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.

Work arrangement
No