RD&A Technologist

About Kerry

About the role

We are recruiting for RDA Technologist to join our 'Food Service Beverage Development and Applications' team - supporting our Kerry European Food Service.

You will take responsibility for 'New Product Development (NPD)' for our beverage products, work closely with our Food Service Brands and Commercial teams, to develop and launch beverage products into coffee and quick service restaurant chains.

The candidate will ensure that our products meet future consumer and customer needs keeping sustainability to the fore in everything that we launch.

Key responsibilities

• Lead & support on Beverage NPD briefs for our global coffee chains customers.
• Responsible for chain customers NPD from customer brief to factory handover, ensuring final product meets customer brief and agreed timelines.
• Support other prioritized Food Service Beverage NPD activities.
• Collaborate closely with our Kerry Technology colleagues – ensuring we embed Kerry Foundational Technology across our Food Service Beverage Systems.
• Collaborate closely with our Food Service Beverage applications team ensuring new product meets customer expectations. To co-create and validate new developments in customer application.
• Collaborate closely with our Kerry Beverage manufacturing sites – ensuring recipe fits site capabilities; and attend factory trial, first productions to ensure smooth transition into factory.
• Collaborate closely with our commercial colleagues to consistently deliver best in class for our customers.

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• Work closely with our commercialisation teams to commercialise new product developments in a timely and consistent fashion. Will consistently communicate timelines to key stakeholders to ensure expectations are aligned.
• Lead & support customer innovation days
• Lead & support internal innovation development briefs at Kerry.
• Lead PIP value engineering projects for Food Service Beverage Systems.
• Ensure that good laboratory practices and lab protocols are being met.
• Will work closely with quality to ensure shelf life tests are completed and managed accordingly.
• Attend weekly team meetings to track and ensure we are meeting our project goals and timelines.
• Hold or participate-in product taste testing and evaluation sessions
• Be familiar, fully aligned and work under the guiding principles of our Food service regional strategy

Qualifications and skills

• Degree in a Scientific or Food Technology discipline an advantage
• Experience and proven track record in New Food Product Development
• Strong technical acumen and understanding of food/ beverage manufacturing desired
• Good lab practices and organisational skills to maintain a clean efficient working environment.
• Culinary/Barista skills an advantage.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills
• Customer experience desired
• Languages – Fluent English is Essential, further languages beneficial
• Competent IT skills