Senior Food R&D & NPD Technologist

Pod Talent; Bolton; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Pod Talent is partnering with a global food manufacturer to appoint a Senior R&D Technologist within an established UK product development team. This senior, innovation-led role leads projects from brief to prototype through development, testing, factory scale-up and launch.

You will coach a small team of product technologists while collaborating with Marketing, Commercial, Operations and strategic suppliers to deliver practical technical solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of product development experience within the food manufacturing industry.
• Degree in Food Science (or Food Technology, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering).
• 2+ years of experience managing, coaching or developing a small team.
• Examples of leading technically complex projects end-to-end.
• Strong communication, influencing and presentation skills with senior stakeholders.
• Creative, pragmatic and resilient approach with multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead technically complex food development projects from the initial brief through validation, factory readiness and launch.
• Plan and deliver prototyping, product development, analytical testing and validation against clear experimental plans.
• Create and own technical project plans, including milestones, dependencies, resources, risks and cross-functional actions.
• Ensure finished products meet the required standards for quality, taste, texture and overall consumer experience.
• Manage, coach and develop product technologists, supporting performance and longer-term development.

Skills

Product development

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Stakeholder management

Presentation skills

Education

Food Science degree

Job description

Pod Talent is partnering with a global food manufacturer to appoint a Senior R&D Technologist within an established UK product development team. This senior, innovation-led role leads projects from brief to prototype through development, testing, factory scale-up and launch.

You will coach a small team of product technologists while collaborating with Marketing, Commercial, Operations and strategic suppliers to deliver practical technical solutions.