Product Technologist - General Merchandise

Retail; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Colleague discount

Pensions & life cover

Performance bonus up to 10%

Annual leave with buy option

Cycle to work

Job summary

Sainsbury's is seeking a Product Technologist for General Merchandise to drive safety, legality and quality across Sainsbury's Brand products. You will manage technical plans, coordinate with suppliers and internal teams, and ensure alignment with GM strategy and sustainability commitments.

You will work closely with the Lead Technical Manager to uphold standards, provide technical oversight, and support cross-functional delivery in a fast-paced retail environment.

Qualifications

• Strong technical, quality, legislation, supplier management and product assurance knowledge.
• Experience ensuring product safety, legality and quality in supply base or retail settings.
• Excellent judgment and collaborative approach to drive continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Manage delivery of Sainsbury's Brand product and technical plans within your product area.
• Focus on safety, legality, quality and supplier performance.
• Collaborate with suppliers, central technical teams, product developers, trading and supply chain teams.

Skills

Quality systems

Legislation knowledge

Supplier management

Product assurance

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Relevant technical qualification or equivalent experience

Job description

Why join us

Joining the Sainsbury's team as a Product Technologist in General Merchandise means being part of a collaborative and innovative environment where you can make a real impact on the quality and safety of our products. As a key player in ensuring that our Sainsbury's Brand products meet the highest standards, you will have the opportunity to work with cross-functional teams, suppliers, and internal stakeholders to deliver exceptional quality products that align with our sustainability commitments. With a focus on technical excellence, continuous development, and a zero-tolerance approach to compromise, this role offers a platform for growth, learning, and contributing to the reputation and success of one of the UK's leading retail brands.

What you'll do

As a Product Technologist for General Merchandise at Sainsbury's, you will be responsible for managing the delivery of Sainsbury's Brand product and technical plans within your product area, focusing on safety, legality, quality, and supplier performance. Collaborating with suppliers, central technical / support teams, product developers, trading, supply chain, and retail teams, your role is to ensure the consistent production of high-quality products that meet specified standards, policies, and regulations. Additionally, in the General Merchandise sector, you will assist in integrating Sainsbury's GM into the Commercial division, aligning with Sainsbury's ways of working and supporting the GM strategy development. Working closely with the Lead Technical Manager, you will provide technical oversight and understanding within Sainsbury's Commercial for GM products to uphold brand reputation and quality standards.

Who you are

As a Product Technologist for Sainsbury's General Merchandise division, you are a dedicated professional with a strong scientific or technical background and a proven track record of ensuring product safety, legality, and quality standards are met within the supply base or retail environment. With your expertise in quality systems, UK legislation, ethical audits, and manufacturing processes, you play a crucial role in managing the technical aspects of Sainsbury's Brand products to uphold brand reputation and compliance. Your excellent judgement, attention to detail, and collaborative working approach allow you to make informed decisions, drive continuous improvement, and deliver sustainable solutions while maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to any failings in safety, legality, or quality.

Essential criteria

• Relevant technical qualification or equivalent experience
• Strong technical, quality, legislation, supplier management and product assurance knowledge

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Here, everything in our stores starts in Sainsbury’s Commercial. From product, proposition, packaging and price, to whether it meets our sustainability commitments or simply tastes great, our team is responsible for, all food, non- food and Clothing items available in Sainsbury’s stores, online and on demand. It’s an incredibly fast-paced environment. People here are in it together and aren’t afraid to take risks. The knowledge and experience you gain here could set you up for career moves anywhere else in the business. So, if you’re passionate about your products and just as hungry to learn, you’ll fit in perfectly.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new-whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

• Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 10% of salary, depending on how we perform.
• Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme.
• Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.
• Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).