Senior Designer/ Application Technologist, Culinary

IFF; Hilversum; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday allowance 8%

Annual bonus (AIP)

LTIP

IKB

Vacation days 25

Transport reimbursement

Pension plan

Wellbeing support

Job summary

IFF is seeking a Senior Culinary Designer to join our Hilversum lab in a full-time role, blending hands-on lab work with culinary applications and processing technologies to translate customer needs into practical IFF solutions.

You will work with pilot-scale equipment, validate technology, contribute to portfolio work, and help turn ideas into customer-ready solutions while collaborating across teams and mentoring junior talent.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related field.
• 5–10 years in food, ingredients, or flavor industry, with 5+ years in savory/culinary.
• Proven experience developing and commercializing products (soups, sauces, condiments, bouillon).
• Cross-functional teamwork and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong organizational/time management; lead projects end-to-end.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management; influence across functions.
• Travel 10–20% and willingness to travel.
• Fluent English and successful completion of IFF's internal sensory assessment.

Responsibilities

• Build partnerships with regional/global customers delivering application solutions that create value and drive growth.
• Translate successful category innovations into opportunities for local customers.
• Stay ahead of market trends, consumer insights, and emerging technologies to develop differentiated solutions.
• Lead customer engagements, including visits to the Hilversum Creative Center.
• Deliver technical and commercial presentations highlighting flavor technologies and category insights.
• Provide technical leadership for customer projects with high-quality application development and timely issue resolution.
• Collaborate across Creative Centers, Application Teams, Flavorists, Sales, Marketing, and R&D to accelerate innovation.
• Mentor junior talent and improve processes and ways of working.

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or related field

Tools

Pilot-scale equipment

Sensory assessment tools

Job description

Job Summary

Are you ready to design the future of taste?

IFF is a global leader in flavors, fragrances, and health & biosciences. We deliver sustainable innovations that elevate everyday products.

Taste: Crafting unique, technology-enabled flavor designs that define the identity of food and beverage brands, shape trends in flavor creation, and fuel market success.

We are looking for a Senior Culinary Designer to join our Hilversum lab team in a full-time position. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys hands-on work in the lab, has experience with culinary applications and processing technologies, and can translate customer needs into relevant IFF solutions - and translate IFF capabilities back into clear, practical value for customers.

The position requires a blend of application know-how, flavor understanding, technical curiosity, and practical ownership of lab capabilities. The right candidate will be comfortable working with pilot-scale equipment, enabling technology validation, contributing to portfolio work, and helping turn ideas into customer-ready solutions.

Equally important, we are looking for a true team player: someone who collaborates openly, supports colleagues, shares knowledge, takes responsibility, and helps strengthen the broader Culinary team. This is a critical role for maintaining and building our technical capabilities, customer support, and lab-based innovation in Culinary EAME.

Where You'll Make a Difference

• Build strong partnerships with key regional and global customers, delivering application solutions that create value and drive business growth.
• Identify and translate successful category innovations and wins from other regions into opportunities for local customers.
• Stay ahead of market trends, consumer insights, and emerging technologies to develop relevant and differentiated solutions.
• Lead customer engagements, including visits to the Hilversum Creative Center, showcasing IFF's capabilities and expertise.
• Deliver compelling technical and commercial presentations that highlight flavor technologies, innovations, and category insights.
• Provide technical leadership for customer projects, ensuring high-quality application development and timely resolution of application-related challenges.
• Strengthen IFF's market presence by executing category growth initiatives and creating proactive concepts that inspire customers.
• Collaborate across Creative Centers, Application teams, Flavorists, Sales, Marketing, and R&D to share knowledge and accelerate innovation.
• Contribute to a high-performing team culture by mentoring junior talent, fostering capability development, and continuously improving processes and ways of working.

What Makes You the Right Fit

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or a related scientific discipline.
• 5-10 years of experience in the food, ingredient, or flavor industry, including at least 5 years within the savory/ culinary category.
• Proven experience developing and commercializing products, particularly in soups, sauces, condiments (including bouillon and cubes), and/or wet sauces.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams and manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to lead projects from concept through commercialization.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across functions and with customers.
• Collaborative, adaptable, and proactive approach, combined with the potential to grow into a senior technical leadership role.
• Professional presentation and customer-facing skills, with confidence presenting technical concepts to diverse audiences. Willingness to travel approximately 10-20% of the time
• Fluent in English and able to successfully complete IFF's internal sensory and discriminative organoleptic skills assessment.

How Would You Stand Out?

• Experience in project management and leading complex development projects within a commercial environment.
• Knowledge of food safety, quality, and food regulations relevant to the savory category.
• Expertise in functional ingredients such as proteins, hydrocolloids, fermentation, dairy, or related food science disciplines.

Why Choose Us?

• 8% holiday allowance and a competitive annual bonus scheme (AIP) & Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) for eligible roles
• Individual Choice Budget (IKB), which can be used flexibly (e.g., additional vacation days or monthly payout)
• 25 vacation days plus additional ADV days
• Commuting allowance (€0.23/km, up to 72 km one way) or full reimbursement of public transport (2nd class)
• Competitive pension scheme, company-paid disability insurance and enhanced parental leave
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providing confidential wellbeing, financial, and personal support, along with employee resource groups and year-round activities such as workshops, sports events, volunteering