R&D Director - Grain & Feed

FOSS; Hillerød Kommune; On-site; DKK 1,000,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel opportunities

International collaboration

Job summary

FOSS is seeking an experienced R&D Director for the Grain & Feed unit at our Innovation Center in Hillerød. You will oversee all NPD projects, leading a core team while PMOs support your programs.

Your role spans mechanical engineering, electronics, firmware, software, and data science, guiding projects from concept to market. You will partner with sales, service and other functions across geographies, ensuring customer value, product readiness, and successful launches.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in project and people management in cross-functional settings.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional NPD projects spanning mechanical engineering, electronics, firmware, software, and data science.
• Strong technical or scientific background (BSc or MSc in engineering or natural science, or equivalent).
• Solid business acumen and excellent communication skills.
• Experience building, scaling, or merging engineering teams and shaping culture and processes.
• Formal PM certification (IPMA or PMP) is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all NPD projects within the Grain & Feed unit.
• Directly manage the core Grain & Feed team; PMO supports these projects.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams spanning mechanical, electronics, firmware, software, and data science.
• Drive end-to-end NPD from concept to market implementation.
• Ensure clear requirements, agile gate deliveries, stakeholder management, and product readiness.
• Collaborate with Sales and Service across the globe.

Skills

Project management

People management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Agile PM methods

Education

BSc in engineering or natural science

MSc in engineering or natural science

Tools

IPMA/PMP certification

Job description

Innovation has always been the foundation of FOSS’ success. A global outlook and a mission for more sustainable use of the world’s food resources are key to more than 350 passionate employees in R&D, located in two innovation hubs

We have a legacy of developing innovative solutions that set the standards within food analysis across the globe. We build our solutions on strong technological platforms and deep insights into our customers’ businesses and processes, and we value strong collaboration with customers throughout the development phase.

For FOSS’ New Product Development (NPD) Delivery team, we are seeking a new R&D Director for our Grain & Feed business unit. The unit is responsible for turnover, growth, profitability, and bringing new innovative analytical solutions to the market for our Grain and Feed customers.

The job

You will report to the VP for NPD Delivery and be responsible for overseeing all NPD projects within our Grain & Feed business unit. You will be the direct manager for the core team working in Grain & Feed, while the Project Managers, who sit within our newly established central PMO, will support your projects. NPD projects are cross-functional by nature, spanning mechanical engineering, electronics, software development, and data science, so experience leading such multidisciplinary projects is essential.

You will be based at FOSS’ Innovation Center in Hillerød, working closely with internal and external stakeholders, customers, partners, and FOSS’ Sales and Service organizations across the globe.

You will be involved in the entire NPD process—from early business identification and concept development through customer trials to market implementation—and will drive the project team through:

• Understanding customer needs to ensure projects have clear requirements and product specifications
• Supporting gate deliveries in an agile setup
• Managing stakeholders and communicating to support project progress
• Ensuring seamless product launch and market implementation, including design-to-production maturity, supplier readiness, and product quality

As R&D Director, you will work across the organization, bridging R&D, Sales & Marketing, and Service within the business unit. This means you must have a strong sense of stakeholder management, customer focus, and what benefits the overall FOSS business.

In addition to supporting new product development, your responsibilities include:

• Adding new applications to existing solutions
• Ensuring the wellbeing, motivation, and performance of your team

Finally, alongside your peer R&D Directors—who, like you, report to the VP for NPD Delivery—you will contribute to strengthening the wider NPD Delivery organization by sharing best practices across teams, aligning development processes, and helping to build the competencies and structures needed to accelerate innovation and execution.

You do not need to come from food analysis or agriculture. What matters most is your proven ability to step into a new technical domain, earn the trust of specialists, and lead them. We will give you the time and the support to learn the application side.

Qualifications

We expect that you have:

• 10+ years of experience in project and people management in complex, cross-functional organizational settings
• Proven experience leading cross-functional NPD projects spanning mechanical engineering, electronics, firmware, software development, and data science—ideally for physical instruments or devices taken from concept through production
• A strong technical or scientific background (e.g., BSc or MSc in engineering or natural science, or equivalent experience)
• Solid business acumen and excellent communication skills
• Strong facilitation capabilities and a drive to nurture productive collaborations
• Experience building, scaling, or merging engineering teams—and shaping the culture and processes that let them perform
• A formal project management certification (e.g., IPMA or PMP) is an advantage

Who you are

You are curious, self-driven, and eager to understand our customers’ businesses to create impactful solutions. You thrive on solving complex problems and developing improvements with clear business outcomes.

You are structured, dependable, and have a “get the job done” attitude. Your ability to build strong relationships and communicate effectively is key to your success. You will engage with numerous stakeholders across functions and geographies.

We offer – working at FOSS

We offer a demanding and rewarding position in an international and innovative company, a global leader in its field. You will collaborate with highly skilled professionals across multiple disciplines and contribute to the development of advanced technologies that make a real difference for our customers.

Our culture is grounded in trust and teamwork. You will find a workplace where your ideas are welcomed, and where you can make a real impact. Our Innovation Center in Hillerød is within easy commuting distance of Greater Copenhagen, and the role involves some travel to engage with subsidiaries and customers.

FOSS

FOSS is committed to maintaining an inclusive culture and diverse workforce. You can help us sustain an unbiased recruitment process by not including photo or age in your application.

Today, more than 8 billion people around the world are dependent on nutritional food. Tons of food being produced in a million different ways and under varying conditions, creating challenges all the way from field to fork. One of them, obviously, being the effects it has on climate change.

FOSS helps the world’s 100 biggest food companies and more than 40,000 others around the world navigate exactly that with intelligent, data-driven and innovative analytical solutions. We are making sustainability a better business and we’re doing so as global market leader in our field – improving food quality, minimizing food waste, ensuring food safety, and securing fair payment.

Join a pioneering and innovative company in the food and agriculture industry. A company on a mission, with offices all around the world and 1,750 talented colleagues across 34 different countries.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Jacob Enemark, VP NPD Delivery at: [e-mail].