R&D Category Lead, Snacking & Innovation

Andrews Meat; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounts on health insurance

Exclusive partner discounts

Free onsite parking

Parental leave

Novated leasing options

Travel discounts

Job summary

Primo Foods, part of JBS Australia, seeks an R&D Product Category Lead to own innovation and value creation for Snacking & New Innovation. Leads three R&D professionals and sits on the R&D Leadership Team, delivering NPD/EPD, private label and export initiatives.

This newly created role strengthens execution, builds capability and accelerates innovation across a strategically important category in a leading FMCG business.

Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Food Science, Food Technology or a related food discipline.
• Minimum 8 years' experience within R&D, product development & food manufacturing.
• Proven experience leading, coaching or mentoring technical teams and developing capability in others.
• Demonstrated success driving & delivering complex product development and commercialisation projects from concept through to launch.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence and build alignment across multiple functions.
• Exposure to meat processing, meal solutions, snacking or related FMCG categories will be highly regarded.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver the category innovation, renovation and value creation roadmap aligned to business strategy and customer priorities.
• Lead, coach and develop a team of three R&D professionals, creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Drive the successful execution of complex NPD, EPD, private label, export, QSR/foodservice and technology platform projects.
• Manage the category project portfolio, ensuring effective prioritisation, resource allocation and delivery against timelines.
• Translate consumer, customer, market and technical insights into commercially viable product opportunities.
• Partner with Marketing, Sales, Operations, Quality, Procurement and Supply Chain to align priorities and deliver business outcomes.
• Provide hands-on technical leadership across formulation, trials, scale-up and commercialisation activities.
• Drive cost optimisation, ingredient innovation and process improvement initiatives that create measurable value.
• Ensure robust food safety, quality, regulatory and stage-gate governance throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Identify opportunities to improve R&D processes, capability, efficiency and ways of working across the function.
• Represent category priorities, risks and opportunities within leadership and cross-functional forums.

Skills

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Commercial acumen

Problem solving

Education

Food Science / Food Technology degree

Job description

Primo Foods, part of JBS Australia, seeks an R&D Product Category Lead to own innovation and value creation for Snacking & New Innovation. Leads three R&D professionals and sits on the R&D Leadership Team, delivering NPD/EPD, private label and export initiatives.

This newly created role strengthens execution, builds capability and accelerates innovation across a strategically important category in a leading FMCG business.