Development Technologist
Location: Lees of Scotland
Shift: Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 4.30pm
Salary: Competitive
We have an exciting opportunity to join the Development team in the role of Development Technologist at our Lees site as part of Finsbury Food Group.
Lees stands out for its ability to create confections that are more than just sweets – they’re edible nostalgia. Our iconic snowballs, teacakes and meringues have woven themselves into the fabric of more than just Scottish culture, becoming go-to treats for both everyday indulgence and celebratory moments.
As a Development Technologist, you will support the delivery of the development pipeline through product innovation, recipe generation and hands-on product development. Working closely with the Development team, you will help develop and trial new and existing products in line with customer briefs, commercial targets and factory capabilities, while ensuring accurate documentation, smooth scale-up to production and adherence to quality and food safety standards.
This is what you’ll actually do!
As a Development Technologist, you will support the development and innovation of new products and processes, ensuring products are developed in line with agreed launch plans, customer expectations and manufacturing capabilities.
You will generate and adjust recipes throughout the development process, accurately recording all changes to ensure successful repeatability, costing and production scale-up. Working hands-on within the Development kitchen, you will prepare and present product samples to agreed quality and timescales while maintaining excellent standards of organisation and cleanliness.
You will support the planning and coordination of development activities by effectively managing ingredients, packaging and resources to meet project deadlines and critical paths. Working cross-functionally, you will communicate clearly with internal teams and contribute to successful project delivery from concept through to launch.
You will maintain awareness of comparative products and emerging market trends across major retailers, using benchmarking and product insight to support innovation and continuous improvement.
Flexibility in working hours may be required to support development activities, factory trials and business needs, including occasional travel to sister sites.
Ideally this is you!
Essential:
- Experience in baking or cooking within a professional setting
- Degree preferred in Food Science / Food Technology or similar discipline, HND equivalent or relevant experience
- Strong interest and passion for food innovation and emerging trends
- Understanding of factory processes and product development procedures
- Experience generating recipes and accurately managing development documentation
- Ability to organise and manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively
- Strong communication and cross-functional teamwork skills
- Computer literate with good knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
- Basic Food Hygiene qualification or above
- Detail-oriented, organised, positive and solutions-focused approach
- Awareness of comparative products and retailer trends
- Flexible approach to working hours and business requirements
What’s in it for you!
- Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave to allow quality time with your new arrival!
- Enhanced Pension Scheme for our employees
- Death in Service Benefit
- Free Employee Assistance Programme (open to colleagues and their families)
- Retail discounts accessible via our Benefits Hub platform!
- Refer a Friend Scheme (up to £300 per referral – T&C’s dependent)
- Employee Recognition Awards
- Extensive Learning & Development opportunities (including opportunities for sponsored professional memberships and our own in-house development course!)
- An opportunity to be part of a fantastic, growing organisation. Head over to our LinkedIn page to find out more!
Our vision is to be the leading specialty bakery group in the UK, and we want the best people in place to achieve this. Our continued success is built entirely on the talented people who work here, so employee development is important to us because everyone is a valued member of the team, and we want every individual to have the skills and capabilities to achieve both your own personal goals and our business goals. We want good people to join our company, to help our company continue to go from strength to strength. If this sounds like you, please get in contact to learn more!
