Sr. Scientist - Product Development

Position Title: Sr. Scientist - Product Development
Position Type: Regular - Full-Time
Position Location: Scarborough
Requisition ID: 31706
There's nothing beige about McCain...
Except our potatoes - and we're extremely passionate about them.
When you join McCain, you'll be joining the biggest player in the frozen potato game, bringing people together around the nation for over 60 years by sharing simple, delicious planet friendly food.
We've partnered with thousands of the country's supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, hospitals, and schools to change the way people see the humble spud. It's all about elevation and creating something better.
So, come and make your career at McCain Foods.
About the role
You will be responsible for leading the technical development and implementation of new and/or improved products or processes on multiple global and regional potato and appetiser projects, working in partnership with the other disciplines involved in the project team following the general principles of project management.
Product Development:

• Designing and developing products that meet the product development brief, translating consumer insight data into key attributes that will meet the consumer expectation.
• Leading the technical project management of global and regional projects following the stage gate process to time, cost and quality expectations, ensuring all documentation meets audit requirements.
• Generation of technical timelines taking into consideration key deliverables and milestones from gate 1 to launch as project technical lead in partnership with the commercial lead and in collaboration with the cross-functional project team.
• Leading the practical side of product prototyping from bench, pilot trials through to plant scale trials ensuring critical processes and parameters are robustly tested and validated.
• Owning the product design specification, collecting data from trials or sensory assessments to accuratey set design control targets and ranges and collaborating with Sensory and Quality.
• Understanding of ingredients, nutrition, regulatory landscape, food safety, and product processing knowledge ensuring adherence to regional and global guidelines.
• Leading the launch implementation plan communicating to all stakeholders to enable a smooth production and handover to Manufacturing and Quality.
• Driving core product improvement initiatives, developing to cost whilst protecting product design and understanding potential impacts to key product attributes that drive liking

Communication:

• Leading clear and open communication with key functions including Marketing, Food Safety and Quality, Manufacturing, Procurement, Agriculture and any other associated departments, suppliers, and third party manufacturers.
• Effectively presenting technical knowledge to a wide audience of stakeholders, demonstrating a high level of communication abilities whether in writing of in person.
• Good stakeholder management and understanding of timely updates to senior leadership team

Proactive Development:

• Be informed on food trends, ingredients, food industry practices and new product introductions internally and externally, sharing relevant information with the wider team.
• Actively engage in personal development conversations, taking onboard our Leadership Principles and demonstrating in everyday behaviour.
• Be curious, bring new ideas to the team and continuously help us to drive our standards forward.

People Development:

• Be an engaged member of the R&D team, sharing best practices and learnings with wider team and cross-regionally.
• Coach and support other members of the team when necessary during project work.

About you:

• Must have Degree in Food Science, Food Manufacturing, equivalent or Relevant Work Experience
• 5yrs + of product development experience in the food industry with demonstrated knowledge of project management.
• Spent plenty of time in development kitchens and have learned how to balance creativity with a structured yet systematic approach.
• Gained exposure to a variety of food manufacturing processes and have a deep understanding of what works and doesn't work - and why.
• Stage gate, project management & accurate documentation skills
• Concept development, prototyping and scale up experience
• Feasibility & risk assessments
• Understanding of costs and ability to build COGs with Finance
• Manufacturing processing experience
• Raw material/ingredient knowledge
• Food safety knowledge (HACCP, microbiology, allergens)
• Food regulations knowledge of nutritional and ingredient declarations

We understand that no one is perfect, and you might not tick every box on this list. However, we believe in nurturing growth within the role. So, if you think you have what it takes, even if you don't meet every single requirement, we still want to hear from you. You could be exactly who we need! Apply today!
What's in it for me?
Although we do encourage you to taste the goods you'll be pleased to know we don't pay you in chips. For working hard, you'll also get a great salary and some pretty good benefits including:

• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay
• Flexible holidays - where you can buy & sell up to 5 days holiday per year
• Optional health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• 'Chips In' Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the long-term development of McCain communities across the globe

