R&D Process Development Specialist
About The Position
The R&D Process Development Specialist manages industrial trials and related formulations, process charts, documentation, and records in line with the R&D roadmap. The role provides technical support and troubleshooting across departments, independently follows assigned projects, develops new products and processes, optimizes existing solutions, and proposes continuous improvements while following development procedures and the stage-gate process. The specialist oversees industrialization and qualification of new products and equipment, coordinates reviews with quality, purchasing, and industrial teams, plans project milestones, prepares trial documentation, evaluates trials, reports conclusions, and follows validated products through their first 10 production batches. The role also manages production recipes, schedules trials with production, creates ERP bills of material, maintains formulas and process charts, addresses temporary raw-material shortages, and ensures products and processes meet industrial constraints. The position manages product implementation from pilot through industrialization and launch, including project execution, planning, traceability, documentation, analysis of sensory and analytical results, and coordination of scale-up. It may serve as the local contact for global portfolio projects and interact with suppliers, external parties, and customers when requested. The specialist also leads R&D improvement initiatives, reports system malfunctions, takes short-term corrective action, and proposes longer-term options.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in food processing, food sciences and technologies, or chemistry.
- 1 to 5 years of work experience.
- Strong communication skills.
- Strong project management skills.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree in food processing, food sciences and technologies, or chemistry.
- Background in an industrial environment, such as production management, production optimization, or process engineering.
Responsibilities
- Manage industrial trials in accordance with the R&D roadmap, including formulations, process charts, paperwork, and records.
- Provide technical support and troubleshooting to all departments.
- Independently follow assigned projects in accordance with R&D management guidelines and decisions.
- Develop new products and processes and optimize existing solutions in accordance with development procedures and the stage-gate process.
- Propose continuous improvements to processes, products, and programs.
- Ensure new-product and new-equipment qualifications align with the R&D program and management priorities.
- Organize opening and closing reviews with quality, purchasing, and industrial teams.
- Build development plans and manage project milestones and timelines.
- Prepare trial formulations and process-flow-chart documentation.
- Validate trials against chemical specifications, yields, and palatability.
- Report trial conclusions to the manager.
- Follow validated products through their first 10 production batches.
- Schedule production trials to keep projects on time.
- Create bills of material in the ERP system.
- Validate and update formulas and process charts.
- Modify formulas to address temporary shortages of raw materials, ingredients, or bases.
- Ensure formulations and processes are followed, adapt products and processes to industrial constraints, and provide formulas for rework.
- Manage new-product implementation from pilot phase through industrialization and launch, considering performance, cost, timing, return on investment, process capability, and quality control.
- Manage project execution, including pilots, coatings, test planning, traceability, and paperwork.
- Interpret palatability-test and analytical results, synthesize project findings, report to management, and share results during project reviews.
- Coordinate scale-up and industrialization of new products.
- Serve as the local contact for global portfolio projects as needed, proposing action plans and providing regular updates.
- Interact with suppliers, outside parties, and customers when requested.
- Propose and lead actions to improve the R&D organization.
- Report system malfunctions to management, take relevant short-term corrective action, and propose long-term options.
- Continuously improve communication systems, including paperwork and computers.
- Independently follow own R&D projects and decide how to pursue them.
