Product Technologist

About Flora Food Group

We offer consumers a compelling choice in four growing categories: butters and spreads, creams, liquids and cheeses. We hold leadership positions in many of the 100 countries we operate in, with iconic brands including Flora, Becel+ProActiv, Blue Band, Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Rama, and Violife, together with our local brands and Professional business.  

Global branded food champion Flora Food Group, offers the next generation of delicious, natural, nutritious food. Our products are more affordable and more sustainable than their dairy equivalents.  

• Location: Wageningen, Netherlands
• Work mode: Hybrid

About The Position

The Product Technologist is part of the R&D team, working on innovation, renovation, and cost-saving projects across the Cheese portfolio. You will be responsible for R&D deliverables and ensuring best-in-class product design, leveraging the full technical expertise of the R&D functions to deliver projects.

Product quality is key to delighting our consumers and creating great culinary experiences. In this role, you will have the opportunity to lead the different stages of product development, which requires hands-on work in the lab, pilot plant, and factory upscaling.

Your responsibilities are global, and you will work on multi-country projects. The product scope includes plant-based, hybrid, and dairy cheese. This role reports to the Product Development Manager for Cheese in the Dairy Alternatives team and is part of the Global R&D Team based in our Food Science Centre in Wageningen.

On a daily basis, you will:

• Focus on creating amazing product designs, leading to the best tasting, nutritious, and functional products for consumers. You will work with cross-functional R&D project teams, including consumer and technical insights, product & packaging developers, flavour experts, microbiologists, etc.
• Explore and develop methodologies to scientifically measure culinary experiences and assess product performance.
• Provide technical leadership to ensure the right technical deliverables are executed on time and in full.
• Plan and conduct experiments (lab, pilot plant, and factory) based on technical hypotheses, analyse and report data, and draw conclusions.
• Develop product prototypes at bench, pilot plant, and factory scales in compliance with GMP, food safety, and quality standards.
• Characterize prototypes on physical-chemical and sensory aspects and evaluate shelf-life.
• Contribute to product and technical specifications for sourcing and supply chain in line with quality and consumer safety requirements.

What does it take to be successful in this role?

You are an energetic and passionate individual with a strong background in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemical Engineering, or a similar field, coupled with at least three years of relevant experience.

You excel at technically leading development projects and bring hands-on expertise in product development, consistently delivering projects on time and in full. You have experience with plant-based, dairy, or cheese products, preferably with emulsion matrices, and a background in food physics and rheology and/or fats and oils.

You have a proven ability to analyse factory and pilot trial data, including process output parameters. Proactive, disciplined, and eager to learn, you adapt flexibly to change while taking responsibility to drive initiatives to completion.

Fluency in spoken and written English is required, and you are willing to travel to factories when needed to support project needs.

What’S Next?

If this position sounds interesting, please hit the apply button now! The deadline to apply is October 7th. 

We understand your resume might not be up to date and recommend that you apply with what you have or your LinkedIn Profile. Flora Food Group is dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse workplace, we understand that you might not meet all the requirements stated in the description, but we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this role or other roles.  

Flora Food Group is an employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and equal opportunities for all. We recruit based only on values, qualifications, performance, skills, behaviours, experience, and knowledge. We ensure job advertisements are free from unintentional bias.  

No personal characteristics should be a barrier to joining Flora Food Group. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or other personal characteristics.