And of course, being part of a Global business there are great opportunities to shine/thrive should you wish to relocate in the future. We have an impressive 5 year growth plan that presents development & progression opportunities for those who seek it out.
WHERE YOU'LL WORK:
Being in the office every single day is a thing of the past. Here at McCain, we champion hybrid working. This means we don't have a set expectation of exactly when you need to be in the office - however we would like to see you on a weekly basis as that's the best place for us to build and maintain our connections. Our head office (Customer Experience Centre) is on the outskirts of Scarborough - 1.5 hours away from Leeds City Centre, and about an hour from York.
We have lots of colleagues who travel to and from our Experience Centre (even if it is just for a good coffee!) and because hybrid really does mean hybrid at McCain, they get the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues when they're in the office, and balance that with working from home to ensure they get a good life-work balance.
There's nothing beige about McCain...
Except our potatoes - and we're extremely passionate about them.
When you join McCain, you'll be joining the biggest player in the frozen potato game, bringing people together around the nation for over 60 years by sharing simple, delicious planet friendly food.
We've partnered with thousands of the country's supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, hospitals, and schools to change the way people see the humble spud. It's all about elevation and creating something better.
So, come and make your career at McCain Foods.
About the role
You will be responsible for leading the technical development and implementation of new and/or improved products or processes on multiple global and regional potato and appetiser projects, working in partnership with the other disciplines involved in the project team following the general principles of project management.
Product Development:

• Designing and developing products that meet the product development brief, translating consumer insight data into key attributes that will meet the consumer expectation.
• Leading the technical project management of global and regional projects following the stage gate process to time, cost and quality expectations, ensuring all documentation meets audit requirements.
• Generation of technical timelines taking into consideration key deliverables and milestones from gate 1 to launch as project technical lead in partnership with the commercial lead and in collaboration with the cross-functional project team.
• Leading the practical side of product prototyping from bench, pilot trials through to plant scale trials ensuring critical processes and parameters are robustly tested and validated.
• Owning the product design specification, collecting data from trials or sensory assessments to accuratey set design control targets and ranges and collaborating with Sensory and Quality.
• Understanding of ingredients, nutrition, regulatory landscape, food safety, and product processing knowledge ensuring adherence to regional and global guidelines.
• Leading the launch implementation plan communicating to all stakeholders to enable a smooth production and handover to Manufacturing and Quality.
• Driving core product improvement initiatives, developing to cost whilst protecting product design and understanding potential impacts to key product attributes that drive liking

Communication:

• Leading clear and open communication with key functions including Marketing, Food Safety and Quality, Manufacturing, Procurement, Agriculture and any other associated departments, suppliers, and third party manufacturers.
• Effectively presenting technical knowledge to a wide audience of stakeholders, demonstrating a high level of communication abilities whether in writing of in person.
• Good stakeholder management and understanding of timely updates to senior leadership team

Proactive Development:

• Be informed on food trends, ingredients, food industry practices and new product introductions internally and externally, sharing relevant information with the wider team.
• Actively engage in personal development conversations, taking onboard our Leadership Principles and demonstrating in everyday behaviour.
• Be curious, bring new ideas to the team and continuously help us to drive our standards forward.

People Development:

• Be an engaged member of the R&D team, sharing best practices and learnings with wider team and cross-regionally.
• Coach and support other members of the team when necessary during project work.

About you:

• Must have Degree in Food Science, Food Manufacturing, equivalent or Relevant Work Experience
• 5yrs + of product development experience in the food industry with demonstrated knowledge of project management.
• Spent plenty of time in development kitchens and have learned how to balance creativity with a structured yet systematic approach.
• Gained exposure to a variety of food manufacturing processes and have a deep understanding of what works and doesn't work - and why.
• Stage gate, project management & accurate documentation skills
• Concept development, prototyping and scale up experience
• Feasibility & risk assessments
• Understanding of costs and ability to build COGs with Finance
• Manufacturing processing experience
• Raw material/ingredient knowledge
• Food safety knowledge (HACCP, microbiology, allergens)
• Food regulations knowledge of nutritional and ingredient declarations

We understand that no one is perfect, and you might not tick every box on this list. However, we believe in nurturing growth within the role. So, if you think you have what it takes, even if you don't meet every single requirement, we still want to hear from you. You could be exactly who we need! Apply today!
What's in it for me?
Although we do encourage you to taste the goods you'll be pleased to know we don't pay you in chips. For working hard, you'll also get a great salary and some pretty good benefits including:

• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12% of your pay
• Flexible holidays - where you can buy & sell up to 5 days holiday per year
• Optional health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• 'Chips In' Volunteering Day Off - to make a positive impact to the long-term development of McCain communities across the globe

And of course, being part of a Global business there are great opportunities to shine/thrive should you wish to relocate in the future. We have an impressive 5 year growth plan that presents development & progression opportunities for those who seek it out.
WHERE YOU'LL WORK:
Being in the office every single day is a thing of the past. Here at McCain, we champion hybrid working. This means we don't have a set expectation of exactly when you need to be in the office - however we would like to see you on a weekly basis as that's the best place for us to build and maintain our connections. Our head office (Customer Experience Centre) is on the outskirts of Scarborough - 1.5 hours away from Leeds City Centre, and about an hour from York.
We have lots of colleagues who travel to and from our Experience Centre (even if it is just for a good coffee!) and because hybrid really does mean hybrid at McCain, they get the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues when they're in the office, and balance that with working from home to ensure they get a good life-work balance.
McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. We see value in ensuring we have a diverse, antiracist, inclusive, merit-based, and equitable workplace. As a global family-owned company we are proud to reflect the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that diversity drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger.
McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.
Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with the Global Privacy Policy
Job Family: Research & Development
Division: Global Research and Development
Department: NPD Projects
Location(s): GB - United Kingdom : England : Scarborough || GB - United Kingdom : England : Bath || GB - United Kingdom : England : Birmingham* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Bradford* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Brighton & Hove || GB - United Kingdom : England : Bristol* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Cambridge || GB - United Kingdom : England : Canterbury* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Carlisle || GB - United Kingdom : England : Chelmsford || GB - United Kingdom : England : Chester* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Chichester || GB - United Kingdom : England : Colchester || GB - United Kingdom : England : Coventry* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Derby || GB - United Kingdom : England : Doncaster || GB - United Kingdom : England : Durham || GB - United Kingdom : England : Ely || GB - United Kingdom : England : Exeter* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Gloucester || GB - United Kingdom : England : Grantham || GB - United Kingdom : England : Hereford || GB - United Kingdom : England : Hull || GB - United Kingdom : England : Kingston-upon-Hull* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Lancaster || GB - United Kingdom : England : Leeds* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Leicester* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Lichfield || GB - United Kingdom : England : Lincoln || GB - United Kingdom : England : Liverpool* || GB - United Kingdom : England : London* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Manchester* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Milton Keynes || GB - United Kingdom : England : Newcastle-upon-Tyne* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Norwich* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Nottingham* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Oxford* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Peterborough || GB - United Kingdom : England : Plymouth* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Portsmouth* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Preston || GB - United Kingdom : England : Ripon || GB - United Kingdom : England : Salford || GB - United Kingdom : England : Salisbury || GB - United Kingdom : England : Sheffield* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Southampton* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Southend-on-Sea || GB - United Kingdom : England : St Albans || GB - United Kingdom : England : Stoke on Trent* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Sunderland || GB - United Kingdom : England : Truro || GB - United Kingdom : England : Wakefield || GB - United Kingdom : England : Wells || GB - United Kingdom : England : Westminster* || GB - United Kingdom : England : Whittlesey || GB - United Kingdom : England : Winchester || GB - United Kingdom : England : Wolverhampton || GB - United Kingdom : England : Wombourne || GB - United Kingdom : England : Worcester || GB - United Kingdom : England : York* || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Armagh* || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Bangor || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Belfast* || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Lisburn || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Londonderry || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Newry || GB - United Kingdom : Other : Reference job description || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Aberdeen* || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Dundee* || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Dunfermline || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Edinburgh* || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Glasgow* || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Inverness || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Montrose || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Perth || GB - United Kingdom : Scotland : Stirling || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : Bangor || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : Cardiff* || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : Newport || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : St Asaph || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : St Davids || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : Swansea* || GB - United Kingdom : Wales : Wrexham
Company: McCain Foods (G.B.) Ltd