NPD Technologist

Product Development Technologist

Summary

The Product Development Technologist role is both proactive, taking opportunities to develop concepts to fit with brand strategies and reactive to technical briefs from the marketing teams.

Key deliverables?

• Manage and be responsible for all technical aspects of a small design project (typically a flavour variant).
• Develop product options to meet a marketing brief (meeting time, prime cost and quality criteria)
• Plan, implement and review product development trials. These can be at any scale, from bench work to full scale factory trials.
• Present samples to marketing and translate feedback into recipe and/or process developments
• Producing draft product costs for comparative purposes
• Estimate costs of development work and track development trials budgets against target, reviewing with line manager as appropriate.
• Support project manager and/or PDM in effective scheduling of project tasks and identification of resource requirements (time, money, people)
• Raise any technical or project related issues that might affect quality, cost or time of delivery with PDM
• Keep comprehensive records of all work carried out and report results as appropriate, following the standards and procedures of the design team.
• Brief and liaise with suppliers in line with SMT = R&D/Procurement strategies

Crucial

• University degree level qualification in Food Science/Technology
• Proven experience of key manufacturing processes including process constraints is needed, as is a current validated understanding of ingredients, creative recipe development and bench scale techniques
• Proven record of trial planning, execution and review
• Confident in effectively delegating tasks to technicians, direct or indirect reports such that they are clear on the task, timings and quality standards required
• Courage to challenge and confident to prioritise, and know when to ask for help in a timely manner
• Proven experience of product development in the ambient industry
• Creative approaches to problem solving
• Food presentation skills
• Basic understanding of health & safety requirements
• Strong understanding of food legislation

Desirable

• Understanding of Lean principles/Lean Sigma
• Experience in a similar role in another blue-chip FMCG company
• Knowledge of regional brands, business, key competitors and key markets
• Project management experience, including a good understanding of the roles and responsibilities of project team members
• Understanding brand essence and key performance indicators
• SAP requisitioning experience