Product Developer

Thai Union Group PCL.; Wageningen; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Holiday allowance

Discretionary bonus

27 holidays per year

Professional development

Collaborative work environment

Job summary

Thai Union Group seeks a talented Product Developer to join our Innovation Hub in Wageningen, driving new product development from concept through prototype to scale-up in ambient seafood.

Collaborate across R&D, Marketing, Supply Chain, Quality, and our Global Innovation Centre to bring breakthrough innovations to market; 4 days per week onsite with opportunities for international collaboration.

Qualifications

• Experience in food product development and innovation in the canning/seafood sector.
• Hands-on with plant equipment and lab trials.
• Knowledge of HACCP, ISO, and BRC food-safety systems.
• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, or related field (or equivalent).

Responsibilities

• Drive new product development from concept to prototype and scale-up.
• Identify opportunities via consumer insights, trends, and ingredient research.
• Collaborate with R&D, Marketing, Supply Chain, Quality, and Manufacturing.
• Build partnerships with suppliers, startups, and research institutes.
• Manage Innovation Hub facilities, including pilot plant and lab.
• Maintain technical docs and ensure food-safety standards compliance.

Skills

Product development

Pilot plant experience

Food safety systems

English fluent

Stakeholder management

Analytical mindset

Collaboration

Startup agility

Education

Degree in Food Science / Food Technology / Culinary Science or related field

Tools

Laboratory equipment

Job description

At Thai Union, we are passionate about revolutionising the seafood industry through innovation, technology, and consumer-led product development. As a global leader in ambient seafood products, we are committed to delivering high-quality, sustainable products that consumers love.

Our state-of-the-art Innovation Hub in Wageningen sits at the heart of our innovation journey. Bringing together product development, process innovation, consumer insights, and technology scouting, the hub is where new ideas become reality. We are looking for a talented Product Developer to join our growing team and help shape the future of ambient seafood innovation.

The role will report to the Senior Director, R&D Innovation.

Your Responsibilities:

• Drive new product development from concept through prototype creation, testing, and industrial scale-up.
• Identify innovation opportunities through consumer insights, market trends, ingredient research, and emerging technologies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across R&D, Marketing, Supply Chain, Quality, Manufacturing, and the Global Innovation Centre to bring products to market.
• Build partnerships with suppliers, start-ups, and research institutes to explore new ingredients, technologies, and breakthrough innovations.
• Manage and maintain the Innovation Hub facilities, including the pilot plant, analytical lab, and User Experience Kitchen.
• Support compliance by maintaining technical documentation and ensuring all activities meet food safety and quality standards (HACCP, ISO, BRC).

Why Choose Us?

• Our Values: At Thai Union, we uphold a culture defined by passion, humility, and respect. Our team is driven by a responsible, collaborative, and innovative approach, ensuring that our work contributes to meaningful change in the seafood industry.
• End-to-End Ownership: Take products from concept through prototype development, industrialization, and successful market launch.
• Global Exposure: Work with colleagues, suppliers, and research partners across Europe and internationally, including collaboration with our Global Innovation Centre in Bangkok.
• Meaningful Impact: Play a key role in creating sustainable, consumer-focused products that support Thai Union's vision for healthier living and healthier oceans.
• Growth & Development: Be part of a dynamic, entrepreneurial team within a global organization that values learning, innovation, and career progression.

About You:

• Seasoned innovation and/or product development experience in the food and ingredients industry. Preferable canned seafood, other canning or meat industry
• Hands-on experience with (pilot) plant equipment and lab trials,
• Knowledge of food safety systems (HACCP, ISO, BRC)
• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Culinary Science or related field - or equivalent experience
• A curious mind, collaborative spirit, and startup-like agility within a global business
• Fluent in English (Dutch is a plus)
• Excellent stakeholder management and interpersonal communication skills.
• Analytical, structured, and process-driven mindset.
• Strong adaptability and ability to thrive in ambiguity and cross-functional complexity.
• Fluent in English (both written and verbal).
• Willing to work primarily onsite in Wageningen (minimum 4 days/week) and travel occasionally (20%).

About Us:

Thai Union Group, a global seafood leader, the largest canned seafood producer in the world plays a dominant role both as own global brand portfolio as well as through its Private Label (OEM) producer that includes Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar, Rugen Rish, SELECT, Fisho and Qfresh etc.

Thai Union Group is committed to realizing its “Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans” vision. With a focus on health and wellbeing across us, we take our responsibility to sustainable fishing and the marine environment seriously – in 2016 Thai Union launched SeaChange – our strategy for looking after the oceans and managing our waste, our responsibility to our people working around the globe and the communities we work with. We set ourselves and our peers some challenging targets to be more sustainable and we’re making great progress.

Our values drive how we approach our work and engage with our people and customers. These values are to be passionate, humble, respectful, responsible, collaborative and innovative. We do great work, the right way, in challenging times, but we have a strong team that gets the job done. Our people are full of positivity, resilience, fortitude and humour.

We are committed to creating an inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued and recognized for who they are. This is a critical component of our success. Each of our employees adds value to the company regardless of gender, education, religion, origin, nationality, disability or age.

What we can offer you

• A competitive salary with holiday allowance
• Discretionary bonus
• 27 holidays per year
• Opportunities for professional development and career advancement.
• A collaborative and innovative work environment that values sustainability and teamwork.

Next Steps

If you’re passionate about making a difference and thrive in a flexible, collaborative setting, we’d love to hear from you!

We will review your application and if we think you meet the criteria of the role, we will reach out.

You will have a call with one of our recruitment team and then if we move to the next stage, we will set up an interview with your potential new manager either face to face or via Teams. Final stage interviews are usually face to face.

Thai Union is committed to providing equality of opportunity. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please let us know