Product Development Director (Food & Beverage / FMCG)

About the role

HRnetOne is recruiting a Product Development Director for a Food & Beverage / FMCG position based in Thailand. The role sets and drives the overall product development strategy, leads the full product development process and manages the product development team.

Key responsibilities

• Formulate and drive the overall product development strategy aligned with business direction, consumer demand and long-term growth.
• Lead the end-to-end process: ideation, concept evaluation, formulation development, testing, commercialization and lifecycle management.
• Manage and develop the Product Development team, setting objectives, priorities and performance standards.
• Oversee new product development and product improvement programmes, delivering on time with quality, cost and profitability targets.
• Drive innovation across food and dessert categories, including emerging trends, new ingredients and product concepts.
• Manage product costing, pricing and gross margins, and oversee external manufacturing partners, OEMs and raw material suppliers.
• Build relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, packaging providers and other stakeholders.
• Work with Marketing, Sales, R&D, Procurement, Quality Assurance and Production teams.
• Run market and consumer research, coordinate product testing, pilot production and factory-scale trials, and validate formulations and specifications.
• Set up standardised development procedures, project management frameworks and performance measurement systems, and report progress to senior management.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering or a related discipline.
• At least 6 years of experience in product development, R&D or product innovation in the Food & Beverage industry.
• Previous experience leading a product development team or managing cross-functional innovation projects.
• Experience with OEM manufacturers, contract manufacturers, raw material suppliers and packaging vendors.
• Experience in dessert, bakery, beverage, tea, coffee, confectionery or café businesses is an advantage.

Required skills

• Strong technical knowledge of food formulation, ingredient selection, product testing, manufacturing processes and quality standards.
• Solid understanding of product costing, cost optimisation, pricing and gross margin management.
• Strategic planning, project management and problem-solving.
• Leadership, communication, negotiation and stakeholder management.
• Microsoft Office and Google Workspace; good command of written and spoken English.