Product Developer, Cultivated Meat & Food Innovation

RespectFarms; Leiden; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

RespectFarms is seeking a Product Developer to design and develop cultivated and hybrid meat products from concept to realization. The role focuses on creating tasty, innovative offerings, optimizing formulations, and driving scale-out trials at prototype level.

The candidate will lead sensory evaluation, manage documentation, and stay informed on new technologies and market trends in alternative proteins, contributing to a sustainable meat production model.

Qualifications

• MSc in Food Science, Food Technology, Biotechnology, or a related field.
• 1–5 years of experience in product development within food, biotechnology, cultivated meat, or alt protein.
• Hands-on experience with food formulation, ingredient functionality, and processing technologies.
• Experience with sensory evaluation methods and data interpretation.
• Knowledge of food safety, quality systems, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop innovative cultivated and hybrid meat product concepts for sensory evaluation, functionality testing, and scale-out activities.
• Optimize product formulations with a focus on taste, aroma, texture, appearance, nutritional value, and consumer acceptance.
• Evaluate and select ingredients, functional systems, and processing technologies to improve product performance and manufacturability.
• Plan, execute, and analyse product development trials at prototype scale.
• Lead sensory evaluation activities and translate data into actionable product improvements.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, product specifications, SOPs, and raw material databases.
• Identify and implement analytical methodologies to assess product quality, stability, texture, and nutritional characteristics.
• Stay informed on emerging food technologies, ingredients, market trends, and competitive developments within alternative proteins and cultivated meat.

Skills

Food formulation

Sensory evaluation

Project management

Regulatory knowledge

Education

MSc in Food Science/Technology or Biotechnology

Job description

RespectFarms is seeking a Product Developer to design and develop cultivated and hybrid meat products from concept to realization. The role focuses on creating tasty, innovative offerings, optimizing formulations, and driving scale-out trials at prototype level.

The candidate will lead sensory evaluation, manage documentation, and stay informed on new technologies and market trends in alternative proteins, contributing to a sustainable meat production model.