Assistant R&D Manager

Our client vision is to be the world’s best performing snacks-led powerhouse, unleashing the full potential of their differentiated brands.

Powered by their strategy to Differentiate, Drive & Deliver, they are a leading company in global snacking, international cereal and noodles, and North America frozen foods, with iconic, world-class brands and strong underlying growth momentum and profitability.

Our client purpose is to create better days and a place at the table for everyone through their trusted foods brands.

As part of this purpose, they are committed to advancing sustainable & equitable access to food by creating Better Days for 4 billion people by the end of 2030.

Purpose of the role:

• Create new and improve existing foods and processes by applying technical, food science and culinary skills in cereals through complex formulas, processing procedures and specifications for new products, product enhancements, and cost reductions to meet project needs in a constantly evolving business environment.
• Capable of working at a fast and agile pace on multiple projects simultaneously, whilst interacting successfully with internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

• Key contributor within the experienced R&D team supporting all development and commercialization aspects (including Food & Packaging) of new product introductions, as well as productivity and quality improvements of existing products.
• Develop experimental formulas, processing procedures, and specifications for raw ingredients, subassemblies, and finished products for simple new product, product improvement, and cost optimization by applying technical, food science and culinary skills and by interpreting consumer and customer needs and assembling input from cross-functional teams. Effective collaboration and communication cross functionally.
• Evaluate ingredients and processing techniques to identify and commercialize product improvement and cost optimization opportunities.
• Prepare prototype products to the design brief and present to the business through leading effective food reviews.
• Design, plan and execute experiments for bench top, pilot plant and plant trials, gather and analyze data, document and report results, and make recommendations.
• Ensure successful start-ups of new products, product improvements, cost reductions, and ingredient, formula, specification, or process changes from product concept development, formulation design, prototype development, cost calculation, specifications, quality assessment, legislation compliance checks and claim assessments.
• Document all work according to guidelines and provide timely project reports to ensure good communication of project status, progress, issues and timeline.
• Support labeling, nutritional, regulatory, quality and food safety efforts.
• Create Nutritional Label Information.
• Actively research for opportunities, trends, consumer insights and competitor landscape.
• Develop and maintain understanding of local/regional regulations & legal requirements and their standards. Develop claims and products at EU level, ensure approval for each launch country with regional Regulatory Affairs & Legal functions.

Requirements:

Knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Food Engineering, Chemistry or related fields desirable.

Experience:

• 1-3 + years of industrial experience in the food industry.

Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge and experience with ingredient functionality, product design and formulation, and commercialization
• Solid knowledge and understanding of food chemistry, food processing, and food functionality.
• Strong technical and project management skills with results orientation
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to effectively communicate to all levels within the organization.
• Professional working proficiency in English (Reading, Writing and Speaking).
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally, building strong relationships across R&D, Marketing, Finance, Procurement, Quality, Manufacturing, Planning and External Stakeholders.
• Ability to effectively influence others and get results through working with a diverse team, and to continuously challenge assumptions to seek innovative solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage complexity.
• Executional excellence, personal leadership, time management, organization, and problem solving competencies.
• Ability to be flexible and adaptable to move with a changing environment.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, draw valid conclusions, and offer solutions.
• Ability to thrive in a face-moving, dynamic, team environment that encompasses end-to-end development (concept and exploration through manufacturing scale up, start up and process optimization).
• Passion for food and the environment
• Ability to work flexibly when required. Interstate and overseas travel may be required