Process Development Technologist

Location: West MidlandsOverview: We are recruiting an innovative and commercially focused Culinary Development Manager to join a leading food business based in the West Midlands. Reporting to the Head of Culinary UK, this role is responsible for leading the development and commercialisation of exciting food products that align with customer requirements, market trends, and business growth objectives.This role combines culinary creativity with commercial awareness and product development expertise, ensuring products are developed to the highest standards of quality, scalability, and customer satisfaction. The successful candidate will work closely with customers, suppliers, sales, and cross-functional teams to bring concepts from idea through to launch while supporting innovation and continuous improvement across the business.This is an excellent opportunity for a passionate food professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment and enjoys building strong customer relationships, driving innovation, and developing commercially successful products.About you…• Previous experience within a Culinary Development, NPD, or Product Development role within food manufacturing or foodservice.• Strong understanding of food trends, market insights and customer-led product development.• Commercially aware with the ability to develop products that balance quality, cost and operational feasibility.• Experience working closely with customers, suppliers and cross functional teams within a fast paced food environment.• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the confidence to present products to customers and stakeholders.• Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines and development briefs simultaneously.What will you be doing?• Leading the development and commercialisation of innovative food products from concept through to launch.• Building and maintaining strong working relationships with customers and suppliers through regular communication and collaboration.• Managing customer development projects and responding positively and proactively to customer briefs and requests.• Working cross-functionally with Sales teams to identify and pursue opportunities with new and existing customers.• Developing commercially viable products that support business growth and enhance the company product portfolio.• Researching food trends, market opportunities and competitor activity to identify new development opportunities.• Conducting engaging and customer-focused food presentations and product demonstrations.• Building a thorough understanding of the company product range and evaluating products against competitor offerings.• Writing clear and concise development briefs and managing projects through the full concept to launch process.• Working closely with suppliers in both kitchen and factory environments to develop and improve products.So, what can they offer you?An opportunity to join a growing and innovative food business where creativity, collaboration, quality and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything they do.You’ll become part of a passionate and supportive team with the opportunity to influence product innovation, work closely with customers and suppliers and play a key role in bringing exciting new food products to market. This role offers the chance to develop your culinary and commercial expertise while making a real impact within a dynamic environment.We are keen to speak with experienced Culinary Development Managers, NPD Managers, Product Development Managers, Development Chefs, Innovation Managers, or Senior NPD Technologists from the food manufacturing or foodservice sectors who live within Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Tamworth, Stafford, Lichfield or surrounding areas.How to ApplyIf you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re JO/TNT/2691 or call 0161 399 1575 / 07830 944145 for a confidential discussion.True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: ManchesterOverview: We are recruiting an experienced and commercially driven NPD Category Lead to join a leading food manufacturing business based in Manchester. This role is responsible for leading and delivering the category innovation pipeline, ensuring the successful development and launch of high-quality, commercially viable food products that align with customer expectations and business growth objectives.The successful candidate will take ownership of category strategy and pipeline delivery, working cross functionally with Technical, Operations, Commercial, Procurement, and Process teams to deliver products from concept through to launch. This is a highly customer facing role requiring strong leadership, commercial awareness and a passion for food excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious NPD professional who thrives in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment and enjoys leading teams, influencing stakeholders and driving innovation at pace.About you…• Strong experience delivering end to end product development within a food manufacturing environment.• Previous experience managing retailer or customer-facing development projects and customer expectations.• Commercially aware with strong understanding of costings, margins, category performance and business growth objectives.• Proven ability to lead multiple projects and priorities within a fast paced environment.• Strong understanding of factory processes, scalability, operational constraints and factory ready product development.• Passionate about food quality, innovation and delivering products that exceed customer expectations.• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence customers and internal stakeholders.• Strong understanding of market trends, competitor activity and customer requirements within the food sector.What will you be doing?• Owning and managing the category innovation pipeline aligned to customer and business strategy.• Driving delivery of commercially viable products from concept through to launch, ensuring alignment to customer expectations and commercial targets.• Prioritising development activity and resources to focus on the most commercially valuable opportunities.• Monitoring pipeline progress, launch performance, project risks and delivery timelines to ensure successful execution.• Acting as the key NPD and Innovation contact for customers within the category.• Leading customer presentations, innovation sessions and development meetings to strengthen customer relationships and position the business as a trusted development partner.• Championing food quality, taste, and product excellence across the category, ensuring products are benchmarked against market-leading standards.• Driving creativity and innovation while balancing commercial delivery, operational feasibility and customer requirements.So, what can they offer you?An opportunity to join a forward-thinking and growing food manufacturing business where innovation, food quality, collaboration and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything they do.You’ll become part of a dynamic and supportive team with the opportunity to lead category innovation, influence customer strategy and develop commercially successful products within a fast-paced environment. This role offers the chance to make a significant impact by driving product excellence, developing high-performing teams and contributing to business growth through innovation and customer partnership.We are keen to speak with experienced NPD Category Leads, Senior NPD Managers, Innovation Managers, Product Development Managers, Senior Development Technologists, Category Development Managers or Senior NPD professionals from the food manufacturing sector who live within Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Leeds, Liverpool or surrounding areas.How to ApplyIf you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re JO/TNT/2716 or call 0161 399 1575 / 07830 944145 for a confidential discussion.True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website.We are only able to consider candidates who have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.

Location: MerseysideOverview: Great opportunity for a Packaging Technologist to join a leading food manufacturer in this unique opportunity. About You: You will need to be qualified in material science, engineering or another science-based subject As Packaging Technologist, you will possess experience in food, FMCG packaging An interest and knowledge of sustainability Exceptional organisational skills Excellent communication skills What will you be doing? Day to day support the NPD Team, trials, sample request, specification requests, speak to suppliers, artwork review. Managing packaging development trials and launches. You will work collaboratively across the teams in the business and packaging suppliers. The successful Packaging Technologist will build strong relationships with packaging suppliers and keep up to date with all packaging trends Liaise with suppliers to ensure specifications and legal requirements are met. What can they offer you?This is a great business to work for. Opportunities exist within not only your department but in the wider business too.We are seeking applications from talented Packaging Technologists, Sustainable Packaging Technologists, Junior Packaging Technologists, Materials & Packaging Technologists and Packaging Innovation Technologists who live within Merseyside, Birkenhead, Liverpool, Ellesmere Port, ChesterHow to ApplyIf you have the desired qualifications and experience, please send your CV quoting re CH/TNT/2680 or call 0161 399 1575 / 07899 686690 for a confidential discussion. True North Talent is recognised as a trusted supplier of permanent, contract and interim recruitment services to the food manufacturing and FMCG industries. Our teams of specialist recruiters operate across food manufacturing Operations Jobs, food manufacturing Engineering jobs, food manufacturing Technical jobs, food manufacturing NPD jobs, food manufacturing Supply Chain jobs and food manufacturing Commercial jobs. We may hold your data, as per our privacy policy detailed on our website. We are only able to consider candidates who have the full legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive, we can only contact successful applicants.