At Valeo Foods UK we bring together a family of much-loved UK food brands supported by the scale and ambition of a global investment partner. From Kettle’s bold crunch to Rowse’s natural sweetness, through to Matthew Walker and Barratt Sweets, our portfolio blends heritage, craft and category-leading innovation.
Alongside our branded portfolio, we are also one of the UK’s largest suppliers of private label products, partnering with major retailers to deliver quality and category expertise that meets the needs of millions of households every week.
As a business, we’re on a journey of transformation. We’re strengthening our operations, driving quality and investing in our people. It’s an exciting, fast-moving environment where heritage meets new thinking, and where every colleague contributes to shaping the future of food across the UK.
Join us and play your part in building the next chapter of some of Britain’s most loved brands.
Job Description6 month fixed term contract
📍 York (site-based, 5 days a week)
At Valeo Foods UK, we’re looking for an R&D Support Technologist to join our confectionery team on a 6-month fixed-term contract.
This is a practical, hands-on role based at our York site, working closely with the R&D Manager and wider teams to support the delivery of product development projects across our UK confectionery sites.
You’ll play a key role in supporting R&D activity, particularly within our Valeo Confectionery Academy (pilot plant), helping to turn concepts into scalable products.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Supporting product trials and sample preparation in the pilot plant and factory
- Managing ingredients, materials and stock for development and trials
- Maintaining accurate documentation, including recipes and specifications
- Running and supporting sensory evaluation and shelf-life testing, and turning results into clear insights
- Coordinating with suppliers and internal teams to ensure materials are available for trials
- Supporting customer and internal visits, including set-up and sample preparation
- Assisting with factory trials, reporting results and keeping stakeholders updated
You’ll work closely with teams across product development, operations, procurement, technical and marketing, so strong communication and organisation will be important.
QualificationsWe’re looking for someone who is:
- Experienced or qualified in food science, product development, or a related area
- UK Drivers Licence
- Comfortable in a hands-on, site-based environment
- Organised and detail-focused, particularly with documentation and processes
- Collaborative, with the ability to work across different teams
- Interested in product quality, sensory testing and continuous improvement
This is a good opportunity to gain broad exposure to R&D in a busy, commercially focused environment, with involvement across the full development lifecycle.
Skills Required
- Experience or qualification in food science, product development, or related area
- UK driving licence
- Comfortable in a hands-on, site-based factory environment (York site, 5 days/week)
- Organised and detail-focused, particularly with documentation and processes
- Collaborative with ability to work across product development, operations, procurement, technical and marketing teams
- Interest in product quality, sensory testing and continuous improvement
What We Do
We are a leading producer and innovator of high quality, category-defining branded food products that have a proud history that dates back to 1845. At Valeo Foods, we are passionate about food and our portfolio of over 20 iconic food brands, which includes Jacobs, Batchelors, Kettle, Rowse Honey, Balconi, Schluckwerder, are tried and trusted by consumers across Ireland, UK and Europe for their quality, wholesomeness, nutrition and fun. We are a diverse business that combines food production, brand development and innovation, distribution and sales. We are Ireland’s largest ambient food supplier to the grocery trade, a major supplier to the food service market through Valeo Professional, and an increasingly prominent supplier to the UK market and a range of European Markets now. We are focused on the continued development of our excellent portfolio of category defining food brands as we look to expand our footprint across Ireland, UK, Europe and beyond with our latest acquisition in North America. We are committed to delivering quality food products through continued innovation and excellence in manufacturing. This commitment ensures that our brands retain a market leading position in each of their respective categories. We continue to recruit people with the best skills and expertise across a range of areas including manufacturing, food science, research and development, nutrition, distribution, sales, operations, marketing, human resources and finance, and aspire to be a best in class employer, focused on developing and empowering our people.
