Senior Process Technologist in Gillingham

Frive stands for Food to Thrive – we help busy people thrive not only because our meals are healthy, balanced and made with 100% whole foods/ natural ingredients, but also because they’re ready to heat and eat in minutes – saving you an hour a day, or up to 7 hours a week, for what matters most. We’re the UK’s highest-rated meal prep brand, with over 20 million meals delivered, and we’re just getting started.

We work with people from all different backgrounds and communities and recognise our own biases. We strive to create a strong sense of belonging and believe we will be better equipped to achieve our goals by building a team that approaches problems from different angles, using different perspectives and experiences to solve problems. All qualified applicants will be considered and we have no regard for age, ethnicity, ability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Mission: To make healthy eating convenient, delicious and accessible, whilst championing locally sourced and organic ingredients.

Vision: To inspire a global shift towards a healthier society by changing eating habits and restoring food to its purest form.

Values:

• Take Ownership: We make independent decisions with confidence and ownership
• Be Transparent: We share information openly and with intention
• Communicate Openly: We communicate directly and honestly
• Deliver High Performance: We foster an environment that attracts, retains, and rewards high performance
• Be Agile: We encourage flexibility in our people by reducing blockers and prioritising their creativity and productivity

Role Overview: The role is to evaluate the process risk throughout the development life cycle to mitigate commercial, operational, and quality impact post launch whilst maintaining a cross functional working approach. To lead the product and process validation for business priority projects related to NPD, EPD, change in process, equipment, or raw materials.

Core Responsibilities:

• Collaborate closely with NPD team to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate concept and process-related risks
• Own and optimize manufacturing processes flow for all NPD to ensure it is fit-for-purpose and aligned with operations
• Lead, review and execute factory trials to ensure products are manufactured consistently and are reproducible at scale
• Plan and coordinate resources to achieve timely delivery of trials in line with project timelines
• Diligently document all data from trials, shelf life, organoleptic and initial cook guidelines
• Submit samples for appropriate labs validation – nutritional's, micro and cook validation
• Working with NPD, Operation and Technical to establish quality attributes for raw materials and finished products
• Ensure Operations teams are fully prepared for product launch through effective training, supporting documentation, and process readiness
• Partner closely with all areas of the business to identify and implement improvements in processes, operational efficiencies, product quality, and shelf life - independently managing a range of continuous improvement workstreams
• Contribute to the post-launch evaluation process to assess operational performance and support the implementation of corrective actions where required
• Act as the central liaison between NPD, Operations, Technical, and Supply Chain teams, fostering strong communication and effective cross-functional collaboration

Core Behaviours:

• Attention to detail
• Time management and prioritisation
• Relationships and influencing people
• Storytelling & effective communication
• Self starter who is inquisitive and driven to improve

Ideal Candidate:

• Ideally educated to degree level (or equivalent) in a food related subject, science engineering, or an Advanced Food Hygiene qualification
• Intermediate Food Hygiene and Safety Certificates
• HACCP Qualification
• A minimum of 2 years' experience working within a Food business within Process, NPD, Technical or Production
• Project management experience
• Computer literate, with strong working knowledge of Microsoft packages such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Staff Benefits:

• Discounted Private Medical Insurance
• 25 days Holiday + Public
• Bonus Scheme
• A discount on our amazing food
• Hybrid working pattern
• Enhanced parental leave