Development Technologist

Wiltshire Farm Foods; Trowbridge; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Living Wage salary

25 days holiday + bank holidays

Bonus scheme

Pension matched contributions

Life assurance 1x salary

Subsidised canteen

Free parking

Christmas turkey or voucher

apetito perks & salary sacrifice

Job summary

apetito is seeking a Development Technologist to join our UK team at the Trowbridge headquarters, working with chefs, technologists and dietitians to turn ideas into market-leading meals. You will drive Wiltshire Farm Foods product development, navigate stage-gate processes and influence stakeholders across the business to deliver high-quality, nutritious concepts.

You will contribute to a strong pipeline, collaborate with the Category Development team, and help deliver improvements that delight

Qualifications

• Food Science/ Technology degree or proven experience in a similar role.
• Strong project management skills.
• Excellent presentation and communication abilities.
• Ability to influence and motivate stakeholders.
• Great problem-solving and time-management skills.
• Commercial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Support Wiltshire Farm Foods development programmes at all stages from concept to launch in the development kitchen.
• Lead factory trials and costing, assess nutrition of new concepts.
• Write raw material briefs for procurement colleagues.
• Lead stage-gate meetings with stakeholders.
• Share product information with stakeholders and the factory for production.
• Ensure compliance with apetito development processes and policies.
• Deliver market-leading innovative, proactive and responsive product development.

Skills

Food science

Project management

Stakeholder influence

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Food science degree

Job description

Overview

Can you bring exciting food to life and help create market‑leading meals and desserts?

If you are inspired by all things food, thrive on solving problems, and get excited about turning ideas into reality, our Development Technologist role is for you.

We are seeking a Development Technologist to join our passionate team of chefs, technologists and dietitians who deliver award‑winning innovation on one of our market leading business units.

This is a role where creativity and practicaltiy meets technical expertise in a concept to launch role, you will work in our development and factory kitchens to truly makes a difference to our customers across the UK.

You will play a pivotal part in driving the Wiltshire Farm Foods product pipeline, improving current favourites, and pushing the boundaries of what great food can be.

You will confidently navigate the stage‑gate process, supported by the Senior Developer in this area to ensure every product meets our standards, policies and customer expectations, while guiding and influencing stakeholders throughout development.

You’ll identify emerging trends and opportunities, pitch exciting new ideas to the business, work closely with our Category Development team, and work on projects that enhance our customers’ experience and deliver competitive advantage.

This role is based at our UK Headquarters in Trowbridge Wiltshire.

Who we are

apetito is the UK's leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.

Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK's leading ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

Responsibilities

• Support Wiltshire Farm Foods development programmes at all stages of the development process from concept through to launch by:
  • Making new concepts in the development kitchen
  • Writing raw material briefs to share with procurement colleagues
  • Leading factory trials
  • Completing product regeneration assessment
  • Costing and assessing nutrition of new concepts
  • Leading stage gate meetings with stakeholders
  • Sharing key product information with stakeholders and the factory for production
• Ensure compliance with apetito development processes and company policies.
• Deliver market leading innovative, proactive and responsive product development.
• Deliver product quality, nutrition and cost improvements, taking account of the needs of all stakeholders.
• Proactively identify and propose new opportunities to improve our Wiltshire Farm Foods range.

Qualifications/Personal Qualities

Essential:

• Food Science/ Technology degree or proven experience in a similar role
• Real passion for great food
• Experience collaborating across teams to achieve successful outcomes
• Strong project management skills
• Great presentation and communication skills
• Creativity, persistence and resilience
• The ability to influence and motivate stakeholders
• Strong problem‑solving ability
• Ability to self-motivate and time manage own workload to agreed deadlines
• Good commercial awareness

Desirable:

• Experience in food manufacturing
• Background in prepared meals categories
• Proven track record in food product development
• Strong culinary or sensory evaluation skills

Company Benefits

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays
• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
• Discretionary annual bonus scheme
• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
• Subsidised canteen
• Free parking
• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
• apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

Our Values

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.