Senior NPD Technologist

The Sterling Choice; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Sterling Choice is seeking an NPD Project Lead in Greater Manchester to own food development from concept to factory launch. You’ll translate customer-approved recipes into scalable products, coordinating trials and ensuring robust technical detail for production readiness.

You will lead trials, manage critical paths, and work closely with Operations, Engineering and the wider NPD function to meet retailer and customer standards in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• NPD experience in food manufacturing.
• Experience managing products from development to production.
• Strong project management and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Manage food development projects from concept through factory launch.
• Coordinate factory trials and first production runs.
• Oversee post-launch reviews and ensure technical robustness of products.
• Balance customer requirements with manufacturing feasibility in a fast-paced environment.

Skills

NPD experience

Food manufacturing

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Food Science degree

Job description

Getting a recipe right in the kitchen is one thing. Getting it right at scale, on a live production line, is where NPD gets interesting.

This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of that journey.

You’ll manage food development projects from concept through to factory launch, taking customer-approved recipes and turning them into products that can be manufactured safely, consistently and commercially.

It’s a hands‑on role. One day you could be coordinating a factory trial, the next working through a critical path, solving a technical challenge with Operations or Engineering, or sitting with a customer discussing their latest development.

You’ll own projects through the Stage & Gate process, coordinating trials, first production runs and post‑launch reviews while making sure the technical detail behind every product is robust.

That means understanding more than just the recipe.

Cooking and cooling validations, HACCP, microbiological standards, nutritional requirements, labelling, packaging and specifications all form part of getting a product successfully over the line. You’ll need to balance what the customer wants with what can actually be delivered in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment.

You’ll also have the opportunity to lead and develop a small team, while working closely with Technical, Operations, Engineering and the wider NPD function.

You’ll need previous NPD experience within food manufacturing and a track record of taking products from development into production. A Food Science degree or equivalent would be ideal, alongside a good understanding of BRC, HACCP and retailer/customer standards.

More importantly, you’ll be someone who enjoys being close to the factory, can juggle multiple projects and isn’t fazed when a trial doesn’t quite go to plan first time.

If you’re ready to take more ownership of the development process and want a role where you can see your work go from kitchen bench to full-scale production,