy and experience using lab equipment

• Solid understanding of HACCP, Food Safety and Quality Management Systems

• Experience with wet and dry chemistry and calibration procedures

• Absolute self-starter who prides themselves on keeping ahead of the curve but can also escalate issues when required

Desirable:

• Degree in Food Science or a related field

• Experience in food manufacturing

• Knowledge of SQF, external audit requirements and NIR spectroscopy

What we’re about

Welcome to RPF, where we believe in keeping it Real.

Since 1994, we have been Australia and New Zealand’s pioneers in fresher dog and cat nutrition. Our story is one of passion for a better way to care for pets, a belief in fresher nutrition, and an unwavering commitment to delivering this to pet parents and pets worldwide.

We're dedicated to fostering authentic partnerships, encouraging real ambition, and providing real career opportunities for our employees to make a difference.

Real means fresher ingredients and fresher methods. We'll never stop expanding, innovating, and trying new things. We compete in every pet category and channel, creating favourite brands such as Ivory Coat, Nature’s Gift, V.I.P. Petfoods, and Love ‘Em & Fussy Cat!

Since the establishment of RPF, we have grown to over 900 people across Australia and New Zealand, China, and Southeast Asia.

With the pet industry growing rapidly (a $15 billion industry!) and pets becoming increasingly important in our lives and homes, this is a unique opportunity to be a part of our remarkable growth story and advance your career.

Why join us?

Do work that matters. We’re pioneering in a new area of pet food, always striving for fresher. We’re restless, creating a better life for our pets.

Make an impact and change the game. You won’t be another ‘cog in the wheel’ here. We give full trust and autonomy for you to do your best work – and to make a real difference. Do you have a great idea for a new product or system improvement? We’re all ears!

Growing and global. We’re growing fast! We now have global presence across APAC, and Europe regions and we’re only getting started!

Work with a pack of awesome, genuine people who are passionate about what they do.

Grow your career with us. We’re big believers in lifelong learning. You’ll be given access to LinkedIn Learning, plus opportunities for internal mobility and leadership training to fast-track your career.

Pets our part of our family: Access our Pawrental leave when you adopt a new cat or dog, pet carer and compassionate leave.

Generous perks including day off for your anniversary, product discounts, volunteering days to help the community, novated leases, a rewards program and parental leave.

What’s next?

If you're ready to unleash your potential and make a real difference in the booming pet industry, then we want to hear from you! Next steps will include:

• An initial telephone interview followed by 2 face to face interviews

• 2 work references

• a Pre-Employment Medical

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Diversity’s not a buzzword here, it’s in our DNA. Diverse perspectives shape our culture and make our work better. That’s why we’re committed to building inclusive teams that represent a variety of backgrounds and skills. If you need any reasonable adjustments, accessibility assistance or would like to note which pronouns you use at any stage of our hiring process, just contact us at accommodations: people&culture@realpetfoodco.com.au. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please note: NO agencies will be considered during this process. We encourage you to refrain from submitting unsolicited profiles