Job title: Product Development Supervisor
Reporting to: Head of Product Development
Location: Lakeland, USA
The Opportunity
The Product Development Supervisor supervises a team of product developers and technicians in the research, development, and commercialization of innovative products. This role provides mentorship and hands-on oversight, ensuring adherence to company policies, safety standards, and regulatory requirements, while assisting with project planning, plant trials, shelf-life studies. The supervisor facilitates effective use and maintenance of laboratory equipment, supports raw material evaluation, and helps integrate emerging technologies and R&D trends into development activities. Acting as a key point of contact across Operations, QA/QC, Sales, and Regulatory teams, the supervisor provides technical support for customer projects and product demonstrations while promoting best practices in documentation, IT system use, and data accuracy.
What it’s like to work here
We’ve been making the world taste better since 1886 and sell over 3000 products in more than 90 countries, but we’re only just getting started. We’re on an exciting journey and have ambitious plans to become the indispensable partner of choice for the world’s leading flavor and fragrance houses, beverage and consumer brands.
On joining Treatt, you’ll become one of over 300 international experts, working together to collectively surprise and delight our customers. Nothing is more important to us than the happiness of our people as without them, we’d never succeed.
Duties & Responsibilities
• Supervise a team of product developers and technicians
• Provide regular performance feedback to Product Developers
• Ensure team adherence to company policies, safety protocols, and best practices in R&D operations.
• Oversee the research and development of creative and novel products, guiding projects through commercialization.
• Set project priorities in collaboration with the Head of Product Development
• Monitor project timelines and resources to ensure on-time, high-quality delivery.
• Lead the planning, monitoring, and documentation of plant trials, shelf-life studies, and stability testing
• Supervise the utilization and maintenance of laboratory equipment, introducing new technologies where appropriate.
• Lead the evaluation and sourcing of raw materials, ensuring suitability for product development.
• Serve as point of contact between Product Development and Operations, QA/QC, Sales, and Regulatory teams.
• Partner with Sales to support customer projects, product demonstrations, and business development opportunities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify consumer market trends and translate them into product development strategies.
• Stay informed of global R&D trends and proactively integrate new knowledge into company product lines.
• Support capital expenditure (Capex) planning by identifying potential technologies or equipment that support growth.
• Ensure all team activities align with HACCP, GMP, TTB, Acidified Foods, and other regulations.
• Supervise team in use of internal IT systems to accomplish tasks (STARS, JDE, GICP, SharePoint)
• Promote best practices in documentation, recordkeeping, and data analysis to ensure accuracy and traceability.
• Act in best interest of Treatt
• All other duties as customary of delegated
Education & Training
• Bachelor’s degree in food science, Chemistry, or related scientific discipline.
• Minimum 5 years’ industry experience
Knowledge & Experience
• Experience in product development within the food, beverage, or ingredients industry, with hands-on supervision or mentorship of a small team.
• Solid knowledge of formulation techniques, raw material functionality, and product development processes.
• Experience assisting with plant trials, shelf-life studies, and stability testing.
• Understanding of HACCP, GMP, TTB, Acidified Foods, and other applicable regulatory requirements.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Operations, QA/QC, Sales, and Regulatory teams.
• Familiarity with laboratory equipment use and maintenance; supportive in introducing new technologies.
• Strong organizational skills to help balance multiple priorities and assist in meeting project timelines.
• Proficiency in internal IT systems (e.g., STARS, JDE, GICP, SharePoint) and good documentation and data handling practices.
Skills & Abilities
Technical Skills
• Product Development: Expertise in developing and commercializing new products, especially in food, beverage, or ingredient industries.
• Formulation Techniques: Strong knowledge of formulation, raw material functionality, and product development processes.
• Laboratory Skills: Proficient in laboratory equipment operation, maintenance, and the introduction of new technologies.
• Project Management: Ability to plan, monitor, and document plant trials, shelf-life studies, and stability testing.
• Regulatory Compliance: Deep understanding of HACCP, GMP, TTB, Acidified Foods, and other relevant regulations.
• IT Systems Proficiency: Skilled in using internal systems such as STARS, JDE, GICP, and SharePoint for documentation and data management.
• Data Analysis: Strong analytical skills for interpreting data, ensuring accuracy, and supporting decision-making.
Leadership & Supervisory Abilities
• Team Supervision: Experience leading and mentoring product developers and technicians.
• Performance Management: Ability to provide constructive feedback and support professional growth.
• Resource Allocation: Skilled at setting priorities, managing timelines, and optimizing resources for project delivery.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Effective at working with Operations, QA/QC, Sales, and Regulatory teams.
Communication & Interpersonal Skills
• Stakeholder Engagement: Acts as a key point of contact for internal and external partners.
• Customer Support: Provides technical support for customer projects and product demonstrations.
• Documentation: Promotes best practices in recordkeeping, documentation, and traceability.
Innovation & Continuous Improvement
• Trend Integration: Ability to identify and integrate emerging R&D trends and technologies.
• Market Awareness: Collaborates to translate consumer trends into product strategies.
• Capex Planning: Supports identification and justification of new technologies or equipment for growth.
Other Key Abilities
• Problem-Solving: Strong troubleshooting skills for technical and operational challenges.
• Attention to Detail: Ensures compliance, data accuracy, and high-quality project outcomes.
• Adaptability: Stays current with industry advancements and adapts processes as needed.
Working Conditions
Normal laboratory and manufacturing working conditions.
Travel
Ad-hoc as requited.
We want you to love your work and bring that energy to the job every day, no matter what the task. You’ll be someone who keeps up to date with the latest technologies and is always willing to share their knowledge with colleagues.
Our department is busy. We need someone who can run with the pack but also bring their own personality to their work.
You should be personable, friendly and supportive, acknowledging that you’ll get to work with colleagues from all seniority levels across all departments on a daily basis.
What we’ll do for you
We offer an excellent package which includes a competitive salary; vacation time as well as the opportunity to purchase additional vacation, we also offer a discretionary annual bonus, medical, dental and vision coverage, AFLAC, 401k employer matching up to 6%, company-paid short term and long-term disability insurance, company-paid life insurance and stock purchase options.
With the encouragement and development, you need, we help you to become your ultimate you. Beyond building a successful career, we also support the wishes and ambitions of our staff outside of the office in achieving a health work/life balance - the wellbeing of our staff is paramount to us, which we actively promote and support by regularly delivering a variety of wellbeing initiatives. There will also be opportunities to be actively involved in community and charity projects and to take part in numerous subsidized social events.
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Polite Notice
We politely request that we are not contacted by any recruitment agencies. We have a preferred supplier list and high volumes of speculative calls from agencies negatively impact upon the efficiency of our business. Please help us to maintain the highest levels of customer service by respecting our wishes.