Product Developer - Northampton

Product Developer - Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN3 6RX

Job: Product Developer - 12 month FTC

Location: Northampton

Why Greencore?

Following the combination with Bakkavor in January 2026, we're one of the UK's leading creators of convenience food, driven by a simple purpose: to make everyday taste better.

As a vibrant and fast-moving business, we're proud to employ over 28,000 talented colleagues across 36 manufacturing sites and 21 distribution depots in the UK and the US. Together, we bring delicious food to life. Our products cover every meal occasion from breakfast through to dinner and dessert, with lunch and snacking in between.

In FY25, our shared passion helped us achieve combined revenues of approximately 4bn. Our extensive direct to store (DTS) network, with 17 depots across the UK, allows us to deliver fresh and frozen food both our own and from trusted partners to thousands of stores every day, ensuring consumers enjoy the very best, whenever and wherever they shop.

Here at Northampton, we operate one of the most impressive facilities in Europe, based across a campus of 5 manufacturing units, and we have a team of around 2,000 colleagues making high quality premium products every day. We are the sole supplier of sandwiches, wraps, rolls and sushi for Marks & Spencer.

What you'll be doing

We have a 12 month FTC opportunity for a Product Developer to join our team at Northampton. As a Product Developer, your role will be to develop new, and modify existing products, in line with written briefs, customer expectations and financial targets to create products of sustainable and repeatable quality and sustainable cost.

In this role you will be required to:

• Develop new and existing recipes into commercially viable products, benchmarking regularly to gain awareness of the market for a competitive advantage.
• Create recipes alongside the chefs, input recipes onto the recipe management system and review the accuracy of all recipes inputted by the product technologist and chefs to ensure they meet cost, weight and nutritional requirements.
• Ensure the viability of new raw ingredients from an operational, technical and product development perspective to bring innovation and challenge to existing Greencore policies and practices.
• Complete and/or review and approve all relevant documentation (feasibility forms, customer submission forms, concept to process handovers etc.) to ensure accuracy of information shared internally and externally.
• Put all products through the feasibility process; working with the commercial, operations, technical and purchasing teams to solve any issues to ensure concepts are repeatable, sustainable and scalable.
• Compile product costing information and adapt recipes to balance food quality with achievement of commercial brief targets within customer brand standards.
• Present benchmarking, existing (EPD) and new products (NPD) at internal and customer presentations, passionately demonstrate good market and food trends awareness, to achieve product approval.
• Follow the critical path time lines as directed, escalating incomplete tasks and deficiencies in testing, to ensure that mitigating action can be taken to prevent delays in product acceptance and launch.
• Assist the process team with the scale up production trials, as required, to ensure production quality matches the kitchen quality signed off by the customer.
• Provide leadership and direct to ensure that across the team people are kept safe, engaged, focused, developed an delivery to their potential

What we're looking for

At Greencore we put our people at the core. We celebrate their differences and help everyone to be themselves at work. Together we make every day taste better.

• Proven experience in food product development
• Analytical; comfortable with producing and reviewing costings
• Proficient in all elements of product development from concept to launch
• Proven track record of successfully validating products and producing high quality documentation
• Confident in presenting to all levels within the business and directly to customers
• Experience in people management

If this sounds like you, join us and grow with Greencore, and be a part of driving our future success.

What you'll get in return

* Competitive salary and job-related benefits

* Holidays

* Competitive matched pension contributions

* Life insurance up to 4x salary

* Company share save scheme

* Greencore Qualifications

* Exclusive Greencore employee discount platform

* Access to a full Wellbeing Centre platform

* Enhanced parental leave and menopause policies

Throughout your time at Greencore, you will be supported with on the job training and development opportunities to further your career.