Development Chef

We are proud to be working alongside our client who manufacture quality fresh and frozen fruit ingredients. The company is dedicated to delivering high-quality products to a wide stream of customers including most of the major retailers. They have a requirement for an experienced NPD Technologist who has knowledge of the Stage Gate Process to join the team asap with a view to the role becoming permanent long term.

Job Summary

To lead the technical development of new & existing product development from concept to launch, ensuring alignment with the stage-gate process. The NPD technologist is responsible for recipe creation, trial execution, and technical documentation, working closely with the NPD coordinator and cross-functional team to deliver commercially viable and operationally feasible products.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for development stage of the NPD process (gate 2), including recipe creation, sample preparation, and technical feasibility assessment.
• In collaboration with operations, support with scale-up processes (gate 3 & 4), ensuring that expectations on quality are clearly communicated and defined.
• Support during first production runs (gate 4) and post-launch reviews (gate 5), ensuring expectations set during development and trials are achieved.
• Follow and update NPD gate stage process to ensure it is fit for purpose.
• Support the NPD coordinator and commercial manager to ensure all NPD projects meet requirements, timelines and customer expectations.
• When required, provide detail to support the commercial managers with gate 0 and gate 1 documentation.
• Support with the completion of trial and production paperwork, critical path documents, and customer information requests.
• Complete tasks in line with priority level and support NPD coordinator to ensure that project aligns with timelines. Feedback to commercial director if priority levels and timelines require reassessing.

Cross-functional collaboration

• Collaborate with commercial, procurement, operations, and technical teams to ensure alignment on project timelines.
• Attend customer meetings/visits and support with presentations.
• Responsible for scheduling and leading innovation and benchmarking sessions, attending trade shows and events to inform innovation and product development.
• Support commercial manager with cost engineering recipes when required.

Documentation and Compliance

• Manage and maintain technical documentation associated with NPD and first productions, including QAS, defrost validations, QC check sheets and data collection. Support technical with specifications information for new products.
• Identify and update technical team with any new products that require a HACCP review. Attend HACCP meetings when required.
• Ensure information relevant to gate stages is handed over to NPD + packaging coordinator.
• Support with business updates, including weekly project status, sharing information required for board and exec meetings, when requested.
• Responsible for research, development and creation of quarterly trend reviews.

Competencies

• Teamwork & collaboration
• Problem solving & decision making
• Resilience
• Inclusion
• Customer focused
• Planning and results orientation
• Creativity and innovation
• Skills and knowledge

Qualifications & Experience

• Knowledge and understanding of food product development and manufacturing processes.
• Problem solving skills utilising root-cause analysis to identify improvements.
• Effective communication with the ability to collaborate across departments.
• Proficient in Excel, costing tools, and technical documentation requirements.

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or a related field would be beneficial but not essential if previous experience in a similar role.

Proven experience and understanding of food product development within the fresh produce or frozen food industry and manufacturing processes.

Technique-Recruitment Solutions Ltd is a proud equal opportunities employer, dedicated and specialist to the engineering and manufacturing industries. We work and support some of the most well-known companies in Norfolk and Suffolk.