New Product Development Technologist
Shift Pattern: Monday – Friday
Working Hours: 8.30am – 5.00pm
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an NPD Technologist to join our New Product Development Team. Helping to develop products for the customers of Cranswick Convenience Foods from initial product samples through factory scale up and on to launch.
A bit about us
Cranswick Convenience Foods is one of the largest cooked meats manufacturers in the UK, supplying high quality cooked meats, from standard tiers through to premium, to leading high street retailers.
With a diverse team of over 1,000 colleagues, every day at Cranswick brings unique challenges and opportunities for personal and professional growth – there has never been a more exciting time to join us!
What you’ll be doing
As an NPD Technologist, you will play a key role in supporting the NPD team throughout the product development process.
Key Responsibilities:
- Prepare customer samples in line with agreed recipes and timescales
- Support yield, process, and product trials as directed by the NPD team, both on and off site, to ensure accurate product costing and smooth transition from kitchen to factory
- Complete accurate product costings
- Conduct factory trials including shelf-life, nutritional, cook/cool, and transit testing, ensuring correct procedures, temperatures, and sampling regimes are followed, with all results accurately recorded and maintained
- Assess and develop ingredient supplier samples in line with project briefs
- Work closely with Production and Technical teams to ensure all relevant information is shared for successful product launches
- Liaise with Engineering, Production, and Technical teams to ensure production lines and machinery are ready for launches
- Complete QAS and storyboard documentation
- Support the coordination of pre-production runs
- Assist with product launches, attending key stages to ensure compliance with specifications
- Maintain high standards of cleanliness within the development kitchen
What we need from you
Essential:
- Ability to work from recipe sheets to produce factory samples
- Awareness and understanding of factory equipment and processes
- Ability to work independently in a factory environment, including scaling up recipes and conducting trials
- Good understanding of food quality standards
- Completion of site and group induction
- Level 2 Health & Safety awareness
- Understanding of relevant risk assessments and safe working procedures
- Ability to identify hazards and report near misses
Desirable:
- Previous experience in a food manufacturing or NPD environment
- Experience of factory trials and product scale-up
What you’ll get in return
We offer a fantastic reward package in return, here’s a peek at some of our fantastic benefits:
- Discounted ShareSave scheme
- Enhanced Maternity, Paternity & Adoption pay with service
- Enhance pension scheme
- Long service awards – vouchers and enhanced holidays with service
- Access to our ‘Feed Your Wellbeing’ hub offering a range of retail, restaurant and entertainment discounts, as well as access to health and wellbeing support (including 24h virtual GP)
- Cycle to work scheme
- Opportunity to purchase extra holidays
- Recommend a friend scheme
- Death in service
- Access to discounted and exclusive memberships
- On site parking
Interested?
Send us your CV and covering letter to [email protected] and let us know what position you’re applying for in the subject of the email.
Closing date: 22/05/2026 (please note that the closing date may be brought forward)
If you are an internal applicant please notify your line manage before applying