Product Technologist

|Food & Dairy - Food & Packaging Technology|New Zealand
  • Be a key player in new product development and product change within a leading dairy company
  • Enjoy a competitive salary and benefits package, including insurance subsidies and a fuel allowance
  • Work with an inclusive team in bringing innovative dairy products to the market

 
The Company: Based in the beautiful Taupō, Miraka is New Zealand’s first Māori-owned milk processing company, and the world’s first to be powered by renewable ‘green’ geothermal energy. They have founded upon a Te Ao Māori world-view – kaitiakitanga as a core value, caring for the land, natural environment, and people. Miraka export a range of premium products across the globe, including commodities, powders, UHT milk, and cream. 

We are very proud to be supporting this award-winning business in sourcing an exceptional Product Technologist to join their Miraka whānau.

The Opportunity: In this newly created role, Miraka are seeking an experienced Product Technologist to take ownership of new product development and product change management for the site.

As the Product Technologist, you will ensure NPD is technically robust, are adhering to regulatory requirements, and exceeding customer expectations. The role will require an exceptional level of attention to detail, responsible for ensuring Miraka’s Quality, Specification, Production, and ERP systems are correctly populated and assigned for NPD and Product changes.

This role will cover, but is not limited to:

  • New product Development – Managing the formulation, packaging, and labelling of new products. Leading bench, pilot, and factory trials to deliver reliable product performance and repeatability.
  • Product Technical Expertise – Developing and amending product, sales, and manufacturing specifications that accurately reflect regulations and product characteristics and functional performance. Leading technical complaint investigations, and product shelf-life validations.
  • Project and Change Management – Lead and manage the cross-functional Project Team to deliver the technical and operational aspects of NPD and product changes. Ensuring clear stakeholder alignment and timely delivery.
  • Team training and technical support – Training staff on product functionality and quality expectations. Collaborating with cross functional teams to prioritise and manage workloads.

 
You, the Candidate: We are looking for a highly motivated and skilled individual with a passion for food technology and who has a desire to make a real impact. The ideal candidate will possess a strong technical background, excellent communication skills, and the ability to work cross functionally across a business.

Applicants should also have the following skills and attributes:

  • A degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Food Engineering or similar
  • At least 3 years’ experience in managing new product development, product change, and process improvement projects
  • Skilled in effective Project Management
  • A strong background in the dairy manufacturing industry, including NPD experience
  • Experience with UHT and Milk Powders product groups will be an advantage
  • Experience working with ERP systems
  • Working knowledge of regulatory requirements of food formulation and labelling for NZ and overseas countries
  • Ability to analyse data, trends, and create and interpret graphs
  • Strong problem-solving skills
  • Willingness to engage with and learn Tikanga Māori

 
What’s in it for you? Demonstrating their alignment with their values in caring for their people, Miraka offer a generous range of benefits, on top of a competitive salary. This will include:

  • Fuel allowance support
  • Southern Cross Health Insurance
  • Life and Trauma Insurance
  • A company that is respectful of diversity and encourages inclusion

 
Keen to Apply? We’d love to hear from you. Please select the relevant ‘apply’ button, or alternatively, contact Maya Carpenter-Salvador on maya@trs.co.nz