Samasta Foods
Website:
samastafoods.com
Job details:
JOB DESCRIPTION & KRA
FOOD TECHNOLOGIST – NPD MANAGER
1. Position Details
Position
Food Technologist – NPD Manager
Department
Research & Development / New Product Development
Location
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Reporting To
Management / Business Head
Work Mode
Full-time, On-site
Key Interfaces
Production, QA/QC, Procurement, Packaging, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Logistics
2. Job Purpose
To lead New Product Development at Samasta Foods as a hands-on Food Technologist, taking products from concept and formulation through food-processing trials, factory scale-up, costing, shelf-life, documentation and commercialisation. The role must combine strong food-technology knowledge with practical factory execution and ownership of scalable, consistent and commercially viable products.
3. Key ResponsibilitiesA. NPD & Product Development
· Own the NPD pipeline based on business priorities, consumer needs and market opportunities.
· Convert product briefs into formulations, trial plans, timelines and technical specifications.
· Develop and optimise formulations for taste, texture, appearance, nutrition, stability and target cost.
· Select and evaluate ingredients and alternate raw materials with Procurement and QA/QC.
· Drive renovation/reformulation of existing products where required.
B. Food Technology & Process Development
· Apply food-processing principles to develop robust and scalable manufacturing processes.
· Define critical process parameters (CPPs), process sequence, temperature/time conditions, mixing, cooking, cooling, coating and other applicable controls.
· Study ingredient functionality, interactions, moisture behaviour, texture and processing impact.
· Convert lab/pilot processes into practical factory SOPs and operating parameters.
· Identify process risks and optimise yield, throughput and product consistency.
C. Factory Trials & Scale-up
· Plan and execute lab, pilot and commercial factory trials.
· Work directly with Production, operators and Maintenance during trials.
· Conduct trials on relevant equipment including Chikki Line, Flow Wrap, Enrober, Protein Bar Line and other NPD machinery.
· Diagnose scale-up problems and modify formulation/process parameters based on evidence.
· Ensure successful products are repeatable at commercial scale before handover.
D. Quality, Food Safety & Shelf-life
· Work with QA/QC to establish raw-material, in-process and finished-product specifications.
· Ensure products comply with applicable food-safety, regulatory and labelling requirements.
· Plan shelf-life and stability studies and evaluate critical quality attributes.
· Investigate moisture migration, texture change, rancidity, sensory failure and other product deviations.
· Maintain trial samples, retained samples and technical records.
E. Costing & Commercialisation
· Prepare product costing with Procurement and Finance.
· Optimise ingredient, packaging, yield, wastage and processing costs without compromising quality.
· Support technical feasibility and go/no-go decisions.
· Prepare complete product specifications, BOM, process parameters, trial reports and commercialisation documents.
· Own technical handover to Production and QA/QC.
F. Team & Cross-functional Management
· Coordinate NPD requirements across Production, QA/QC, Procurement, Packaging and Commercial teams.
· Guide NPD team members and build strong technical and problem-solving capability.
· Maintain project timelines, action trackers and trial records.
· Report NPD progress, risks, failures, corrective actions and launch readiness to Management.
4. KRA / KPI
KRA
Key Deliverable / KPI
Weight
Measurement
NPD Delivery
Projects completed against agreed timelines
15%
% projects on time
Product Development
Products successfully developed and approved
15%
Approved/commercialised projects vs plan
Factory Scale-up
Successful lab-to-commercial scale-up and repeatability
15%
First/second trial success rate
Food Technology / Process Optimisation
CPPs, SOPs, yield, throughput and process stability
15%
Process consistency; yield/wastage improvement
Quality & Sensory
Products meet quality, sensory and food-safety targets
10%
Approval/rejection/complaints
Cost Optimisation
Target cost, yield and wastage achieved
10%
Actual vs target cost/yield
Shelf-life & Stability
Shelf-life validation completed successfully
5%
Studies within specification
Documentation
Complete NPD technical file and handover
5%
Documentation completeness
Cross-functional Execution
Fast coordination and issue closure
5%
Trial readiness/closure time
Ownership & Team Development
Team capability and project ownership
5%
Performance and development
Total KRA Weight: 100%
5. Qualification & Experience
· B.Tech / M.Tech / M.Sc. in Food Technology, Food Science, Food Engineering, Dairy Technology or related discipline.
· Typically 6–12+ years of experience in Food Technology / R&D / NPD, preferably FMCG or food manufacturing.
· Strong hands-on experience in formulation, food processing, factory trials and commercial scale-up.
· Experience with snacks, chikki, protein/energy bars, coated products, flow wrapping or similar categories preferred.
· Working knowledge of GMP/GHP, HACCP, food specifications, shelf-life and regulatory requirements.
6. Candidate Profile
· Food Technologist first; strong NPD/product-development capability.
· Hands-on factory experience rather than only project coordination.
· Strong knowledge of ingredients, processing behaviour, texture and sensory attributes.
· Strong analytical and root-cause problem-solving skills.
· Commercial mindset around cost, yield, wastage and manufacturability.
· Comfortable working directly with operators and production machinery.
· Strong communication, documentation, ownership and execution speed.
7. Practical Interview / Assessment
· Explain one product developed from concept to commercial production and identify the candidate's exact contribution.
· Give a lab-to-factory scale-up problem and assess formulation/process troubleshooting.
· Test CPPs, ingredient functionality, moisture/texture behaviour, shelf-life and sensory evaluation.
· Ask about a failed commercial trial and the corrective action taken.
· Assess hands-on experience with Chikki, Flow Wrap, Enrober, Protein Bar or comparable equipment.
· Verify number of products commercialised, plant scale, team size and measurable outcomes.
8. Overall Role Expectation
- The Food Technologist – NPD Manager is expected to bridge the gap between food science and factory execution: develop the right formulation, understand the process, run and troubleshoot factory trials, stabilise the process, achieve the target cost and quality, and take the product through successful commercialisation.
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