Senior NPD Technologist

Cranswick PLC is one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, renowned for crafting exceptional Continental specialities that delight customers every day. Our passion for authentic flavours and uncompromising quality has made us the trusted partner of the nation’s top retailers. At Cranswick, we don’t just make food—we celebrate it. From succulent olives and vibrant antipasti to premium continental charcuterie and perfectly cooked meats like corned beef, every product reflects our dedication to excellence and creativity.

We're committed to nurturing talent and fostering an inclusive, dynamic workplace where ambitious professionals can thrive, grow, and make a real impact. Join us and be part of a team that’s shaping the future of food.

About the role: We are looking for an experienced and passionate Senior NPD Technologist to join our Product Development team for a 12 month contract. This role will be responsible for leading the development and launch of innovative continental, deli, charcuterie, antipasti and "picky bits" products, bringing exciting concepts from idea through to successful market launch. Working closely with customers, suppliers, operations and technical teams, you will drive product innovation while ensuring products meet quality, cost, food safety and commercial requirements. This role is an onsite role working at our Manufacturing site in Bury, Greater Manchester.

Company Values: We built our business on an unwavering commitment to quality, efficiency and innovation which is embedded in our culture. This is delivered by our hard-working, talented teams who continually drive the business forward.

Key Duties:

• Working within the development team and alongside the buying team and relevant account management teams to develop and deliver new concepts that are relevant to the customer briefs, whilst also being commercially viable. This should be aligned to the strategic customer plan.
• Build a strong understanding of the competitive environment and identify and lever differentiators.
• Understand the key categories within which we operate.
• Understand Cranswick Continental's production capabilities and work with the NPD controller to drive change where necessary.
• Understand the supplier base and respective capabilities.
• Understand the customer's technical requirements.
• Maintain regular contact with the relevant point of contact at the customer (developer, buyer), keeping up to date with customer changes and development cycles; attend customer meetings as required.
• Set and adhere to critical timings to ensure all project aspects are delivered as specified satisfying customer and business, commercial, nutritional and process development requirements.
• Ensure the product development process (Stage & Gate) is followed and that each stage is completed, documented and communicated accurately and efficiently through to key stakeholders.
• Work closely with the buying team to source new ingredients and packaging, responsible for requesting supplier specifications and QAS, ensuring compliance to Cranswick and customer standards.
• Production of samples for submission.
• Manage product presentations both internally and externally including all product submission paperwork, collation of feedback and next steps/actions.
• Attend regular NPD meetings and ensure effective communication of all relevant project information to factory functions.
• Attendance at NPD and Commercial meetings where necessary.
• Attend factory trials / pre-production runs in conjunction with site process development teams where necessary.

Equal Opportunity Statement: We are an equal opportunities employer. At Cranswick we know that diverse teams are more likely to have greater innovation, creativity and understanding of our customer needs. These are many of the things we are passionate about.

Did you know that some demographics may be less likely to apply to job adverts than others? For example, women are likely to apply only if they fit all of the skills listed. If you're reading this and perhaps don't tick every skill, then please still make yourself known to us. We'd love to hear from you so we can assess this.

We also want to ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the interview process, therefore please contact us to request any assistance required.