Senior NPD Technologist; S X3

Overview

These are senior, sleeves-rolled-up NPD roles for someone who understands that great bakery products are born at the intersection of craft, commercial reality, and technical discipline.

You'll take ownership of the end-to-end NPD lifecycle—idea to launch—working closely with commercial, technical, operations, and supply chain teams to deliver profitable, scalable, retailer-ready bakery products.

If you love bakery, thrive under pressure, and can turn a brief into a product that actually survives factory scale-up and retailer scrutiny, you'll feel right at home.

Product Development & Innovation

• Lead the development of new bakery products across bread, biscuits, cakes and seasonal ranges (depending on the business focus).
• Translate customer and retailer briefs into technically sound, commercially viable products.
• Drive continuous improvement of existing products to optimise quality, cost, shelf life, and process efficiency.
• Champion ingredient functionality, recipe optimisation, and process robustness.

Customer & Commercial Interface

• Act as the technical NPD lead on key customer accounts.
• Support customer presentations, product submissions, tastings, and trials.
• Balance innovation with margin—because great ideas still need to make money.

Factory Trials & Scale-Up

• Lead factory trials from bench to full-scale production.
• Work closely with Operations and Engineering to ensure smooth handovers and repeatable processes.
• Identify and mitigate risks early—no surprises on launch day.

Technical & Compliance

• Ensure all products meet food safety, quality, legal, and retailer standards.
• Support shelf-life testing, nutritional compliance, and specifications.
• Work collaboratively with Technical teams to ensure seamless sign-off.

Mentorship & Leadership

• Coach and support junior NPD technologists.
• Set standards, share best practice, and raise the technical bar across the team.
• Be a calm, credible presence when timelines tighten and pressure rises.

You're commercially sharp, technically credible, and bakery-obsessed—in the best possible way.

You'll bring:

• Proven experience in bakery NPD within a food manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of bakery processes, ingredients, and functionality.
• Experience working with major UK retailers or branded customers.
• Confidence leading trials, customer meetings, and cross-functional projects.
• The ability to manage multiple projects without dropping the ball