Product Development Officer

We're hiring a Product Development Officer for our client in Kingston.

 Product Development Officer

Summary of position

The successful candidate will assist in providing technical leadership and be a key contributor driving initiatives to develop and launch new and renovated products, processes and cost saving initiatives for our bakery. We are looking for an individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment, likes to be challenged, and values the opportunity to make a difference. He/she has developed practical experience and technical mastery in Food Science (baking technologies) allowing him/her to be already a resource in our company.

What you’ll do:

• Assist with designing a robust product development and product renovation programme that will drive cost reductions and proactive growth opportunities across all skus.
• Provide new product concepts in response to market trends on time and within agreed budget.
• Plan and organize routine, as well as non-routine research to identify and anticipate market needs that will influence development activities and assist in improving the quality of existing products.
• Accurately identify project requirements applying the right production capability, ingredients, formulation, and design to match customer needs, product specifications, and financial targets.
• Assist with driving success throughout a product’s lifecycle specifically from a food science/development perspective.
• Assist with designing, developing, and managing scale up of new products, raw materials, process, recipes and specifications that translate to full scale production and provide competitive advantage.
• Ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Assist with the design and execution of quality plans throughout the pipeline process – from raw materials to shelf life of finished products.

• Participate in and lead product tastings as well as internal sensory evaluations, product applications, and shelf life/ stress testing to determine acceptability of prototypes and competitive products for consumers.
• Effectively collaborate with immediate and cross-functional team members for example, Finance, Marketing, Sales, Quality and Production to ensure that new and existing products meet development targets and support the business strategy and financial goals.
  • Lead, train and mentor team members as well as provide technical advice to others within specialty.
  • Support an environment that fosters innovation by continually introducing ideas and product concepts for new products, quality improvements, productivity and facilitate calculated risk taking.
  • Provide technical and business risk assessment /perspectives related to new product development and technical brand stewardship activities.
  • Support the development and implementation of raw material strategy in collaboration with purchasing and external vendors for differentiated new product performance and quality or cost reduction.

• Develop and sustain relationships with outside labs, regulatory agencies, ingredient suppliers and lab equipment vendors as needed by project activity.
• Perform all activities in a safe manner and within the context of all our company’s safety protocols and GMP standards.
• Create, maintain, and ensure accuracy of product specification documents.
• Conduct and document product development lab work, including development of bench top prototypes, implementation and maintenance of testing, and pilot plant/commercial scale-up trials.
• Accurately prepare product samples and submit samples for analytical and sensory evaluation.
• Partner with quality in designing and conducting complex shelf life and storage studies, including product and package performance under various conditions and makes recommendations for appropriate adjustments in product and/or package as required.
• Translate/interpret recipes to fulfill regulatory/legal requirements.
• Assist with the building of cost models to support successful new product launch.

What you bring to the table

• Practical experience and technical mastery in Food Science (baking technologies).
  • Demonstrated experience in leading multiple projects while delivering significant results.
  • Solid understanding of food systems, ingredients, packaging, and processing interactions, experimental design, and statistical analysis
  • Demonstrated experience to deal with ambiguity and can comfortably manage risks, changing priorities, and uncertainty.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to work across functions and influence both above and below level.

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food engineering or other related applied science.
•  Experience in a food manufacturing company
• 2+ years food product and/or process development from concept through commercialization - ideally both at the commercial bakery level.
• People management experience in a food or food ingredient company
• Strong food science and technology background including ingredients, processing, and manufacturing.
• Demonstrated ability to apply technical standards, principles, theories, concepts and techniques.
• Solid verbal and written communication and presentation skills; with all levels within an organization
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Solid PC proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Word, PowerPoint; intermediate to advanced proficiency level in Excel and database, statistical software (spreadsheets, computer analysis; report writing).
• Strong knowledge of GMP, HACCP and good laboratory practice for a food product development laboratory

• Experience working with a broad range of ingredients (and suppliers), formulations, applications, technologies, and processes in Baking Industry.
• Familiar with a broad range of equipment typically found in commercial bakeries.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills:

• Intellectual curiosity and ability to think critically and analytically.
• Strong communication and presentation skills (verbal and written)
• Ability to self-initiate and manage multiple project tasks independently to meet business objectives and to support the individuals of the workgroup.
• Outstanding time management, team working and communication skills.
• Ability to analyze and communicate implications of experimental results.
• Strong commitment to working safely and maintaining a safe work environment.
• Ability to flawlessly execute laboratory bench work and pilot-plant scale-ups.
• Must be well-organized, capture work details and learning and highlight any unexpected learning.
• Must possess ability to work successfully in cross-functional teams.
• Ability to analyze and communicate implications of emerging consumer trends.
• Proven track record in maintaining good working relationships with business partners.
• Occasional flexibility in working hours to setup and complete focus groups, product expos, pilot plant scaleups, or plant trials that may extend past typical working hours.