Skills
Food Science Technician Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in food science technicians, and how to build and show them.
What skills do food science technicians need?
Food Science Technicians need technical skills such as food chemistry, microbiology, and haccp, plus people skills like attention to detail and communication. They also use tools such as Moisture analyzers and pH meters.
Technical (hard) skills
- Food chemistry
- Microbiology
- HACCP
- Sensory evaluation
- Lab testing
- Documentation
People (soft) skills
- Attention to detail
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Reliability
Tools, equipment and technology
- Moisture analyzers
- pH meters
- Incubators
- ATP swabs
- Spectrophotometers
- Quality software
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how food science technicians put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Food chemistry” and “Microbiology.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “attention to detail,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as HACCP certification near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our food science technician glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Food Science Technician training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.