NPD Product Development & Technical Technologist in Caerphilly

NPD Product Development & Technical Technologist

Location: South Wales
Salary: £42,000
Contract: Permanent
Industry: Food Manufacturing

Ballantine Recruitment is supporting a growing food manufacturer with the appointment of an experienced Product Development & Technical Technologist.

This is a genuinely blended role, sitting approximately 50% Product Development / 50% Technical, offering exposure across the full product journey from initial development through factory scale-up and launch, alongside responsibility for key technical activity including raw material approval and customer specifications.

It would suit somebody who enjoys being close to both the product and the technical detail and wants a role with real visibility across NPD, Technical and Operations.

The Role

You will work across both Product Development and Technical, helping ensure new and existing products are innovative, commercially viable, technically compliant and ready for successful manufacture.

Product Development

Key responsibilities will include:

• Supporting product development from concept through to commercial launch

• Developing and refining products and recipes

• Coordinating and supporting kitchen and factory trials

• Supporting product scale-up into full production

• Working closely with Operations to ensure products are practical and repeatable in manufacture

• Troubleshooting product and process issues during trials and launch

• Supporting product and process optimisation

• Managing development activity against agreed timelines

• Working cross-functionally with Operations, Technical and Commercial

• Supporting products through the complete development and launch process

Technical

The Technical side of the role will have a particular focus on:

• Raw material approval

• Reviewing and maintaining raw material information

• Working with suppliers to obtain and validate required technical information

• Managing and maintaining customer specifications

• Ensuring specification information is accurate and kept up to date

• Supporting technical documentation associated with new and existing products

• Working closely with NPD to ensure products are technically ready for launch

• Supporting customer and internal technical requirements

• Ensuring technical information is effectively communicated across the relevant teams

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for somebody with experience within food manufacturing who is comfortable operating across both Product Development and Technical.

You are likely to have:

• Previous NPD, Product Development or Technical experience within food manufacturing

• Experience supporting products from development through factory trials and launch

• An understanding of raw material approval processes

• Experience working with customer specifications

• Strong attention to detail and technical accuracy

• Confidence working within a manufacturing environment

• Good organisation and project-management skills

• The ability to manage multiple priorities

• Strong communication skills and confidence working cross-functionally

• A practical, solutions-focused approach

Experience within bakery or a related food manufacturing category would be advantageous, although strong candidates from other food sectors will also be considered.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

The attraction of this role is the breadth.

You won’t be restricted to one narrow area of NPD or Technical.

You’ll have the opportunity to work across:

Product Development → Trials → Scale-Up → Technical Approval → Customer Specifications → Launch

That gives the successful individual a strong understanding of how products move from an initial idea through to technically approved, commercially viable manufacture.

For somebody looking to broaden their experience across both Product Development and Technical, this is an opportunity to take real ownership and build valuable exposure within a growing food manufacturing business.

Salary: £42,000
Permanent | South Wales

For a confidential conversation:

Founder | Ballantine Recruitment