Technical Assistant

Wasabi Sushi & Bento; London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Technical Assistant to join their dynamic team in London. This role involves providing essential technical support, ensuring compliance with food safety standards, and assisting in product development processes. The ideal candidate will have a background in food science, strong problem-solving skills, and the ability to manage detailed data effectively. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a company known for its commitment to quality and innovation while enjoying a vibrant work environment and numerous employee perks. If you're passionate about food safety and eager to grow in a thriving company, this position is for you!

Benefits

Free Sushi or hot food

50% discount in branches

Employee Assistant Programme

Life Assurance

Cycle To Work

Free on-site parking

Long Service Awards

Wagestream

Refer A Friend Scheme

Variety of discounts through Perkbox

Qualifications

• Graduate in food science or technology preferred with HACCP level 3.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills required.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support for supplier assurance and product development.
• Conduct risk assessments and maintain technical documentation.
• Support new product development and ensure compliance with standards.

Skills

Problem-solving skills

Attention to detail

Strong communication skills

Ability to work under pressure

Data processing

Education

Graduate in food-related field

HACCP level 3 certification

Tools

Nutritional calculator

BC operational system

Job description

Founded in 2003, Wasabi's vision is to lovingly create and serve delicious Asian food for a busy nation.

Wasabi now has 40 thriving restaurants across London and major UK cities and 4 in New York. In 2019, we introduced Wasabi Home Bento, launched exclusively in Sainsbury’s. Building on that success, the grocery business broadened its reach to Tesco in September 2022, followed by exciting launches in Co-op and Morrisons in 2024. Today, Wasabi proudly stands as the No. 2 chilled ready-meal brand, setting new standards for quality and innovation.

Wasabi’s menu is celebrated for its unique character, exceptional freshness, and bold flavours. Our diverse range is designed to delight a wide audience, delivering both comfort and excitement with every bite.

We have an ambitious 5-year growth strategy, focusing on new restaurants, franchise partnerships, and international expansion.

As we embark on our next phase of growth and innovation, we’re thrilled to offer an exciting opportunity for a Technical Assistant to join our Technical team based in Park Royal.

The Role:

To provide technical support to the company by undertaking tasks and duties associated with supplier assurance, raw material specification, legal labelling of finished products, and updating of the site's operating system (BC). Also, support the product development process within the Central Production Unit & restaurants by undertaking tasks and duties associated with product trials and product evaluation. Ensuring ingredients and finished products are in line with the company’s technical requirements & standards, along with required legal legislation, to ensure that all raw materials and suppliers consistently meet Wasabi’s Quality, Safety, Legal, and Sustainability Standards.

Key responsibilities:

• Carry out risk assessments on all raw materials, escalating any issues to senior management.
• Ensure all raw materials’ technical documentation (e.g., specification, factory accreditation, CoA, HACCP/process flow documents) are accurate and up to date, maintaining systems and data to drive continuous improvements for products and quality management systems.
• Maintain the supplier portfolio of product specifications.
• Liaise with suppliers for any out of specification and non-conformance.
• Provide support for the introduction of new materials or suppliers.
• Provide support for any changes to existing raw materials or suppliers.
• Calculate and approve nutritional information for new product/product change using nutritional calculator and update the nutritional traffic light tracker.
• Calculate and score HFSS for loading the data to the retailer tracker.
• Check and approve legal information on artwork for pre-packed/own brand products.
• Support technically new/existing product development processes, including allergen information for name card and guidelines, ingredient and other legal information for product labels or displays.
• Co-operate with new product development, health & food safety, and operation teams for information use in branches (e.g., recipe card, shelf life, and customer information).
• Update the site's operational systems (i.e., BC) as required.
• Update and check the information on the brand bank website.
• Update and maintain the Master data, artwork folders, and factory paperwork.
• Plan and conduct factory or restaurant trials, ensuring products & processes are in line with Wasabi and customer requirements.
• Work with all required departments (procurement, food team, marketing, etc.) providing technical information and support to ensure compliance against company standards and UK legislation.
• Document all data and information from factory trials, including trial reports, shelf-life validation, organoleptic tests, cooking & chilling validation, etc., comprehensively and legibly to establish process capabilities and support due diligence.
• Organize and arrange appropriate samples for lab analysis (e.g., microbiological, chemical, and transit trials) in line with project timescales.

Our requirements:

• Graduate (food-related) or in food science, food technology, and food processing is preferred.
• Knowledge of supplier assurance or UK/EU food labelling requirements is preferred.
• HACCP level 3 is required.
• A logical approach to working along with practical problem-solving and decision-making skills is desired.
• Have a keen eye for detail and be able to process and understand large amounts of data to ensure that it meets company standards.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to escalate information to management when it does not meet required standards.
• Ability to work in a high-pressure environment.
• Ability to prioritize workload.

What we offer:

• A great working environment.
• Refer A Friend Scheme.
• Free Sushi or hot food (vegan options available).
• 50% discount in our branches.
• Employee Assistant Programme.
• Help@Hand (a service providing health and wellbeing support).
• Long Service Awards.
• Wagestream - a financial wellbeing benefit that lets you access your pay as you earn it in real time and manage savings.
• Life Assurance.
• Cycle To Work.
• Free on-site parking.
• A variety of discounts (shopping, food & drink, entertainment, and health & fitness) through Perkbox.
• The opportunity to develop your skills within a growing company.

Our people make us who we are. If you're looking for an exciting challenge and this sounds like the job for you, please apply today as we can't wait to hear from you.

COME ROLL WITH US!

Seniority level

• Associate

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Manufacturing and Other
• Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Food and Beverage Services