R&D Lead (Product Formulation)

Our client:

• A global leader in ingredient solutions, supporting innovation across food, beverage, and sports nutrition markets.
  
  
• Driving growth through strategic partnerships with retailers, manufacturers, and health-focused brands.
  
  
• Renowned for high-quality, functional ingredients that help brands meet evolving consumer needs.
  
  The role:
  
  
• The R&D Lead (Product Formulation) is responsible for leading and growing the R&D department who are responsible for formulating, scaling and manufacturing nutritional premixes and sports nutrition products across powders, RTM and RTD-support formats.
  
  
• Own the full product value chain end to end, from concept to commercialisation, ensuring compliance with regulatory, quality, safety and commercial requirements.
  
  
• Manage and develop the R&D Product Formulation team, building capability, driving performance and strengthening succession pipelines.
  
  
• The R&D Lead (Product Formulation) is responsible for defining and executing the departmental strategy aligned to NPD, margin, customer satisfaction and category growth goals.
  
  
• As R&D Lead (Product Formulation) you will oversee science-based formulation of premixes, functional blends and sports nutrition products, ensuring efficacy, stability, sensory quality and commercial viability.
  
  
• You will approve product specifications and ensure team expertise in functional ingredients, regulatory changes, raw-material optimisation and dual sourcing.
  
  
• The R&D Lead (Product Formulation) will provide technical leadership for customer briefs, presentations, scoping, costing and on-time launch delivery, ensuring right-first-time development.
  
  
• Support commercial, quality and production teams with technical service, compliance projects and raw-material qualification.
  
  Ideal candidate:
  
  
• Degree-qualified: BSc/MSc in Food Science, Nutrition, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, or Chemical/Process Engineering (or relevant)
  
  
• Experience in food or nutrition manufacturing, including experience in people leadership and cross-functional stakeholder management.
  
  
• Direct experience in an R&D leadership role in premix formulation, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, botanicals and probiotics (any food and beverage raw materials).
  
  
• Strong background in sports nutrition, covering whey and plant proteins, BCAA/EAA, creatine, electrolytes and pre-workout products will be highly beneficial.
  
  
• Technical expertise in powder technologies, such as blending, segregation/flowability management, hygroscopic ingredients, encapsulation, granulation, milling and sieving.
  
  
• Proven ability to design science-based formulations, applying data-driven principles to create high-performing products.
  
  
• Sound sensory understanding, including flavour and sweetener systems, masking strategies and texture optimisation for both RTM and RTD formats.
  
  Benefits & details:
  
  
• £Competitive Salary
  
  
• Pension
  
  
• Hybrid Working 3 days on site, 2 days’ work from home
  
  
• Subsidised Gym membership
  
  Please send your CV using the form on this page, quoting reference 16/17557/7. Confidentiality assured.
  
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