Manager- R&D Technologist – Symega Food Ingredients Ltd Kochi Kerala

About the Job – Manager- R&D Technologist – Symega Food Ingredients Ltd Kochi Kerala

Role objective – The Senior R&D Technologist- CPD is responsible for supporting Category Heads across all product categories (master of wet condiments – mayonnaise, dressings, dips & sauces) within Culinary division with sample creation and testing of all incoming client sample requests, creation of scale-up recipes for all client orders and working with Application/Research chefs for sample creation and testing for new products and applications. This role also supports and guides R&D technologists at a junior level to carry out day-to-day activities.

Sample creation for all CPD client sample requests – Attend all HR trainings to ensure adequate technical knowledge about all products and applications in CPD product portfolio (across categories)

· Support CPD Category Heads in generate quality leads for their category by attending relevant industry conferences and networking events- Handover all leads generated in a timely manner to Sales team

· Whenever required, accompany Category Heads to Sales pitch meetings and provide required technical support and expertise

· Provide support to Marketing team for creation of product catalogues, proposals and other marketing collaterals for the category for Sales team to use for lead generation and lead conversion- Ensure that the product catalogues are up to date with all new/revised products and application write-ups

· For all pitch meetings not attended, proactively communicate with Category Heads/Application Chef/Research Chef to understand client specifications for all sample requests

· Create samples which are within client’s quality specifications, price, and consistent with all regulatory guidelines and standards- Escalate critical issues and take support from Category Heads whenever required

Deliver all samples to Sales team/clients as per the timeline

Accurate creation of scale-up recipes across all client approved samples – Take support from Category Heads for creation of scale-up recipes and allied guidelines (client guidelines, relevant statutory and regulatory guidelines, quality SOPs, packaging and storage guidelines etc.) for all approved samples

· Comply with all necessary food safety guidelines specific and relevant to the client while creating scale-up recipes

Be available to support all relevant internal stakeholders through proactive communication and timely query resolution for on-time procurement and production

Support in new product development for across product categories in CPD- Collaborate with Category Heads at the start of every quarter to understand NPD strategy and NPD pipeline for CPD SBU- Understand all NPD product briefs, timelines and budgets

· Adhere to all budgets and commercialization timelines across all products in the NPD pipeline for which support it to be provided

· Take support from Marketing Intelligence team to prepare monthly market opportunity reports about competitor products in the category (recipe, geographic span, packaging, taste, essential characteristics, applications, production, retail cost etc.)- Ensure timely preparation and submission of reports to Category Heads across CPD (as inputs for NPD strategy updation for various product categories in CPD)

· Prepare for and attend weekly meetings with Category Heads to provide them with status updates on progress against key development milestones across all stages of new product development cycle- Escalate any critical issues and seek inputs/feedback from Category Heads

· Continuously experiment and develop new product and application ideas- Submit any seemingly feasible ideas to relevant Category Heads with pitch proposals (including market scan, product concept, raw material requirements, import/export considerations, budgets, labour and equipment requirements etc.)

· Adhere to all process documentation (SOPs and SLAs for sample creation, sample quality testing, sample dispatch etc.) while creating and testing samples for new products and applications- Seek support from Category Heads on any foreseeable deviations

· Collaborate with Marketing team to track new product performance on the market- Analyse data and generate performance reports for Category Heads

Knowledge management across product categories in CPD- Collaborate with IT team to map out product lifecycles for all existing products and new products in the pipeline- Map out which databases need to be integrated for each phase of the lifecycle to ensure timely migration

· Track movement of new products and applications across all processes of the new product development cycle – Provide weekly status reports to Category Heads

· Ensure that all products and applications mapped on the PLM system is up-to-date and aligned with product portfolios (across categories in CPD)- Remove any products that have been discontinued and add any new products /applications that have been developed in real-time

Create and maintain of active recipe for all product categories within CPD (sample recipe and scale-up recipes) database (with allied guidelines) across product categories and ensure proactive updation of this database in case of addition, re-formulation or removal of recipes

Education- Food Technologist with experience in wet condiments – mayonnaise, dressings, dips & sauces