Technical Director

PositiveLinks Asia; Sepang; On-site; MYR 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food manufacturing company in Selangor, Malaysia, is seeking an experienced technical manager to develop multi-year roadmaps for equipment and facilities. Candidates should possess a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant fields and at least 10 years of experience in high-volume food production environments. The role involves collaboration with culinary and engineering teams to ensure compliance with food safety standards. The organization focuses on innovation and continuous improvement within a culture of safety.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in large-scale food manufacturing or high-volume production environments.
• Experience with HACCP, ISO 22000, and BRCGS standards.
• Knowledge in hygiene validation and cold-chain integrity.

Responsibilities

• Develop multi-year technical roadmaps for facilities and technologies.
• Lead technical evaluations and equipment installations.
• Collaborate with culinary teams for recipe standardization.

Skills

Technical design review

Cost analysis

Hygienic facility design

Project management

Vendor evaluation

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science & Technology, Chemical Engineering or related fields

Job description

Responsibilities

• Develop multi-year technical roadmaps for facilities, equipment, and technologies.
• Lead technical design reviews and provide senior recommendations on cost, quality, and risk trade-offs.
• Review and endorse structural designs, zoning layouts, utilities and drainage requirements.
• Approve BOQ scope, value engineering, and standards for all internal and food-contact surfaces.
• Finalise specifications and select vendors for kitchen, processing, packaging, and refrigeration equipment.
• Lead technical evaluations, acceptance tests, and award recommendations.
• Standardise recipe modules for batch production.
• Approve line-planning standards and Operational Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) targets.
• Establish shelf-life protocols, challenge/abuse studies, and release criteria.
• Oversee SOP/SSOP development aligned to HACCP, ISO, GMP, and Halal requirements.
• Ensure full traceability, allergen control, and recall readiness.
• Design and commission a pilot/R&D kitchen aligned to production capabilities.
• Collaborate with culinary teams to standardise recipes, portioning, and product specifications.
• Oversee equipment installation, utilities tie-ins, and hygiene validation.
• Lead proof-of-concept runs, pilot trials, and production ramp-up.
• Drive technical inputs for contracts, warranties, SLAs, and vendor performance.
• Engage with contractors, procurement, finance, regulators, and other key stakeholders.
• Build and mentor technical, QA, and R&D teams.
• Foster a culture of safety, innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Own technical KPIs including throughput, OEE, yields, audit scores, and complaints.
• Manage risk registers, CAPEX projects, and initiatives in energy, water, and waste efficiency.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science & Technology, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related fields.
• HACCP / ISO 22000 / FSSC 22000 / BRCGS
• Halal (MS1500) auditing or awareness
• Project Management, refrigeration, or process-safety training
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in large-scale food manufacturing, central kitchens, or high-volume production environments.
• Experience on hygienic facility design, MEP review and finishing standards; Equipment specification, lifecycle cost analysis, and vendor evaluation;Recipe scaling, line balancing, thermal processes, cold-chain integrity;Shelf-life studies, micro/chem tests, and traceability systems; SOP/SSOP development aligned to global food safety standards; Trial runs, PoC management, and production ramp-up