Senior NPD Technologist

Jelly Technical; Lichfield; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

BUPA Healthcare

Bonus based on KPI

Holiday buying scheme

Career progression and development

Job summary

Jelly Technical in Staffordshire is seeking a Senior NPD Technologist to own the complete development lifecycle for new products. You will drive projects from concept through to factory launch, coordinating with customers and internal teams to ensure smooth transitions and strong cost controls.

The role requires a proactive communicator with a track record in fast-moving food manufacturing and a degree in Food Science/Technology.

Qualifications

• Experience in a dedicated food manufacturing NPD role with short shelf-life products.
• Autonomously manage major NPD projects from concept to factory launch.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; build professional relationships.

Responsibilities

• Independently lead complex projects from concept to launch, managing critical paths with internal and external stakeholders.
• Act as technical point of contact for customer accounts, presenting new iterations to clients.
• Plan and run factory trials, validate documentation, manage shelf-life testing and update product costings.
• Support the NPD Manager and align with broader departmental strategy.
• Coordinate across manufacturing and commercial teams and report progress.

Skills

NPD management

Project management

Communication

Education

Degree in Food Science/Technology

Job description

A well-established food manufacturer is looking to appoint a Senior NPD Technologist to join their New Product Development team at their Staffordshire site. This is a pivotal, high-visibility role within the business, offering the opportunity to drive innovation while gaining valuable exposure by directly supporting the NPD Manager.

As a Senior NPD Technologist, you will have full turn-key ownership of the new product development lifecycle. You will possess the experience and confidence to autonomously manage major projects from initial customer concept right through to final factory launch.

Key responsibilities of this Senior NPD Technologist role:

• Independently lead complex projects from concept to launch, establishing and managing critical paths in collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Act as a primary technical point of contact for customer accounts, managing relationships, leading concept briefs and presenting new iterations directly to clients.
• Plan, coordinate and run comprehensive factory trials, ensuring accurate validation documentation, managing short shelf-life testing parameters and updating product costings.
• Work closely with and support the NPD Manager, gaining exposure to broader departmental strategy.
• Liaise seamlessly across all manufacturing and commercial departments to communicate updates and progress reports.
• Lead pre-launch meetings, coordinate cross-departmental launch trackers, provide hands-on factory support during production runs and conduct thorough post-launch reviews for a seamless factory handover.
• Ensure precise data transfer to relevant teams to generate the robust quality and technical documentation required for successful factory scaling.

Qualities and experience needed for this Senior NPD Technologist role:

• Experience in a dedicated food manufacturing NPD role with short shelf-life products.
• Highly confident running major NPD projects independently, with a strong understanding of how to take a product successfully from concept into a fast-moving factory environment.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills. You must be adept at building strong, professional relationships with both internal teams and external partners.
• Educated to degree level in Food Science, Food Technology or a related food discipline.
• Project management, excellent commercial awareness and the ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.

Benefits to you as a Senior NPD Technologist:

• Salary of £40,000 per annum
• Monday to Friday (37.5 hours a week)
• Core working hours 8.30am -5pm (with some flexibility available)
• BUPA Healthcare
• Bonus based on company and personal KPI's
• Holiday buying scheme
• Career progression and development

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer Skilled Worker visa sponsorship either now or in the future for this role. Applicants must be able to demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK without the need for employer sponsorship