Product Developer

Caravela Coffee; Sydney; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Caravela Coffee seeks a Product Developer in Sydney to connect sensory expertise with customer insight and market understanding. You will guide green and roasted coffee decisions, shaping offerings and strengthening the commercial portfolio.

You’ll translate coffee evaluations and feedback into practical recommendations, collaborating with CRM, Origin, Quality and Fulfilment teams to drive opportunities and alignment across the business.

Qualifications

• Experience in specialty coffee, including cupping, coffee evaluation or related roles.
• Strong sensory evaluation skills and ability to translate results into opportunities.
• Creative thinker who can convert insights into practical product ideas.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate green and roasted coffee samples using sensory results and feedback to identify opportunities.
• Shape a relevant spot offering aligned with market demand and commercial priorities.
• Propose creative, commercially relevant ideas for coffee offerings and product positioning.
• Support CRM with product insights to strengthen customer conversations and proposals.
• Lead fortnightly customer communications on spot availability and featured coffees.
• Coordinate sample approvals and dispatches, keeping customers informed on fulfilment.

Skills

Experience in specialty coffee

Sensory evaluation

Commercial curiosity

Initiative

Collaborative teamwork

Job description

Great coffee starts with people. So does our business.

Behind every coffee in our portfolio are producers whose skill, dedication and stories deserve to be recognised. At Caravela Coffee, we work directly with around 4,000 small and medium-sized coffee producers, helping bring their coffees and the people behind them closer to roasters around the world. Through education, technical assistance and access to international markets, we help create opportunities for their work to be valued and their businesses to grow.

Our purpose is to Make Coffee Better for everyone involved, from the communities where coffee is grown to the roasters and coffee drinkers who enjoy it. Quality, transparency, traceability, education and sustainability guide our work.

We build lasting connections between producers and roasters, helping create more value at origin and a more sustainable, transparent coffee supply chain.

About Caravela

Great coffee starts with people. So does our business.

Behind every coffee in our portfolio are producers whose skill, dedication and stories deserve to be recognised. At Caravela Coffee, we work directly with around 4,000 small and medium-sized coffee producers, helping bring their coffees and the people behind them closer to roasters around the world. Through education, technical assistance and access to international markets, we help create opportunities for their work to be valued and their businesses to grow.

Our purpose is to Make Coffee Better for everyone involved, from the communities where coffee is grown to the roasters and coffee drinkers who enjoy it. Quality, transparency, traceability, education and sustainability guide our work.

We build lasting connections between producers and roasters, helping create more value at origin and a more sustainable, transparent coffee supply chain.

The opportunity

Know great coffee and how to make it work for a roaster’s business?

We’re looking for a Product Developer to join our team in Sydney, connecting sensory expertise, customer insight and market understanding to help guide our green coffee portfolio decisions and strengthen our commercial offering.

You’ll help identify which coffees suit a customer’s needs, where they fit in a roaster’s range and why. Working closely with our CRM, Marketing, Origin, Quality and Fulfilment teams, you’ll turn coffee evaluations, customer feedback and market trends into practical recommendations and commercial opportunities.

Creativity matters here. You’ll explore new ways to present, position and combine the coffees in our portfolio, bringing forward ideas that respond to what roasters need. We’re looking for someone who confidently starts conversations, asks questions and takes the initiative to move ideas into action.

You’ll also keep sample workflows and product information organised, ensuring that your recommendations are backed by accurate records and reliable coordination.

What you’ll do

• Evaluate green and roasted coffee samples, using sensory results and customer feedback to identify opportunities, risks and emerging needs.
• Help shape a relevant spot offering with CRM, aligned with market demand, customer expectations and commercial priorities.
• Propose creative, commercially relevant ideas for coffee offerings and product positioning, translating customer needs into opportunities for innovation.
• Support CRMs with product insights that strengthen customer conversations, proposals and commercial decisions.
• Lead fortnightly customer communications on spot availability, featured coffees and key opportunities.
• Track samples across opportunities and contracts, helping ensure accurate tracking, smooth administrative workflows and timely contract approvals.
• Coordinate sample approvals and dispatches, keeping customers informed about fulfilment and arrivals.
• Liaise with exporting quality teams on feedback and shipment deadlines, supporting smooth coordination across procurement, sales and fulfilment.
• Maintain accurate sample archives, quality records and ERP data, keeping sample information aligned with warehouse inventory.
• Work with Customer Experience to provide clear knowledge of products and quality processes.
• This job description is not comprehensive. Responsibilities are subject to modification based on business needs.

What you’ll bring

• Experience in specialty coffee and strong sensory evaluation skills.
• Curiosity about roasters’ needs and the commercial relevance of different coffees.
• Creative thinking and the initiative to propose ideas, explore possibilities and turn insights into practical action.
• Confidence to start conversations with customers, ask thoughtful questions and present recommendations clearly.
• The ability to translate sample results, customer feedback and market information into clear, practical recommendations.
• Strong organisational skills, attention to detail and reliable follow-through.
• A collaborative approach to working across teams and communicating with customers.

Make your coffee knowledge count

Help roasters find the coffees that work for their businesses while bringing greater visibility to the producers behind them. Your insights and ideas will help connect customer needs with our portfolio and support lasting relationships across the coffee chain.

Qualifications

• Experience in specialty coffee, including coffee evaluation, roasting, green coffee, quality or commercial roles.
• Strong cupping and sensory evaluation skills.
• Understanding of coffee profiles, quality and consistency, and how they fit roasters’ products and commercial needs.

Essential skills

• A creative mindset and enthusiasm for innovation, bringing fresh ideas to coffee offerings, product positioning and customer engagement.
• An outgoing, engaging approach, with confidence to initiate conversations, build relationships with roasters and present ideas and recommendations.
• Commercial curiosity and the ability to turn sensory insights and customer feedback into practical opportunities.
• Initiative to explore new possibilities, put ideas into action and follow them through.
• Strong organisation and attention to detail when coordinating samples, maintaining quality records and managing product information.
• Clear written and spoken communication in English.
• A collaborative approach to working across teams.

Ready to turn coffee insight into opportunity?

Bring your curiosity, creativity and coffee expertise. Help roasters discover their next great coffee and give the producers behind it the recognition they deserve.

At Caravela Coffee, we are committed to equal employment opportunities and to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace where everyone can contribute and thrive.

Your next chapter starts at Caravela Coffee. Better Coffee.

Caravela is committed to being an equal employment opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, disability, national origin, medical condition including pregnancy, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected status.