Actual Talent is the talent acquisition consultancy that offers Executive Search, RPO and Talent Solutions.
About the client:
Our client is an international food company based in Barcelona, Spain, operating in 7 European countries and offering 21 iconic local brands.
Job description:
We are looking for a hands-on Product Development Leader who can bridge Marketing ambition, product development and factory implementation.
The role owns the technical translation of the Marketing/product brief into a clear technical product and process specification, develops the product from kitchen prototype through pilot scale, and ensures successful industrialization at factory level.
The ideal candidate combines strong food development capabilities with a process-engineering mindset. Success means not only creating a great-tasting product that delivers the consumer proposition, but ensuring it can be manufactured reliably, efficiently and consistently at industrial scale.
Key Responsibilities:
Project Management
Lead medium complex development projects from brief to successful factory implementation.
Coordinate cross-functional teams and ensure clear milestones, responsibilities and timing.
Proactively manage technical risks, priorities and roadblocks.
Ensure projects are delivered on time, in full and ready for robust production.
Marketing Brief → Technical Specification
Partner closely with Marketing to understand the consumer proposition, product brief, target product experience, claims, positioning and cost expectations.
Translate the Marketing brief into a clear technical brief/specification, defining the key product, ingredient, sensory, process and quality requirements.
Assess technical feasibility and identify potential constraints, risks and trade-offs early in the development process.
Develop prototypes that bring the Marketing concept to life while ensuring technical and industrial feasibility.
Use sensory evaluation and technical data to guide product choices and align stakeholders around the final product.
Product Development
Develop and optimize from concept through final formulation.
Select ingredients and understand their functionality within the product and industrial process.
Deliver the targeted taste, texture, appearance and overall consumer experience while meeting cost, quality, food safety, regulatory and sustainability requirements.
Translate kitchen formulations into scalable industrial recipes.
Scale-Up & Industrialization
Lead the technical journey from Kitchen → Pilot → Factory Trial → First Production → Stable Production.
Define critical process parameters and understand the interaction between recipe, raw materials, equipment and processing conditions.
Work hands-on with factory, Engineering and Quality teams during industrial trials and start-ups.
Troubleshoot scale-up issues and determine whether the root cause lies in formulation, ingredients, equipment or process conditions.
Ensure the product does not simply succeed in a factory trial, but runs robustly, consistently and efficiently in normal production.
Translate learnings into final technical specifications, process parameters and SOPs.
Requirements:
University degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Engineering, Chemistry, Pharmacy or a related discipline.
3–5 years of experience in the food industry, within product development, R&D, process engineering or a similar role.
Proven hands-on experience in product scale-up, industrialization and the implementation of new products in a factory environment.
Strong understanding of how ingredients, formulations, equipment and processing conditions interact at industrial scale.
Experience coordinating projects and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify root causes and implement practical solutions.
A proactive, adaptable and collaborative approach, with strong organizational and communication skills.
Fluent Spanish and English
Important information:
Location: Rubí, Barcelona.
Working model: On-site, with one day of remote work per week, subject to project and travel requirements.
Availability to work full-time.
Travel requirements: up to 75% in Europe
Access to a car is recommended due to the location in Rubí.