For a growing Italian food manufacturing company with an increasing international presence, we are looking for an experienced R&D Manager to lead product development and contribute to the continuous evolution of the company's product portfolio.
Reporting to the Quality Manager and working closely with the CEO, Production, Sales and Procurement, the successful candidate will combine strong technical expertise with a pragmatic, hands-on approach to product development and industrialization.
The role offers significant autonomy and direct involvement throughout the entire development process, from initial concept and formulation through industrial trials, scale-up and product launch.
The Role
The R&D Manager will be responsible for developing new products and improving existing formulations, translating market trends, customer requirements and business opportunities into technically sound and industrially scalable solutions.
The position requires the ability to balance product innovation, quality, industrial feasibility, cost and commercial requirements, while working effectively across different business functions.
This is both a managerial and operational role: the successful candidate will actively contribute to development activities and industrial trials while providing direction and coordination to the R&D function.
Key Responsibilities
Product Development
- Lead the development of new food products from concept through to industrial implementation and market launch.
- Manage the complete product development cycle, including formulation, laboratory trials, pilot testing, industrial scale-up and validation.
- Review and optimize existing recipes and formulations to improve product quality, consistency, performance and cost effectiveness.
- Ensure that new formulations can be successfully transferred from development to full-scale manufacturing.
- Evaluate new ingredients, raw materials and technologies, assessing their technical and commercial potential.
- Translate customer requirements and market opportunities into viable product development projects.
Industrialization & Continuous Improvement
- Plan and coordinate industrial trials and production validations in close collaboration with Manufacturing and Quality.
- Support production teams during scale-up, process validation and the introduction of new products.
- Identify opportunities to improve product quality, stability, shelf life and manufacturing efficiency.
- Contribute to the optimization of formulation and production costs while maintaining the required quality standards.
- Support troubleshooting activities related to products and manufacturing processes, identifying technically effective and sustainable solutions.
Quality & Compliance
- Work closely with the Quality function to ensure that new products and formulations comply with applicable food safety, regulatory and quality requirements.
- Ensure that product development activities are consistent with company quality standards and relevant food industry certifications.
- Contribute to the preparation and maintenance of technical documentation related to new and existing products.
Innovation & External Partnerships
- Monitor market trends, emerging technologies, ingredients and innovation opportunities relevant to the food industry.
- Develop and maintain relationships with ingredient suppliers, technical partners, laboratories and research institutions.
- Work closely with Sales and Procurement to evaluate customer requirements, new ingredients and potential product opportunities.
- Contribute to the company's innovation pipeline by identifying development opportunities with clear technical and commercial potential.
Candidate Profile
- Degree in Food Science and Technology, Food Chemistry or a related scientific discipline. Candidates with a strong technical background and equivalent professional experience will also be considered.
- At least 5 years of experience in R&D and product development within the food manufacturing industry.
- Solid experience in the development and industrialization of formulated food products.
- Strong understanding of industrial food manufacturing processes and the transition from laboratory formulation to full-scale production.
- Experience in managing industrial trials, scale-up and product optimization.
- Knowledge of raw materials, ingredients, formulation principles and their impact on product and process performance.
- Experience with shelf-life, product stability and freezing technologies will be considered an advantage.
- Previous exposure to international markets, retail customers or private-label product development will be considered an advantage.
- Knowledge of food safety and quality standards such as IFS, BRCGS or equivalent will be considered an advantage.
- Fluent Italian and English are mandatory.
Leadership & Personal Competencies
- Strong technical judgement combined with a pragmatic and hands-on approach.
- Ability to translate ideas and concepts into concrete, industrially scalable products.
- Strong project management capabilities and ability to manage multiple development priorities simultaneously.
- Excellent cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills.
- Analytical mindset, accuracy and attention to detail.
- Curiosity and a genuine orientation towards product and process innovation.
- Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, evolving and entrepreneurial environment.
- Strong sense of ownership, autonomy and results orientation.
What We Offer
- A key role with direct responsibility for product development and innovation.
- Significant autonomy in managing development projects from concept through industrialization.
- Close interaction with senior management and key business functions.
- The opportunity to contribute directly to the development of an internationally growing food manufacturing business.
- A dynamic environment characterized by short decision-making processes and tangible impact on products and operations.
- Permanent employment contract.
- Annual gross salary in the range of €48,000–€55,000, commensurate with experience and professional background.
Location: Province of Treviso, Italy
The position is open to candidates of all genders in accordance with Italian Legislative Decree No. 198/2006 and in compliance with Article 10 of Legislative Decree No. 276/2003.