Development Technologist

Kepak is a family-owned, future-facing food company with a rich heritage of more than 50 years of meat craft. From the establishment of a family owned butcher shop in Dublin in 1966, Kepak has grown significantly and today the group has a turnover of €1.6bn and employs more than 5,000 people across 12 manufacturing sites in Ireland and the UK.

 Kepak supplies prime cuts of meat to some of the biggest names in retail, wholesale and foodservice across Ireland, UK, Europe and internationally.

With over 50 years’ expertise in meat craft, we are still leading the way with bespoke innovations and highly successful, international food brands, including Rustlers.

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Development Technologistto join the team based at Kepak Kirkham. Perfect for someone looking to develop in the world of NPD & Innovation, to support the development of our products and bring new and innovative products to the market. This role includes involvement in all stages of the development process, including developing new products, leading factory trials, and liaising with Operations and Technical departments.

Working as part of a busy team, the successful candidate will support in the deliver of new and existing product development activity across NPD and Innovation within Kepak, including our Rustlers and private label brands. This is an exciting time to join Kepak, as we have a number of projects which you will work on from concept through to launch.

If you're ready for a new challenge in the food manufacturing industry, get in touch now!

Responsibilities associated with this role include, but are not limited to the following:

• Support with the senior development technologist and wider development team in the development of new products to meet a product brief across Brand and Private Label products in the portfolio in line with the Kepak NPD process and Stage Gates.
• Evaluating existing and new raw materials in line with the sustainability agenda and government legislations, ensuring NPD products are aligned working closely with technical, operations and purchasing to contribute to safe product launches.
• Running and documenting competitor newness panels and distributing these, where applicable.
• Present ideas, products, and information clearly and accurately to stakeholders with support from the relevant function.
• Ability to plan, organize and control own resources i.e., time, ingredients packaging to an agreed timescale and quality.
• Initiating and leading factory trials internally and together with suppliers to ensure optimization of product, process, cost & quality.
• Creation and circulation of relevant NPD documents in line with Kepak NPD process in line with audit requirements.
• Supporting operations, technical and purchasing to ensure all potential future changes are managed appropriately (e.g. onboarding of contingency suppliers, technical transfers of current ingredients, shelf-life extensions etc.)
• Working with purchasing & suppliers to understand factors affecting ingredient feasibility.
• Organizing new product panels and samples/ benchmarks to wider team for review/ feedback and to present products in the portfolio to customers confidently.
• May have line management accountability of an NPD assistant.
• Assisting in the testing and validation of products through development.

Requirements

SKILLS/ KNOWLEDGE/ EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of two years’ experience in the manufacture of Food products
• Strong process and factory application skills
• A strong command of written and spoken English
• Confident in the use of Excel and Microsoft office

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• A passion for food with an interest in food trends
• Good organisation and time management skills and the ability to priorities your workload to meet deadlines.
• Diligent with a keen eye for detail.
• Full Driving License
• Willingness to travel between production sites

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Annual bonus potential
• Hybrid working options
• BUPA Cash plan free of charge
• Values awards program
• Employee assistance program
• Cycle to work scheme
• Corporate gym membership at Ribby Hall Village
• Salary sacrifice pension plans
• Life assurance
• Subsidised canteen and free hot drinks

Last updated on Jul 12, 2024