R&D Food Engineer

About the roleFlavourTech is hiring a Senior R&D Food Engineer in İzmir to lead formulation and scale-up for drinks and seasoning, and to own ingredient sourcing and supplier qualification for export markets. The role spans bench, pilot, and plant trials, sensory and shelf-life programs, and complete handover to production. You will prepare and maintain TSS (Technical Specification Sheets), partner closely with Sales, Purchasing and Production, and support customer-facing technical requests. English is required due to our export focus.Key responsibilitiesDevelop and optimise beverage and seasoning formulations to target cost, label and sensory requirements.Plan and execute bench → pilot → factory trials; produce specifications, BOMs and SOPs for transfer.Lead sensory panels and shelf-life studies; interpret results and define clear actions.Prepare and maintain TSS for all products; ensure accuracy for export and customer needs.Own ingredient sourcing: build the supplier base, request samples, NDAs and quotations, maintain alternatesQualify suppliers with QA and Purchasing; manage COA checks, trending and risk scoring.Negotiate pricing and MOQs; manage supply continuity and costEnsure export compliance; maintain documentation packs including COA, MSDS, allergen, Halal or Kosher where relevant, and EU or UK claims dataPartner with QA on HACCP and CCP impacts, allergens, label verification and traceabilityCollaborate with Sales on customer requirements, claims, samples and technical supportCollaborate with Purchasing on supplier selection, contract terms and continuity of supplyCollaborate with Production on trial readiness, scale-up parameters and first-time-right performanceTrack R&D KPIs such as time to sample, first-time-right at scale-up, cost per kg, complaint trends and supplier OTIFProvide direction and develop others through structured training, clear expectations and feedbackContribute to a professional, respectful culture and effective cross-functional collaborationMinimum requirementsBSc in Food Engineering; MSc is a plus5+ years in food R&D covering both beverages and seasoningsDemonstrated factory scale-up with Production and QA involvementHands-on ingredient sourcing and supplier qualification in food or beveragesProven ability to create and maintain TSS and customer-ready technical documentationHACCP knowledge and BRCGS or IFS aware product designExperience in sensory test design and basic statisticsStrong documentation discipline for specifications, labels and trialsLeadership experience in developing technicians or junior engineersTurkish fluent; English B2 or higher required for specifications, supplier communication and trial reportingNice to haveCost-down reformulations and clean-label experienceThermal processing, spray-dry or encapsulation exposureERP familiarity (Netsis, Odoo or SAP) and basic Excel or Power BI dashboardsRegistration with TMMOB (Gıda Mühendisleri Odası)What we valueClear, direct and respectful communicationA development mindset backed by measurable outcomesSound judgment, ownership and follow-through on safety, quality and complianceEffective collaboration with internal teams and external partners