Food Technologist - NPD

JOB DESCRIPTION & KRA

FOOD TECHNOLOGIST – NPD MANAGER

1. Position Details

Position

Food Technologist – NPD Manager

Department

Research & Development / New Product Development

Location

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Reporting To

Management / Business Head

Work Mode

Full-time, On-site

Key Interfaces

Production, QA/QC, Procurement, Packaging, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Logistics

2. Job Purpose

To lead New Product Development at Samasta Foods as a hands-on Food Technologist, taking products from concept and formulation through food-processing trials, factory scale-up, costing, shelf-life, documentation and commercialisation. The role must combine strong food-technology knowledge with practical factory execution and ownership of scalable, consistent and commercially viable products.

3. Key ResponsibilitiesA. NPD & Product Development

·       Own the NPD pipeline based on business priorities, consumer needs and market opportunities.

·       Convert product briefs into formulations, trial plans, timelines and technical specifications.

·       Develop and optimise formulations for taste, texture, appearance, nutrition, stability and target cost.

·       Select and evaluate ingredients and alternate raw materials with Procurement and QA/QC.

·       Drive renovation/reformulation of existing products where required.

B. Food Technology & Process Development

·       Apply food-processing principles to develop robust and scalable manufacturing processes.

·       Define critical process parameters (CPPs), process sequence, temperature/time conditions, mixing, cooking, cooling, coating and other applicable controls.

·       Study ingredient functionality, interactions, moisture behaviour, texture and processing impact.

·       Convert lab/pilot processes into practical factory SOPs and operating parameters.

·       Identify process risks and optimise yield, throughput and product consistency.

C. Factory Trials & Scale-up

·       Plan and execute lab, pilot and commercial factory trials.

·       Work directly with Production, operators and Maintenance during trials.

·       Conduct trials on relevant equipment including Chikki Line, Flow Wrap, Enrober, Protein Bar Line and other NPD machinery.

·       Diagnose scale-up problems and modify formulation/process parameters based on evidence.

·       Ensure successful products are repeatable at commercial scale before handover.

D. Quality, Food Safety & Shelf-life

·       Work with QA/QC to establish raw-material, in-process and finished-product specifications.

·       Ensure products comply with applicable food-safety, regulatory and labelling requirements.

·       Plan shelf-life and stability studies and evaluate critical quality attributes.

·       Investigate moisture migration, texture change, rancidity, sensory failure and other product deviations.

·       Maintain trial samples, retained samples and technical records.

E. Costing & Commercialisation

·       Prepare product costing with Procurement and Finance.

·       Optimise ingredient, packaging, yield, wastage and processing costs without compromising quality.

·       Support technical feasibility and go/no-go decisions.

·       Prepare complete product specifications, BOM, process parameters, trial reports and commercialisation documents.

·       Own technical handover to Production and QA/QC.

F. Team & Cross-functional Management

·       Coordinate NPD requirements across Production, QA/QC, Procurement, Packaging and Commercial teams.

·       Guide NPD team members and build strong technical and problem-solving capability.

·       Maintain project timelines, action trackers and trial records.

·       Report NPD progress, risks, failures, corrective actions and launch readiness to Management.

4. KRA / KPI

KRA

Key Deliverable / KPI

Weight

Measurement

NPD Delivery

Projects completed against agreed timelines

15%

% projects on time

Product Development

Products successfully developed and approved

15%

Approved/commercialised projects vs plan

Factory Scale-up

Successful lab-to-commercial scale-up and repeatability

15%

First/second trial success rate

Food Technology / Process Optimisation

CPPs, SOPs, yield, throughput and process stability

15%

Process consistency; yield/wastage improvement

Quality & Sensory

Products meet quality, sensory and food-safety targets

10%

Approval/rejection/complaints

Cost Optimisation

Target cost, yield and wastage achieved

10%

Actual vs target cost/yield

Shelf-life & Stability

Shelf-life validation completed successfully

5%

Studies within specification

Documentation

Complete NPD technical file and handover

5%

Documentation completeness

Cross-functional Execution

Fast coordination and issue closure

5%

Trial readiness/closure time

Ownership & Team Development

Team capability and project ownership

5%

Performance and development

Total KRA Weight: 100%

5. Qualification & Experience

·       B.Tech / M.Tech / M.Sc. in Food Technology, Food Science, Food Engineering, Dairy Technology or related discipline.

·       Typically 6–12+ years of experience in Food Technology / R&D / NPD, preferably FMCG or food manufacturing.

·       Strong hands-on experience in formulation, food processing, factory trials and commercial scale-up.

·       Experience with snacks, chikki, protein/energy bars, coated products, flow wrapping or similar categories preferred.

·       Working knowledge of GMP/GHP, HACCP, food specifications, shelf-life and regulatory requirements.

6. Candidate Profile

·       Food Technologist first; strong NPD/product-development capability.

·       Hands-on factory experience rather than only project coordination.

·       Strong knowledge of ingredients, processing behaviour, texture and sensory attributes.

·       Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving skills.

·       Commercial mindset around cost, yield, wastage and manufacturability.

·       Comfortable working directly with operators and production machinery.

·       Strong communication, documentation, ownership and execution speed.

7. Practical Interview / Assessment

·       Explain one product developed from concept to commercial production and identify the candidate's exact contribution.

·       Give a lab-to-factory scale-up problem and assess formulation/process troubleshooting.

·       Test CPPs, ingredient functionality, moisture/texture behaviour, shelf-life and sensory evaluation.

·       Ask about a failed commercial trial and the corrective action taken.

·       Assess hands-on experience with Chikki, Flow Wrap, Enrober, Protein Bar or comparable equipment.

·       Verify number of products commercialised, plant scale, team size and measurable outcomes.

8. Overall Role Expectation

• The Food Technologist – NPD Manager is expected to bridge the gap between food science and factory execution: develop the right formulation, understand the process, run and troubleshoot factory trials, stabilise the process, achieve the target cost and quality, and take the product through successful commercialisation.