Product Development Technologist

What you’ll be doing

Our Warrington site is also known as the Italian centre of excellence, recent expansion and investment make this site a state-of-the-art manufacturing unit! We produce high quality Italian ready meals for both Tesco & Co-Op.

As a Product Development Technologist your role will be to validate product developments and provide appropriate documentation and support to promote customer acceptance through to seamless product launches.

Key Responsibilities:

• Input recipes onto the recipe management system to assess the cost and nutritional information and ensure delivery against the brief
• Brief new, revised and repeat material requirements to the NPD buyers and packaging innovation team to ensure the correct resources are available for product development
• Prepare all necessary documentation (feasibility forms, customer submission forms, concept to process handovers etc.) to ensure their accurate prior to product developer approval
• Assist with the preparation of kitchen made samples as required to support the chefs/product developers in preparation for internal panels, nutritional testing and customer presentations
• Plan, set up and prepare product, coordinating the ordering or purchasing of products for all sample requests booking courier transportation as required, document the findings and action plan for next steps to deliver a professional internal product panel for EPD, NPD and benchmarking
• Complete kitchen organoleptic testing throughout the product shelf-life cycle documenting the findings and making suggestions for recipe reformulations to ensure the required shelf-life is achieved and quality standards are maintained
• Follow the critical path timelines as directed, escalating and mitigating incomplete tasks and risks to prevent delays in product acceptance and launch
• Consideration and inclusion of sustainability to all NPD and EPD applying rationale to development of products and supporting data input and collation
• Accurate labelling of products and boxing of samples to be sent externally
• Buy ingredient supplies and benchmark samples when required

What we’re looking for

• Ideally educated to degree level with a specialism in a Food/nutrition Science, have entered via an apprentice route or has equivalent work experience in a similar role / environment
• Has some experience / knowledge of food and the food environment
• Demonstrates analytical skills and is fully numerate
• Has good communication skills
• Full UK driving license or working towards