Senior R&D Manager - Confectionery

Job Overview:

We are looking for a hands-on Senior R&D Manager Confectionery to lead new product development, product improvement, formulation, process development, plant trials, scale-up, troubleshooting, cost optimization and commercialization of confectionery products.

The candidate should have strong hands-on experience in the confectionery manufacturing industry and be capable of independently managing projects from concept to commercial production.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end New Product Development (NPD) from concept and formulation to commercialization.
• Develop and improve confectionery products through laboratory, pilot and plant-scale trials.
• Manage plant trials, scale-up and commercial production of new products.
• Develop formulations, process parameters, specifications and manufacturing standards.
• Troubleshoot product and process-related issues and implement effective root-cause solutions.
• Improve existing products in terms of quality, consistency, shelf life, cost and consumer acceptance.
• Drive cost optimization through formulation improvement and alternate raw-material development.
• Conduct shelf-life and product stability studies.
• Work closely with Production, QA/QC, Engineering, Procurement, Packaging, Sales & Marketing and Plant teams.
• Ensure smooth transfer of products from R&D to commercial manufacturing.
• Lead and mentor the R&D team and manage multiple development projects.
• Identify new confectionery trends, ingredients, technologies and innovative product formats.
• Maintain R&D documentation, formulations, trial reports, specifications and process standards.

Product Categories

Experience in multiple confectionery categories such as:
Candy, Hard-Boiled Candy, Deposited Candy, Eclair, Caramel, Toffee, Chewy Confectionery, Jelly, Fruit Confectionery, Gums, Marshmallow, Aerated Confectionery, Centre-Filled Confectionery, Sugar Confectionery and Sugar-Free Confectionery.

Candidate Profile

• 10-15 years of relevant experience in Confectionery R&D / Food R&D.
• Strong hands-on experience in product development, plant trials, scale-up and commercialization.
• Experience in product troubleshooting, reformulation, process optimization and cost reduction.
• Experience in shelf-life studies and alternate raw-material development.
• Experience in managing/leading an R&D team is preferred.
• Candidates from Confectionery, FMCG, Food Processing and Food Manufacturing industries are preferred.

If interested please share your resume- [email removed]