Product Development Technician

Optimum Recruitment Group are proud to be working exclusively with a client based in Ripon who are looking to appoint a Production Development Technician to the team, on a permanent basis.

Reporting to the Head of NPD, you will be responsible for the development of innovative products and continuous improvement of existing products. Working closely with designated customer accounts, you will assist customers on key projects, presentations, and factory trials. You will identify new trends and market gaps.

Your duties will include:

• Continuously develop new and improved products to meet business objectives and customer expectations.
• Manage critical paths and ensuring key project milestones are met in multiple NPD projects.
• Understand customer briefs ensuring sound product designs are generated united with customer expectations, operational parameters and needs of the business.
• Market research to identify customer requirements, future trends and gaps in the market to ensure a competitive edge.
• Recipe development and reformulation to achieve a product that meets customer expectations, financially and technically feasible.
• Make up samples by following recipes to the detail as appropriate.
• Prepare kitchen samples required for internal panels, customer submissions and presentations.
• Kitchen trials and pre-production factory trials to determine new product feasibility and reproducibility at full scale production and to resolve issues pre-launch.
• New product costings including determination raw material costs.
• Working with new and current suppliers to source new, high quality and cost-effective ingredients.
• Assist Technical, Supply Chain and Health & Safety in the approval of new suppliers and ingredients by collating pertinent technical data and commercial information.
• Assist Technical and Health & Safety to ensure ingredient allergen information, nutritional data and risk assessments are maintained and up to date on an ongoing basis.
• Keep up to date with food industry guidelines.
• Communicate effectively with all internal and external stakeholders.
• Assist the New Product Development Manager and Supply Chain Manager where required.
• Ensure kitchen stock management.
• Work within tight time scales and to specific development requirements.
• Visiting retailers and shopping to support sample preparations or customer meeting refreshments as required by the business.
• Ensure a high standard of a clean, safe, and productive working environment.

Do you have the following knowledge, experience and skills?

• A degree or equivalent in a Food Science related field.
• Experience gained within a food manufacturing environment.
• Creative and passionate about food.
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and written.
• Enthusiastic and self-motivated with a can-do attitude.
• Experience in Microsoft programmes such as Excel and PowerPoint.
• Understands specification and nutrition systems.

Salary dependent on skills and experience but up to c 31k plus benefits.