Product Development Specialist, Wageningen, Gelderland

Company
Our client is a leading company in the dairy industry, committed to creating innovative and nutritious dairy products that delight consumers across the world. With a rich heritage rooted in Dutch tradition, they focus on quality, sustainability, and continuous product innovation, striving to inspire healthier and more enjoyable dairy experiences.
 
Job Description
As a Product Development Specialist you will be instrumental in driving the innovation and enhancement of existing dairy products and developing new offerings that meet evolving consumer needs. You'll work closely with various internal departments and external stakeholders to bring new ideas to life, supporting the company's mission to nourish by nature.
 
Responsibilities

• Lead and support the development and launch of new dairy products, ensuring they meet nutritional, quality, shelf life, cost, and sensory requirements.
• Plan and execute product renovations, including quality improvements, raw material updates, specification changes, and recipe transfers between factories.
• Analyze large datasets to support nutrition frameworks and cost-saving initiatives.
• Organize and oversee product testing at lab, pilot, and production levels; interpret results and prepare detailed reports.
• Present findings and project updates to relevant teams and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with internal teams (Marketing, Supply Chain, QA, Procurement, R&D) and external partners such as suppliers to ensure successful product development.
• Support ongoing process improvements and apply value engineering techniques in existing products.

• Master’s degree in food technology, dairy processing, food science, chemistry, or a related field.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in product development within the food or dairy industry, especially fermented dairy products.
• Strong skills in data analysis, proficient in Excel, with familiarity in PowerBI or similar tools.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and verbal.
• Key competencies include being analytical, result-oriented, proactive, well-organized, team-oriented, decisive, and capable of engaging and challenging colleagues.
• Willingness to travel within the region.

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