ROLE PURPOSE
Lead several assigned food NPD, renovation and value-engineering projects end-to-end, from Marketing/BPD brief interpretation through development, validation, launch readiness and post-launch improvement. Work directly with Chefs for internal development and suppliers for OEM food items, ensuring products are feasible, compliant, consistent and commercially ready. Report directly to Head of R&D.
Job Description:
1. PRODUCT QUALITY, OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
- Lead product-improvement work on taste, texture, appearance, consistency, COGS, portioning, holding quality, shelf-life and store/factory execution for assigned products.
- Investigate product complaints, technical failures and supplier deviations; define corrective actions and verify improvement through repeat trials, supplier follow-up or operational validation.
- Ensure products are practical to prepare, cook, reheat, hold, portion and serve within agreed store and/or factory operating conditions.
- Escalate significant technical, commercial, regulatory or cross-functional risks to the Head of R&D with clear options and recommendations.
2. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
- Independently lead several assigned food NPD, renovation and value-engineering projects end-to-end, from brief interpretation through post-launch follow-up.
- Develop the project plan, product design criteria, trial plan, technical requirements, sample plan, acceptance criteria, key risks, decision points and launch-readiness checklist.
- For internal development, work with Chefs to translate culinary concepts into standardised recipes, preparation methods, portioning, holding instructions and store-ready products.
- For OEM development, work directly with suppliers on briefing, sample development, formula or recipe adjustment, ingredient declaration, specification alignment, packaging, shelf-life and production feasibility.
- Coordinate validation requirements and provide samples, product context and technical inputs for CTI-led testing where required; CTI remains responsible for study design, analysis and reporting.
3. R&D STANDARDS, CAPABILITY & EFFICIENCY
- Prepare and maintain complete R&D project documents, including product proposal, recipe, SOP, SPEC, BOM, ingredient information, trial records, acceptance criteria and production-process inputs where applicable.
- Ensure final technical packages match the approved product and can be used without ambiguity by Operations, QA/QC, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Procurement, L&D and suppliers.
- Maintain clear recipe versions, trial records, decision logs, issue logs and post-launch learnings to improve traceability and development efficiency.
- Build and apply technical knowledge in food ingredients, formulation, processing, shelf-life, sensory quality, food safety, supplier development and commercialisation.
4. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL & ONE MASAN
- Coordinate directly with Marketing/BPD, Chefs, suppliers, CTI, Supply Chain, Procurement, QA/QC, Regulatory, Operations and L&D for assigned projects.
- Ensure supplier technical documents, QA/QC acceptance criteria, Regulatory requirements, ingredient availability, cost assumptions and operational constraints are aligned before trial or launch recommendation.
- Provide timely project updates, risks, trade-offs and technical recommendations directly to the Head of R&D and relevant stakeholders.
- Participate in One Masan initiatives.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Culinary Science, Chemistry, Biotechnology or a related field.
- Minimum 6 years of experience in food R&D, foodservice product development, OEM food development, food manufacturing or related technical roles.
- Technical Knowledge: Strong applied knowledge of food formulation, ingredients, processing, recipe standardisation, shelf-life, sensory quality, food safety, COGS and store/factory feasibility.
- Able to independently manage several development plans, conduct trials, work effectively with Chefs and suppliers, prepare technical documents and coordinate cross-functional project inputs.
- Functional English, able to work and communicate directly with English speakers.
- trong analytical and problem-solving skills, documentation discipline and proficiency in Microsoft Office and SAP.
