Senior Product Development Technologist

Senior Product Development Technologist

Location: Craigavon
Department: Product & Innovation
Reports to: Product Development Manager

Shape the Future of Food Innovation

At Pilgrim's Europe, we're passionate about creating innovative food products that excite consumers and drive business growth. We're looking for a talented and driven Senior Product Development Technologist to join our Product & Innovation team and play a key role in bringing new products from concept through to successful market launch.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced food product developer who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys managing complex projects, and has a passion for food trends, innovation, and delivering exceptional products for customers.

The Role

As a Senior Development Technologist, you will take ownership of end-to-end New Product Development (NPD) and Existing Product Development (EPD) projects, working closely with customer teams, development chefs, site teams, and cross-functional stakeholders.

You will drive projects through our concept-to-launch process, ensuring products are commercially viable, technically feasible, and aligned to customer strategies and business growth objectives. Acting as a key link between innovation, development, NPI, and launch teams, you'll help shape the future food agenda across Pilgrim's Europe.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development & Innovation

• Deliver customer-focused and commercially successful NPD and EPD projects.
• Work alongside Development Chefs, Technologists, and Customer Teams to develop innovative food solutions.
• Ensure all developments meet customer requirements, legal standards, allergen controls, sustainability goals, and welfare standards.
• Identify opportunities for product improvement that enhance customer satisfaction and business value.
• Support innovation sessions and customer presentations, bringing market trends and consumer insights to life.
• Become a subject matter expert within your product category.

Project Management

• Lead projects through the Concept-to-Launch Gate Process, ensuring milestones are met and fully documented.
• Manage project critical paths and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver successful product launches.
• Assess product feasibility and ensure all developments are technically and commercially viable.
• Build and maintain accurate recipe and costing data within internal systems.
• Support customer relationships by delivering projects on time and managing expectations effectively.

Technical Excellence

• Ensure products presented to customers are of the highest quality and representative of manufacturing capabilities.
• Challenge and resolve quality or consistency issues quickly and effectively.
• Review and approve artwork to ensure compliance with legal and customer requirements.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and implementation of best-practice development processes.
• Maintain all required documentation to support internal and external audits.

People & Team Development

• Support and coach colleagues to maximise performance and development.
• Conduct regular one-to-one reviews with direct reports where applicable.
• Identify training and development needs within the team.
• Contribute to engagement initiatives and foster a positive team culture.

Market & Consumer Insight

• Stay ahead of emerging food, consumer, and restaurant trends.
• Monitor competitor activity and identify new business opportunities.
• Support customer roadmaps and innovation strategies aligned to market trends and site capabilities.
• Bring passion, creativity, and food expertise into every project.

About You

We're looking for someone who combines technical expertise with commercial awareness and excellent stakeholder management skills.

Essential Requirements

• Previous experience in a Product Development role within the food manufacturing industry.
• Proven experience launching food products from concept to market.
• Product costing experience.
• Understanding of budgets and commercial drivers.
• Supply chain knowledge, including sourcing ingredients and packaging.
• Strong project management skills with experience managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills.
• Strong analytical ability and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Relevant food industry qualification and/or equivalent experience.

Desirable

• Degree in Food Science, Marketing, Business, or a related discipline.
• Experience within relevant product categories.
• Experience working with geographically dispersed teams.

Why Join Pilgrim's Europe?

At Pilgrim's Europe, our values drive everything we do:

• Availability – We embrace challenges and opportunities.
• Humility – We listen, learn, and respect each other.
• Discipline – We deliver on our commitments.
• Sincerity – We act with honesty and integrity.
• Simplicity, Ownership & Determination – We focus on what matters and drive results.

If you're passionate about food innovation, thrive on bringing ideas to life, and want to make a real impact within a leading food business, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and help shape the future of food at Pilgrim's Europe.