Research & Development Assistant

Key purpose:
Our company is currently looking for an R&D assistant to lead product development projects within the wet and dry pet food department, ensuring the projects are launched within the required specification, on time, of high quality, and at target cost in collaboration with all relevant departments. This person will also be required to conduct the least cost formulation of pet food.

Duties and responsibilities:
Daily reformulation of pet foodAssist with the investigation of yield variancesIdentify new raw material sources and follow the process of approvalCreating raw material specificationsCreating finished product specificationsAssist with document requirements for exportsConduct internal audits and supplier audits when requiredRegistration of products with the Department of AgricultureCoordinate and drive multi-disciplinary teams (marketing, commercial, planning production, etc) through idea generation, product development, and product testingCoordinate NPD meetings on new product development to ensure all core and peripheral aspects have been considered and planned (e.g. packaging, equipment requirements, plant layout, etc)Test and challenge the feasibility of NPD proposalsDrive ongoing collaboration with customer and marketing teams to identify a robust pipeline of new productsEnsure legal compliance

with all new product development in terms of ingredients and labeling requirements.Drive cost-saving initiatives about formulations and reduction of complexity with regards to raw materials and processingWork with production about process improvement / improving process efficienciesFacilitate product evaluations on current products with production teams and marketing including benchmarking with competitors' productsAssist with product queries and complaints to stay abreast of possible problem areas and concerns and to assist in problem-solving within production facilitiesEngage regularly with customers (internal/external) regarding issues and requirements and provide feedback on how the business is meeting set requirements.Qualifications and experience:
BSc (Agric) Animal Science or Equivalent BtechMust be able to register as a professional natural scientistMinimum 3 years experience in a similar role in a food manufacturing environmentProven track record with experience in the development of new productsSound knowledge of HACCP, FSSC22000Experience in working with various product trials simultaneously

JOB TYPE

Work Day:Full Time

Employment type:Permanent Job

Salary:Negotiable

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Minimal experience:Unspecified