Senior Development Technologist

Alexander Steele Recruitment; Greater London; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Alexander Steele Recruitment is seeking a Senior Development Technologist for a Surrey/London based food manufacturer. You will own development projects from brief to launch, working with customers and internal teams to deliver products that meet commercial and operational objectives.

This hands-on role offers opportunities to lead, mentor, and drive ingredient improvements, while staying ahead of market trends across UK sites.

Qualifications

• Experience within an FMCG food manufacturing development or R&D environment.
• Proven track record of managing multiple development projects simultaneously.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Commercial, Operations, Technical and Supply Chain teams.
• Proactive and solutions-focused approach to product development.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Previous people management or mentoring experience would be advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Managing product development activities from concept through to successful launch.
• Acting as a key R&D contact for one of the business's manufacturing sites.
• Working closely with Commercial, Operations, Process and Technical teams to ensure projects remain on track.
• Supporting customer meetings, presentations and factory trials.
• Leading and mentoring a Development Technologist within the team.
• Driving recipe and product data integration projects across the wider business.
• Identifying opportunities for ingredient improvements, rationalisation and cost optimisation.
• Keeping up to date with emerging market trends, ingredients and innovation opportunities.

Skills

FMCG

Project management

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring

Time management

Job description

Senior Development Technologist

Surrey / London (with regular travel to sites across the UK)
Circa £45,000 + Benefits

Alexander Steele Recruitment continues to partner with a highly successful and growing food manufacturing business as they strengthen their Innovation and Development team.

With a number of exciting projects planned across the business, this is a fantastic opportunity for a passionate and commercially minded Development Technologist to join a collaborative and forward-thinking organisation where innovation plays a key role in future growth.

About the Role

This is a varied and hands-on position that will see you taking ownership of development projects from initial brief through to launch, working closely with both customers and internal stakeholders to deliver products that meet commercial and operational objectives.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing product development activities from concept through to successful launch.
• Acting as a key R&D contact for one of the business's manufacturing sites.
• Working closely with Commercial, Operations, Process and Technical teams to ensure projects remain on track.
• Supporting customer meetings, presentations and factory trials.
• Leading and mentoring a Development Technologist within the team.
• Driving recipe and product data integration projects across the wider business.
• Identifying opportunities for ingredient improvements, rationalisation and cost optimisation.
• Keeping up to date with emerging market trends, ingredients and innovation opportunities.

Candidate Requirements

The successful candidate will bring a strong combination of technical knowledge, commercial awareness and relationship-building skills.

You will ideally have:

• Experience within an FMCG food manufacturing development or R&D environment.
• A proven track record of managing multiple development projects simultaneously.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Commercial, Operations, Technical and Supply Chain teams.
• A proactive and solutions-focused approach to product development.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Previous people management or mentoring experience would be advantageous.
• A full UK driving licence would be beneficial due to travel requirements.

Why Join This Company?

• Join a business investing heavily in innovation and future growth.
• Opportunity to work on a diverse range of exciting development projects.
• Highly collaborative culture with strong cross-functional support.
• Genuine opportunity to influence product strategy and innovation direction.
• Exposure to customer-facing projects and commercial decision-making.
• A role offering both autonomy and career development within a growing organisation.