Raw Material Development Technologist

Marks and Spencer; City Of London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail company in the UK seeks a Raw Material Development Technologist to drive innovation in product development. The ideal candidate will have expertise in fabric technology and a passion for quality. Responsibilities include creating product specifications, managing compliance, and feeding market trends into product strategies. Join us to shape the future of our products and make a positive impact on sustainability.

Benefits

20% colleague discount

Competitive holiday entitlement

Discretionary bonus schemes

Defined Contribution Pension Scheme

Wide range of training programmes

Access to wellbeing support services

Charity volunteer day

Qualifications

• Expert in technology and manufacturing of fabric/raw materials.
• Able to interpret customer data to shape product development strategy.
• Experience in briefing and specifying design sourced product.

Responsibilities

• Create and deliver fabric strategy driving customer-focused benefits.
• Research and feed sustainability trends into product development.
• Manage compliance with product safety legislation.

Skills

Expert in manufacturing of fabric/raw materials

Data interpretation skills

Experience in product specification

Knowledge of PLM

Proficient in Excel

Job description

All the details

Join us at M&S and play a key role in shaping the future of our products. As a Raw Material Development Technologist, you'll be at the heart of our technical innovation, developing and specifying market-leading raw materials that set M&S apart from the High Street.

You’ll ensure that every product meets our uncompromising standards for quality, innovation, safety, compliance, and ethics, while driving forward new materials and technologies that delight our customers and support our Plan A sustainability goals.

If you're passionate about technical excellence, creative problem-solving, and delivering best-in-class products, we'd love to hear from you.

Make your mark with M&S, where quality and innovation start with you.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

What's in it for you

Being a part of M&S is exactly that - playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We're an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever, and however they want to shop with us.

Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special

• After completing your probationary period, you'll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days!
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption, and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you're passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

What you’ll do

Your key accountabilities will include

• Create and deliver the BU fabric strategy driving commercial customer focussed benefit and in line with Design and Innovation Brief priorities
• Research and understand the latest technology and sustainability trends in materials, fabric, fibre, fabric processing and print techniques etc. and feed these into the product development process. Communicate key innovations to relevant departments across the business
• Manage adherence to product safety legislation and work with relevant teams to ensure compliance, chemical and ethical issues are resolved in line with legislation & policy when necessary
• Create detailed fabric / yarn specification for core fabrics and tenders to ensure that all options meet our requirements including dyeing and finishing routes / methods
• Carry out ongoing cost engineering at development stage to ensure all products are optimised commercially whilst still meeting M&S quality and aesthetic standards

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include

• Expert in the field of Technology including manufacturing of fabric / raw materials
• Capable of interpreting customer data (CIU, Power BI, QPI's, Star ratings online) to shape future product development strategy
• Experience of briefing and specifying direct design sourced product, working with Buying and Design teams to create Tech Packs
• Ability to manage departmental data and leverage M&S systems to enable strategic reporting
• Good knowledge of PLM and Excel

Everyone's welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating, and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted, and admired by our colleagues, customers, and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.