Head of R&D Regional Food Innovation

The Opportunity

We are representing an established Malaysian food and beverage group with a growing regional footprint and a strong portfolio of consumer food brands.

As the business continues to expand its product portfolio and strengthen its innovation capabilities, we are looking for an experienced Head of R&D to lead the Group's product development and technical innovation agenda.

This is a senior leadership position with responsibility for translating consumer and market opportunities into commercially viable products, while strengthening R&D capability, technical standards and manufacturing execution across the organisation.

What You'll Be Responsible For

R&D Strategy & Innovation

• Lead the overall R&D agenda in line with the Group's commercial and growth objectives.
  
• Establish priorities for new product development, renovation and technical improvement.
  
• Identify emerging food, ingredient and consumer trends and translate them into relevant innovation opportunities.
  
• Strengthen the Group's technical knowledge, development methodologies and innovation pipeline.
  

Product Development & Commercialisation

• Oversee the full product development cycle from concept and formulation through validation, trials and commercial launch.
  
• Ensure products are technically sound, commercially viable and capable of being manufactured consistently at scale.
  
• Lead product optimisation initiatives covering formulation, raw materials, process efficiency, quality and cost.
  
• Establish effective technical transfer processes between R&D and manufacturing.
  

Manufacturing & Technical Support

• Act as a senior technical partner to manufacturing and operational teams.
  
• Provide direction on complex formulation, process and product-quality issues.
  
• Lead factory trials, scale-up activities and technical troubleshooting for new and existing products.
  
• Drive structured root-cause analysis and sustainable corrective actions where required.
  

Technical Governance

• Strengthen standards surrounding product specifications, formulations, raw materials, technical documentation and product performance.
  
• Ensure R&D activities remain aligned with applicable food safety, regulatory and certification requirements.
  
• Work closely with Quality, Manufacturing, Procurement, Commercial and other stakeholders to ensure successful product execution.
  

Regional Collaboration

• Support product development and technical initiatives across the Group's regional operations.
  
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and technical consistency between different manufacturing and business units.
  
• Work with external suppliers, ingredient partners and technical specialists to evaluate new technologies and development opportunities.
  

Leadership

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary R&D team, including managers and senior technical personnel.
  
• Build stronger technical capability, succession depth and accountability within the function.
  
• Establish a culture focused on innovation, speed, technical discipline and commercial impact.
  

Requirements

• Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering, Chemistry or a related scientific discipline.
  
• Approximately 15+ years of relevant R&D / product development experience within the food manufacturing industry.
  
• Proven experience leading an R&D function or a sizeable technical/product development team.
  
• Strong track record in NPD, formulation, product renovation and commercialisation.
  
• Experience taking products from laboratory or development stage through factory trials and commercial production.
  
• Strong understanding of food manufacturing, raw materials, formulation, sensory evaluation, shelf-life and process optimisation.
  
• Good knowledge of food safety, regulatory and certification requirements.
  
• Commercially minded with the ability to balance innovation, quality, speed and cost.
  
• Experience working with multiple manufacturing sites, business units or markets will be highly advantageous.
  
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to engage senior management as well as technical and operational teams.
  
• Willingness to travel when required for regional projects, plant activities and supplier engagement.
  

Why This Role

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a significant Group-level R&D function within an established food business.

You will have direct influence over the company's innovation pipeline, product portfolio and technical capability, working closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams across the business.

If you're an experienced food R&D leader looking to move beyond individual projects and take broader ownership of innovation, product development and technical strategy, we'd be interested in speaking with you.