R&D Director (Food & Beverage Innovation)

michael page international pte ltd; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

A Singapore-based leading food & beverage group is recruiting an R&D Director to shape the overall R&D and product-innovation strategy across key categories. You will identify growth opportunities, guide concept creation, and oversee scale-up to commercial launch.

You will lead a regional R&D team, partner with Marketing and Commercial teams, and drive a disciplined stage-gate process to deliver consumer-driven, commercially viable innovations.

Qualifications

• Degree or postgraduate qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, Chemical Engineering or a related discipline.
• At least 15 years of experience within food & beverage products R&D with significant leadership responsibility.
• Proven track record of launching products with meaningful commercial success.
• Experience managing the full innovation lifecycle from concept development through formulation, scale-up, manufacturing and launch.
• Strong consumer-driven approach with ability to balance market needs and technical feasibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall R&D and product innovation strategy across relevant food and beverage categories, identifying opportunities that can generate sustainable commercial growth.
• Build and manage the new product development pipeline from consumer insight and concept creation through formulation, pilot trials, scale-up and commercial launch.
• Translate market trends, consumer behaviour and competitive intelligence into differentiated product concepts with clear commercial potential.
• Partner with Marketing and Commercial teams to evaluate propositions, pricing, positioning and market potential before committing significant R&D resources.
• Drive product formulation and reformulation, balancing taste, quality, nutrition, shelf life, manufacturing feasibility, ingredient cost and target margin.
• Work with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure new concepts can be industrialised and produced consistently at commercial scale.
• Develop a disciplined stage-gate innovation process with clear success metrics covering consumer acceptance, technical feasibility, cost, margin and revenue potential.
• Review the existing product portfolio and identify opportunities for renovation, cost optimisation, premiumisation, localisation or rationalisation.
• Identify emerging food technologies, ingredients and processing capabilities that can create competitive advantages or unlock new product categories.
• Build relationships with external ingredient suppliers, technology partners, universities and research organisations to accelerate innovation.
• Lead, coach and develop the R&D organisation, creating a culture that is consumer-focused, commercially accountable and fast in bringing products to market.
• Present innovation strategies, business cases and product recommendations to senior leadership, clearly linking technical decisions to commercial outcomes.

Skills

R&D leadership

Product development

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Commercial acumen

Education

Food Science / Food Technology / Nutrition / Chemical Engineering degree

Job description

• Leading Asian food & beverage group
• Global R&D Director based in Singapore

About Our Client

We are partnering with a leading Asian food & beverage group to appoint an R&D Director based in Singapore.

Job De ion

• Lead the overall R&D and product innovation strategy across relevant food and beverage categories, identifying opportunities that can generate sustainable commercial growth.
• Build and manage the new product development pipeline from consumer insight and concept creation through formulation, pilot trials, scale-up and commercial launch.
• Translate market trends, consumer behaviour and competitive intelligence into differentiated product concepts with clear commercial potential.
• Partner closely with Marketing and Commercial teams to evaluate product propositions, pricing, positioning and market potential before committing significant R&D resources.
• Drive product formulation and reformulation, balancing taste, quality, nutrition, shelf life, manufacturing feasibility, ingredient cost and target margin.
• Work with manufacturing and supply chain teams to ensure new concepts can be successfully industrialised and produced consistently at commercial scale.
• Develop a disciplined stage-gate innovation process with clear success metrics covering consumer acceptance, technical feasibility, cost, margin and revenue potential.
• Review the existing product portfolio and identify opportunities for renovation, cost optimisation, premiumisation, localisation or rationalisation.
• Identify emerging food technologies, ingredients and processing capabilities that can create competitive advantages or unlock new product categories.
• Build relationships with external ingredient suppliers, technology partners, universities and research organisations to accelerate innovation.
• Lead, coach and develop the R&D organisation, creating a culture that is consumer-focused, commercially accountable and fast in bringing products to market.
• Present innovation strategies, business cases and product recommendations to senior leadership, clearly linking technical decisions to commercial outcomes.

The Successful Applicant

• Degree or postgraduate qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, Chemical Engineering or a related discipline.
• At least 15 years of experience within food & beverage products R&D, with significant leadership responsibility.
• Strong track record of launching new products that have achieved meaningful commercial success in the market.
• Experience managing the full innovation lifecycle from concept development through formulation, scale-up, manufacturing and commercial launch.
• Strong understanding of consumer-driven innovation rather than purely laboratory-led product development.
• Commercially minded with the ability to evaluate market size, consumer demand, product positioning, cost, margin and revenue potential alongside technical feasibility.
• Strong exposure to categories such as beverages, ready-to-drink products, instant foods, noodles, snacks, sauces, convenience foods or other mass-market F&B products would be highly relevant.
• Experience working closely with Marketing, Sales, Consumer Insights, Manufacturing and Supply Chain teams.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, formulation, sensory evaluation, shelf-life optimisation and food manufacturing processes.
• Proven ability to challenge conventional product-development thinking and make clear decisions about which innovation projects should be accelerated, changed or stopped.
• Strong leadership and stakeholder-management capability, with the ability to influence senior business leaders as well as technical teams.

What's on Offer

• Experience managing the full innovation lifecycle from concept development through formulation, scale-up, manufacturing and commercial launch.
• Leading the Regional R&D team in Singapore.