RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE (MK)

myNews; Petaling Jaya; On-site; MYR 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food retail company based in Malaysia is looking for an experienced Food Product Developer. The role involves developing and refining in-store food products while ensuring quality and safety standards. Candidates should possess a degree in Food Science or Culinary Arts with 2–5 years of relevant experience. Key responsibilities include working closely with suppliers, conducting sensory evaluations, and optimizing products for store execution. The position offers an opportunity to impact product quality and customer satisfaction significantly.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years’ experience in R&D, central kitchen, or in-store food development.
• Hands-on experience with fried products, premixes, sauces, or marinated items is highly preferred.
• Basic understanding of food safety, shelf life, and processing.

Responsibilities

• Develop and improve in-store food items including premixes and skewers.
• Ensure products meet taste, texture, aroma, appearance, and consistency standards.
• Work closely with QA to ensure compliance with food safety standards.
• Collaborate with suppliers for ingredient selection and formulation.

Skills

Food product development

Culinary arts

Food safety

Hands-on cooking

Sensory evaluation

Education

Diploma or Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Culinary Arts

Job description

Job Overview

To create, refine, and standardise in‑store food products—including premixes, sauces, skewers, karaage, and related items—that consistently deliver on taste, quality, food safety, cost efficiency, and ease of execution. This role is highly hands‑on, working closely with operations teams and suppliers to turn culinary ideas into practical, scalable, and repeatable in‑store solutions that perform reliably at store level.

Responsibilities

1. In‑Store Food Product Development

• Develop and improve in-store food items including premix (coating, batter, seasoning), skewers (protein, marinated items), karaage and fried products, and other ready‑to‑cook or ready‑to‑heat items.
• Ensure products are easy to execute at store level with minimal variability.
• Support new product launches and reformulation of existing SKUs.

2. Culinary & Sensory Excellence

• Ensure products meet taste, texture, aroma, appearance, and consistency standards.
• Conduct sensory evaluations, benchmarking, and improvement trials.
• Adjust formulations to suit local taste profiles and customers.
• Balance culinary quality with cost, shelf life, and preparation.

3. Food Science & Technical Support

• Apply basic food science principles in formulation, frying performance, sauce stability, and holding quality.
• Support shelf‑life testing, oil stability, reheating performance, and product robustness.
• Assist in preparation of nutritional facts, COA, allergen, and product specifications.
• Work closely with QA to ensure HACCP, GMP, and halal compliance.

4. Process & In‑Store Execution Understanding

• Understand store equipment limitations (fryers, microwaves, hot displays, holding cabinets).
• Optimize products for consistent results under real store conditions.
• Develop clear cooking, reheating, and handling SOPs for store operations.
• Support trial runs and feedback collection from operations teams.

5. Supplier & Raw Material Collaboration

• Work with suppliers on ingredient selection, premix formulation; participate in supplier trials, sample evaluation, and technical discussions.
• Support sourcing alternatives to improve cost, quality, or supply continuity.
• Maintain proper R&D documentation, recipes, trial reports, and specifications.
• Support continuous improvement projects to enhance quality, yield, and cost efficiency.
• Assist in troubleshooting quality or execution issues from stores or production.

Job Requirements

• Diploma or Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Culinary Arts, or related field.
• 2–5 years’ experience in R&D, central kitchen, QSR, or in‑store food development.
• Hands‑on experience with fried products, premixes, sauces, or marinated items is highly preferred.
• Basic understanding of food safety, shelf life, and processing.
• Strong interest in culinary development and practical food execution.