Customer R&D Specialist

Barry Callebaut Group; Banbury; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Barry Callebaut Group is seeking a senior technical professional to lead product development and provide expert guidance on chocolate applications. You will support customers, run trials, and train teams, building strong partnerships across our organization.

You will manage projects, oversee product launches, and ensure regulatory compliance while traveling within the UK to client sites and events as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years in the food industry.
• Experience in Project Management.
• Strong presentation and communication skills.
• Experience in product development and applications knowledge.
• Sales or client interaction experience.
• Proficiency with MS Office, Salesforce, SAP.
• Fluent Business English.
• Willingness to travel within the UK.

Responsibilities

• Define recipe requirements with customers and internal colleagues (Product Expert & Process Engineer).
• Communicate and align with customer and stakeholders on project content and status.
• Be on customer sites to implement new products and advise business development.
• Maintain customer relations and provide insights on capabilities and launches.
• Perform application tests in the lab and with customers on new chocolate, compounds and fillings.
• Provide on-site technical advice during trials and ensure smooth scale-up.
• Organise project members and meetings for initiatives or large projects.
• Ensure compliance for new products through regulations knowledge.
• Deliver application training to customers and internal colleagues when required.
• Log trials and results in SFDC or other systems.
• Promote new products through innovation days and customer visits.

Skills

Project Management

Presentation skills

Client relationships

Continuous improvement

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree in Food Science or similar field

Tools

MS Office

Salesforce

SAP

Job description

About The Role

As a key member of the R&D team, you will lead technical product development, driving best-in-class product solutions and sharing deep product expertise across the organization. Acting as a trusted partner to customers, you will provide technical guidance on product selection, applications, and chocolate handling optimization to improve manufacturing efficiency. You will deliver technical support, troubleshoot issues at customer sites, and conduct training sessions on our products and applications. This role is integral to building strong customer partnerships and ensuring exceptional product performance and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Define Recipe Requirements Based on Customer Specs, Reference Material and in Collaboration with Internal Colleagues (Product Expert & Process Engineer).
• Communicate and Align with Customer and Stakeholders on Project Content and Status
• Be present on Customer’s site to work through any new product implementation as well as advising how to develop customers business.
• Maintain and develop customer relations to maintain communication and insights
• Main good overview of customers capabilities, product portfolio, future pipelines and launches.
• Perform Application Tests with the Application Lab with or without Customer, e.g. Trials on New Chocolate, Compounds and Fillings
• Provide on site Technical Advice to Customer on Application during Industrial Trials and to ensure a Smooth Transition to Industrial Scale up (Troubleshooting)
• Identify, Inform and Organise Project Members and Stakeholders, e.g. Establish a Team for Innovation or Large projects, Organize Project Team Meetings
• Ensure Compliance for New Products Through Regulations Knowledge
• Give Application Training to the Customer workforce and internal colleagues when required
• Assess Existing Technology & Equipment and Maintain Knowledge of State of the Art Technological Possibilities for All Kinds of Customer applications
• Log Trials and Results in System (SFDC or other)
• Promote new products to customers, through innovation days and customer visits
• Receive and translate customer briefs for a New or Existing Solution
• Balance Time and Resource Effort vs. Benefits of the Request, e.g. Discuss Feasibility, Assess risks, Ensure Compliance with Business Standards
• Collect Customer Feedback on Sample and Testing’s and Define Next Steps in Product Creation
• Along with QA make a GO/NO GO Decision to Production in Case of OOS and Report the OOS Specificities to Customer
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives re processes, technologies, and organisation
• Ownership and autonomy within the account

About You

• Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree in Food Science or similar field
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in the food industry
• Experience in Project Management
• Outstanding presentation skills
• Proven track record in continuous improvement management
• Experience in a product development, strong application knowledge
• Experience in Sales or client interaction
• Good knowledge of working tools (MS Office, Salesforce, SAP...)
• Fluent Business English
• Willingness to travel within the UK

At Barry Callebaut, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion. United by our strong values, we thrive on the diversity of who we are, where we come from, what we’ve experienced and how we think. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where people can truly be themselves, grow to their full potential and feel they belong. #oneBC - Diverse People, Sustainable Growth.