NPD Technologist

Hellers Australia Pty Ltd is a leading manufacturer and distributor of chicken and small goods throughout Australia. We are part of the wider Hellers Group.

Our award-winning quality brands enjoy significant customer and consumer recognition in many market segments.

We currently have an opportunity for a Permanent NPD Technologist to join our team in a full time role.

Based in Bendigo, reporting to the Technical Manager, this role will develop new and refine existing products to meet the needs to the business customers.

Key Duties of the Role:

• Take customer product briefs from concept to launch following the Hellers product development stage and gate process.
• Develop new products proactively to meet customer business requirements.
• Assist in the sourcing of new raw materials and packaging in line with customer requirements.
• Cost engineering of existing products/recipes.
• Timeline adherence.
• Running of factory trials for new and existing products
• Recording all data, yields and labour costs followed by creation and publication of post-factory trial reports
• Shelf life trials on new products through organoleptic and microbiological testing and analysing this data to determine shelf life of products
• Writing of finished product specifications and generating the required pack copy information as part of the artwork process including quality attribute sheets and using retailer on line systems.
• Nutritional analysis/health star ratings/cooking instructions/guidelines/recycle information/meat contents/COOL
• Conducting allergen risk assessments
• Generating all necessary production paperwork for the launch of new products including  receipt/batch sheets and quality attribute sheets.
• Assisting with post launch reviews against KPI's set
• Maintenance of process control documentation
• Support other functions on Capital Expenditure projects and assisting integration and management of new processes

To be successful in this role, it is essential that you possess the following skills/experience:

• Experience in NPD of cooked RTE poultry products
• Applied experience in working with GATE NPD processes
• Good project management skills
• Ability to work equally autonomously and as part of a team
• Working knowledge of food safety and high care RTE processing environments
• Tertiary qualifications in Food Science or similar
• 2+ years experience in a food NPD role
• Good working knowledge on completion of retailer on-line specifications/customer specifications

Shortlisted applicants for the positions may be required to participate and cooperate in the following selection activities: - Visa Checking, Reference Checking, Police Check, Pre-Employment Medical and random drug and/or alcohol testing - Numeracy, Literacy, and Comprehension & Pre-Employment Assessments