Process Development Manager

Process Development Manager
Food Manufacturing
Location: Greater Manchester
Salary: £40,000 - £42,000

Getting a product right in a development kitchen is one thing. Getting it right when you're making thousands of them is another.

The flavour needs to be right. The texture needs to be right. The cooking process needs to work. And somehow, you've got to make all of that happen consistently, safely and commercially on a busy production line.

That's where you come in.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of the process development and factory introduction of new products within an established food manufacturing business.

You'll work closely with Development Chefs, taking customer-approved recipes and figuring out how to make them work at scale without losing what made them successful in the first place.

And it won't always be straightforward.

Equipment limitations, cooking and cooling processes, yields, shelf life and production efficiencies will all come into play. You'll be the person bringing Development, Operations, Technical and Engineering together to find solutions and get products ready for launch.

You'll lead factory trials, manage process validations and oversee the journey through to the first successful production runs.

It's a role where you'll see the results of your work on the factory floor.

You'll also take responsibility for managing project timelines, keeping customers informed and developing a Food Development Coordinator within the team.

They're looking for someone with Process Development or NPD experience within food manufacturing who understands what happens when a recipe leaves the kitchen and meets the realities of industrial production.

Experience with cooking processes, factory trials and product launches will be important, particularly within chilled or frozen food manufacturing.

You'll need to be organised, commercially aware and comfortable challenging people when something isn't going to work.

But above all, you'll need to enjoy solving problems.

Because the real satisfaction in this role isn't just seeing a new product launched. It's knowing you were the person who made it possible to manufacture it properly.

If that sounds like the kind of challenge you enjoy, let's have a confidential conversation
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed