Title:  Food Designer

JOB SUMMARY

We are currently recruiting for a role as Food Designer covering our Salty Snacks portfolio (Pringles and new food portfolio). Your focus will be on cost innovation, business continuity and new food innovation implementation. This within an end 2 end culture with strong collaboration with other technical and business teams.

Development efforts will involve cross-functional interaction with supply chain and technical teams, as well as our external eco-systems.

If you believe you can help to strengthen the current Research & Development team that supports the Kellanova European Salty snacks business then see if you have the talents that we are looking for. You will operate in a collaborative culture ensuring the future success of the business is delivered through a proactive and innovative approach to food and process initiatives.

You will be part of a dynamic and friendly team of Food Designers who are part of a world class, global, Research and Development team.

We are passionate about our food and our brands, come and innovate with us!

WHAT WILL I BE DOING?

In your role as a Food Designer you will work as part of a dynamic team to help us grow the European business by:

• Supporting and leading projects that deliver against our European innovation pipeline for Snack products
• Delivering food from initial creative food brief through to successful implementation in plant, on time, with the right quality and at the right cost.
• Collaborating with our marketing partners to develop fantastic concepts and food briefs that meet consumer needs and insights
• Adding to your own skills and knowledge by close interaction within the food team, R&D function and the wider business
• Improving product quality, cost, productivity and capacity in operations within Europe, leveraging Design to Value principles

Core responsibilities 

• Develops, manages, executes food development projects worldwide while increasing the incumbent’s level of understanding of projects, processes, and methods, as well as giving general direction to assigned teams in accomplishing projects on technical and scientific investigation or developments
• Provides technical or scientific knowledge and expertise as an expert in a specific discipline through keeping current with the latest developments and technology through investigation, training, and communication within that discipline
• Demonstrates leadership within a specific discipline and assists in developing direction within that discipline while working in multifunctional teams
• Exhibits innovation in discovery, advancement, and evaluation of new technologies in the area of food/process research and development, which can have a significant impact on new products, improved foods or processes, and/or capital avoidance worldwide.
• Innovation/Creativity – provide and implement innovative and cost-effective improvements: concepts, developments, or scientific insight and understanding with respect to new or existing products or processes.
• Closely collaborate with internal stakeholders, external partners and suppliers

WHAT DO I NEED TO DEMONSTRATE?
At Kellanova we want self-motivated people who are passionate about food to help us grow our business and build on our successful heritage. To be considered for this position you must be able to demonstrate the following:

Required:

• Hold a master’s degree in food science, Food Technology or equivalent through experience
• Demonstrated value creation and delivery of projects on time and budget
• Relevant experience within the food industry as a Food Technologist/Designer or Food Scientist, preferably in Snacks.
• Passion for creative product development and demonstrable hands-on process experience, taking projects from ideation to market
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

If you believe you have that taken care of then you can also show that you have the following:

Preferred:

• A proven track record of results in an FMCG food technologist/designer role
• A good breadth of technical understanding of Pringles processing, ingredients and recipes.
• Understanding and proven delivery of the communication and documentation needs of a project
• Effective leadership skills and the ability to promote good relations with all aspects of the business

Strengths:

Project Execution

• Addresses and resolves resistance that interferes with achievement of objectives
• Able to interpret proposed testing and generate alternative solutions.
• Recognizes the communication and documentation needs of a project 
• Understands how information should be distributed amongst project team

Leveraging Resources

• Effectively utilizes internal and external resources for efficient project execution

• Identifies opportunities to leverage vendors as external resources

• Understands when to bring together key players to resolve project related issues

Business Understanding

• Understands competitive set and competitor technology differences
• Uses knowledge of other team members’ functions to push for project execution excellence and minimization of costs
• Remains well informed of the performance of new product launches including consumer complaints
• Understands interactions between most different business functions
• Leverages business knowledge to flag issues and drive down project time / costs
• Identifies potential margin improvement initiatives

Coaches & Collaborates

• Functions effectively as a project team member and technical expert.  Able to facilitate the participation of appropriate resources in project completion
• Effectively works with mentors to grow self-confidence and capability

Leadership

• Remains well informed of R&D and business unit strategies
• Begins to demonstrate project management skills, including the roles of planning, coordinating, and effectively communicating at all levels within the Company
• Takes a firm and confident stance to uphold Quality image standards 

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

• Based at Mechelen R&D office with potential for considerable travel throughout Europe
• May require working outside of normal business hours including weekends and shift work
• Travel to, and work in, manufacturing or test facilities are an integral part of this role
• Operation of process equipment is necessary

What can we offer you?

Working in a stimulating environment where collegiality, teamwork, and respect are central - everyone has a place at our table;

A permanent contract with a competitive salary package.

Opportunities for development and advancement. We encourage this through training and coaching.

Interested?

For inquiries, you can contact HR at +32 15 26 54 56. You can apply via the application button.

Please note that we will only accept applications that are made to us via our Careers site.

If you experience any difficulty when applying to this role, please contact pringleshrtalent@kellanova.com

Please note that the closing date may be subject to change. We will interview suitable candidates as they apply, so please don’t hesitate to take this opportunity to submit your application as soon as possible.

Mars has agreed to acquire Kellanova in a combination that will shape the future of snacking! The transaction is anticipated to close within the second half of 2025 (subject to Kellanova shareowner approval and other customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals). The companies remain separate until closing.

You can learn more at www.futureofsnacking.com, and our hiring teams will be happy to discuss further questions if your application advances in the hiring process.