Product Development Engineer
FMCG Food & Drinks Brand
Central London – Office-based 5 days a week
£50,000 – £65,000
Ignite are excited to be partnering with a rapidly scaling FMCG brand on the search for a Product Development Engineer. They’re now looking for a hands-on formulation expert to drive end-to-end product development, from concept through to commercialisation, ensuring every product delivers on taste, function and performance at scale.
This role sits at the centre of innovation, working cross-functionally with Operations, Technical, Marketing and external manufacturers to bring new product concepts to life, while ensuring formulations are robust, scalable and compliant.
If you love getting into the detail of formulation, solving technical challenges and building best-in-class products in a fast-paced environment, this is an opportunity to make real impact.
What will you be doing?
⭐️ Translating consumer insights and brand vision into technically viable recipes
⭐️ Running bench development, trials and iterations to refine taste, stability and performance
⭐️ Optimising formulations for cost, shelf-life and scalability without compromising quality
⭐️ Managing ingredient selection, functionality and interactions within formulations
⭐️ Collaborating with manufacturers to scale products from lab to production
⭐️ Designing and overseeing factory trials, pilot runs and first productions
⭐️ Troubleshooting processing, stability and consistency challenges at scale
⭐️ Ensuring formulations meet UK/EU regulatory requirements and technical standards
⭐️ Sourcing and evaluating new ingredients, extracts and functional components
⭐️ Maintaining accurate formulation documentation and technical specifications
⭐️ Working cross-functionally with Marketing, Commercial and Operations teams
What skills do you need?
⭐️ Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry or related field
⭐️ Experience in beverage product development/formulation
⭐️ Strong expertise in beverage formulation, ingredient functionality and stability
⭐️ Experience taking products from concept through to commercialisation
⭐️ Understanding of processing techniques and scale-up challenges
⭐️ Strong knowledge of UK/EU food regulations and compliance
⭐️ Experience within functional beverages, energy drinks or similar categories
⭐️ Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-growth or startup environments
⭐️ Hands-on, detail-oriented and highly innovative approach
⭐️ Strong problem-solving skills, balancing taste, function and manufacturability
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