Due to continual growth we are looking for a Food Development Technologist to join our well established team at our Balliol supply site, the home of our delicious bakes and sausage rolls. If you are happiest being hands on with products within a state of the art development kitchen then this is the role for you.
As Food Development Technologist you will  provide a full and comprehensive Product Development / Food Technology service across all Greggs in-house produced product categories and application, particularly related to Confectionary and Bread development.

We can offer you:

• 25 days (5 weeks) annual leave, pro-rated, increasing with service (in addition to bank holidays), plus 1 additional floating day
• Management Bonus Scheme which is worth up to 10% of your salary
• Profit share: We want everyone to share in the success of the business, so we distribute 10% of our profits to all our employees who have at least 6-month service, or more, each year
• Private Medical Insurance which is free for you and subsidised for your dependants
• Permanent Health Insurance which is a replacement income scheme
• You will automatically join our Greggs pension scheme which is a fantastic way to save for your retirement and allows you to benefit from employer contributions and tax advantages
• Defined contribution management pension scheme
• Death in service benefit which provides a lump-sum payment equal to 4 times your year’s salary
• Colleague discount, up to 50% off our own-produced products
• Share save schemes that let you buy discounted Greggs shares, by saving a set amount of money over a fixed time, to have an even bigger share of our profits
• Career progression and learning and development
• Employee Assistance Programme; A free, confidential helpline, offering advice and support with financial, relationship, work-related and wellbeing issues, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Including a mobile app providing a range of wellness content on physical, mental, social, and financial wellbeing
• Perks and savings, such as digital gift card discounts, online cashback, in-store and online coupons and lifestyle offers
• Cycle to Work scheme
• A company who cares about our communities; the environment and being a better business! Click here to read about The Greggs Pledge
• Colleague Networks – internal groups where colleagues and their allies can share their own experiences, offer feedback on the way we do things at Greggs, and provide support to one another

About the role

• This is a full-time kitchen based role, Monday to Friday, however flexibility is available.
• We know that having a work-life balance is important, so we offer our colleagues as much flexibility as possible in line with the needs of their role
• The base location for this role is Balliol, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Ideally, you’ll live within one hour travel of this area

What you'll do

Reporting into the Senior In-House Development Manager, the Food Development Technologist will play a key role in supporting the PLM process to ensure that the Greggs own made In-house Development function fully complies with all requirements. The role of Food Development Technologist is kitchen based and very much a hands-on role, requiring great practical kitchen skills.
Continually developing new products and improving existing products, reviewing formulations associated with the technology platforms for in-house production to enhance delivery of quality and efficiency. You will also be assessing ingredients to identify potential alternative solutions to those that are at risk or no longer available for in house produced products. Reformulating in-house bakery related products to reduce or minimise the use of e-numbers & allergens and to fulfil the nutritional policy, conducting packaging assessments to enhance product quality and shelf life from both bakery and retail perspective for product with life & conducting product taste panels. In addition, developing in–house product concepts that can be transferred easily to our technology platforms for bakery related products for future opportunity.
Our Food Development Technologist will generate product specifications, costings and nutritional calculations for new concept or changes for existing products where appropriate. Reformulating existing in-house products to improve product margin whilst maintaining or improving product quality, shelf life and efficiencies as agreed through the PLM process.

About you

• You will fit right into Greggs as Food Development Technologist if:
• You have great proven practical skills and hands on experience in kitchen of bench creation of bakery related food on the go products predominately bread and confectionary.
• You have a good understanding of the bakery manufacturing processes
• Proven experience within the food industry in a development or technology capacity and/or HND / Degree Food Science qualification
• You are innovative and creative with a flair for developing new and exciting products.
• You have capability in completing finished product specification, nutritional calculations, and costings.
• Have advanced IT skills including Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams
• You have an understanding of the PLM process (concept to launch)
• You have knowledge and experience of ingredient functionality and recipe balance
• You can multitask and meet challenging deadlines
• You have excellent verbal, written communication & presentation skills.
• You can work in line with company values.
• You have strong interpersonal skills.
• You will be a strong team player and be able to build relationships at all levels.
• You will have strong organisational skills.
• You will be self-motivated and able to work under pressure and use your own initiative.
• You hold a Full UK Driving Licence, as occasional travel is required.