Manager, R&D Snacks

Santan; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Santan in Malaysia seeks a seasoned Food Scientist to lead the development of new snack products from concept creation through formulation, testing, commercialization, and post-launch evaluation. You will drive innovation across ready-to-eat, packaged, ambient, frozen, and local-inspired snacks, while ensuring food safety, shelf-life, and regulatory compliance.

Collaborate with Operations, QA, Procurement, Supply Chain, and Marketing to scale products, manage timelines, costing, and promotional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, Culinary Arts, or related field.
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience in food/snack R&D, product development, or innovation within FMCG, retail, or food manufacturing industries.
• Experience in packaged snacks, frozen foods, bakery, convenience foods, or local snack categories is an added advantage.
• Proven experience managing end-to-end product development and commercialization.
• Strong knowledge of food formulation, ingredients, shelf-life, and food safety standards.
• Strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercially aware with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to balance innovation, cost efficiency, and operational practicality.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Agile, hands-on, and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of new snack products from concept through formulation, testing, commercialization, and post-launch evaluation.
• Develop innovative snack offerings including ready-to-eat, packaged, ambient, frozen, and local-inspired snack categories.
• Conduct product benchmarking, sensory evaluations, and reformulation initiatives to improve product quality and consumer appeal.
• Identify opportunities for innovation based on market trends, customer insights, and competitive analysis.
• Collaborate closely with Operations, QA, Procurement, and Supply Chain teams to ensure products are scalable and operationally feasible.
• Ensure products meet food safety, quality, shelf-life, and regulatory standards.
• Develop product specifications, SOPs, preparation guidelines, and technical documentation.
• Support smooth execution of product launches across different business channels.
• Work with suppliers and manufacturing partners on ingredient sourcing, product trials, and innovation opportunities.
• Manage technical discussions and evaluation of ingredients, packaging, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Partner with Marketing and Commercial teams to support promotional campaigns, seasonal launches, and portfolio expansion.
• Monitor industry trends, competitor activities, and evolving consumer preferences within the snack category.
• Identify opportunities in healthier snacks, local flavors, convenience snacking, and emerging food trends.
• Utilize customer feedback and sales performance data to drive product enhancements.
• Manage multiple product development projects simultaneously while ensuring timely delivery.
• Support costing exercises and product margin optimization initiatives.
• Track project timelines, milestones, and commercialization readiness.

Skills

Food R&D

Project Mgmt

Cross-functional

Food Safety

Shelf-life

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science

Job description

• Lead the development of new snack products from concept creation through formulation, testing, commercialization, and post-launch evaluation.
• Develop innovative snack offerings including ready-to-eat, packaged, ambient, frozen, and local-inspired snack categories.
• Conduct product benchmarking, sensory evaluations, and reformulation initiatives to improve product quality and consumer appeal.
• Identify opportunities for innovation based on market trends, customer insights, and competitive analysis.

Commercialization & Operational Excellence

• Collaborate closely with Operations, QA, Procurement, and Supply Chain teams to ensure products are scalable and operationally feasible.
• Ensure products meet food safety, quality, shelf-life, and regulatory standards.
• Develop product specifications, SOPs, preparation guidelines, and technical documentation.
• Support smooth execution of product launches across different business channels.

Supplier & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with suppliers and manufacturing partners on ingredient sourcing, product trials, and innovation opportunities.
• Manage technical discussions and evaluation of ingredients, packaging, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Partner with Marketing and Commercial teams to support promotional campaigns, seasonal launches, and portfolio expansion.
• Monitor industry trends, competitor activities, and evolving consumer preferences within the snack category.
• Identify opportunities in healthier snacks, local flavors, convenience snacking, and emerging food trends.
• Utilize customer feedback and sales performance data to drive product enhancements.
• Manage multiple product development projects simultaneously while ensuring timely delivery.
• Support costing exercises and product margin optimization initiatives.
• Track project timelines, milestones, and commercialization readiness.

WHO YOU ARE:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, Culinary Arts, or related field.
• Minimum 5–7 years of experience in food/snack R&D, product development, or innovation within FMCG, retail, or food manufacturing industries.
• Experience in packaged snacks, frozen foods, bakery, convenience foods, or local snack categories is an added advantage.
• Proven experience managing end-to-end product development and commercialization.
• Strong knowledge of food formulation, ingredients, shelf-life, and food safety standards.
• Strong project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercially aware with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to balance innovation, cost efficiency, and operational practicality.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Agile, hands-on, and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment.