Product Development Scientist

R&D Product Development Scientist - Dry Applications
Location: North Brabant, The Netherlands (minimum 4 days per week on site)

The Company

Our client is an established international manufacturer supplying specialty dry ingredients and functional additives to food producers around the world. Backed by a strong innovation culture and a well resourced R&D function, they are known for combining raw material expertise with advanced processing technology to solve technical challenges for their customers. As part of continued investment in their innovation pipeline, they are looking to add a hands on scientist to their product development team based in the Netherlands.

What You'll Be Doing

This role sits at the centre of a global R&D function and carries ownership over the development of new dry product formulations, from early concept through to full scale production. You'll work cross functionally with process engineers, regulatory colleagues and external partners, and report into the regional Head of Product and Process Sciences.

Day to day, this looks like:

• Owning the technical development of new dry product formulations, running projects end to end from concept to launch
• Bringing strong raw material knowledge (particularly around yeast based ingredients) to build out functional base formulations for new products
• Running lab trials and using analytical tools such as NIR and colorimetry to assess new product performance
• Finding ways to improve existing product technologies, whether that's better performance, higher quality, or more efficient manufacturing
• Tapping into external expertise, suppliers, universities, research partners, to bring outside thinking into internal development work
• Building out trial plans and risk assessments to keep new product projects on track and de risked
• Working alongside Regulatory Affairs to keep every development project compliant from day one
• Taking the lead on pilot scale spray drying work, using your understanding of glass transition and drying behaviour to get product stability right
• Partnering closely with Process Engineering to manage risk as products move from pilot to full production
• Applying your knowledge of dry processing (blending, spray drying) to take recipes from lab bench to factory floor without losing quality or consistency along the way
• Acting as the technical go to for manufacturing sites when questions come up about how a product and its process interact
• Analysing trial and experimental data to guide next steps
• Writing up and presenting findings clearly so project teams and stakeholders can make informed decisions

What You'll Bring

• A BSc or MSc in Food Technology, Chemical Engineering, Food Science or similar
• Experience in a food related technical environment, with exposure to product development and scale up
• A working understanding of food chemistry, microbiology, sensory science and food safety principles
• Hands on formulation experience
• Exposure to spray drying technology and an understanding of concepts like glass transition
• A grasp of food manufacturing practices and quality standards
• Experience taking a formulation from lab scale through pilot and into full manufacturing
• Comfort with Design of Experiments (DoE) and statistical analysis of trial data
• Fluent English, with Dutch speaking being a strong preference too
• A practical understanding of how to manage projects day to day

The Kind of Person We're Looking For

• A natural problem solver who thinks in root causes, not just symptoms
• Genuinely hands on, happy spending real time in a lab or pilot plant rather than purely at a desk
• Takes ownership, follows through, and doesn't need to be chased
• Always looking for a better way to do things
• Can explain technical work clearly to both technical and non technical audiences
• Works well across teams and builds trust easily
• Comfortable juggling multiple projects and shifting priorities
• Curious by nature, and takes feedback as a tool for getting better

Why Join

• Genuine ownership of projects from first concept through to commercial launch
• Exposure to a global network of technical experts, partners and manufacturing sites
• A collaborative team culture with real cross functional involvement
• A defined career path with structured development support
• A competitive package reflecting experience