New Product Development Specialist

About the Role

We are looking for a driven and creative New Product Development Specialist to join a prominent food manufacturing company located in Riyadh. This role requires overseeing the entire lifecycle of bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert products—from ideation to commercial release—while ensuring adherence to quality standards, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with current market and consumer trends.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and launch new bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert products from initial concept through to commercial production.
• Refine and improve existing product lines to boost quality, uniformity, and cost-efficiency.
• Manage product testing, pilot production runs, and factory validation procedures.
• Work closely with departments such as Production, Quality, Procurement, and Commercial teams during development projects.
• Compile detailed product specifications, recipes, formulations, and related technical documentation.
• Assess ingredients and raw materials for feasibility in new product initiatives.
• Support the scaling-up process and ensure smooth factory implementation and product rollouts.
• Keep abreast of market trends, consumer preferences, and competitors’ products to identify opportunities for innovation.
• Comply with food safety, quality assurance, and regulatory standards throughout product development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or related disciplines.
• Between three and five years of professional experience in New Product Development within the food manufacturing sector.
• Proven background in the development of bakery, pastry, confectionery, dessert, or snack food products.
• In-depth knowledge of food ingredients, formulations, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience conducting product trials, validations, and managing factory implementation.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication capabilities.
• Proficiency in English.

Preferred Industry Experience

• Industrial bakery manufacturing
• Confectionery production
• Pastry and dessert manufacturing
• Snack food production
• Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) food manufacturing
• Central kitchen and commissary operations