Product Development Specialist. Job in Kirton LilyLifestyle Jobs

Opportunity Product Development Technologist Location Boston

Why Greencore? Following the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we're one of the UK's leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make everyday taste better. As a vibrant and fast-moving business, we're proud to employ over 28,000 talented colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and the US. Together, we bring delicious food to life. Our products cover every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner and dessert, with lunch and snacking in between. In FY25, our shared passion helped us achieve combined revenues of approximately 4bn. Our extensive direct to store (DTS) network, with 17 depots across the UK, allows us to deliver fresh and frozen food both our own and from trusted partners to thousands of stores every day, ensuring consumers enjoy the very best, whenever and wherever they shop. Here in Boston we employ around 400 colleagues and produce ready to eat salads, prepared vegetables and snacks for many of the major retailers such as Coop, Boots, Greggs, Costco, Spar and BOL.

What you’ll be doing

• 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 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 (desirable).

What you’ll get in return

• Competitive salary and job‑related benefits.
• Holidays.
• Competitive matched pension contributions.
• Life insurance up to 4x salary.
• Company share save scheme.
• Exclusive Greencore employee discount platform.
• Access to a full Wellbeing Centre platform.
• Enhanced parental leave and menopause policies.

Throughout your time at Greencore, you will be supported with on the job training and development support. We’re not all the same at Greencore and our differences help us to make every day taste better for all our stakeholders. We truly put our people at the core and are proud of our diversity. If this sounds like you, join us, grow with Greencore and be a part of driving our future success.