RD&A Technologist-Snack

About Kerry

Kerry is the world’s leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers’ most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

We are looking for a hands-on and creative R&D Technologist to join our growing savoury snack team, based at our R&D Centre in Dubai. In this role, you will develop and optimise savoury snack seasonings and noodle flavour systems — from initial bench concept through customer trials to commercial scale-up — partnering closely with our sales, marketing, and operations teams to deliver taste solutions that win in the middle east market.

This is an exciting opportunity for a technologist who is passionate about flavour, understands the nuances of regional snack and noodle culture, and thrives in a fast-paced, customer-facing innovation environment.

Key responsibilities

• Develop cost-competitive snack seasonings, leveraging flavour expertise alongside Taste Solutions capabilities to meet both business and customer requirements.
• Design and develop seasoning systems and taste solutions for extruded snacks, potato chips, nuts, crackers, puffed snacks, and noodles
• Conduct bench-scale trials, sensory evaluations, and iterative optimisation to deliver products that meet taste, texture, colour, cost targets and regulatory requirements
• Translate customer briefs and trend insights into compelling, commercially viable seasoning concepts
• Maintain and manage raw material library
• Maintain accurate R&D records, formulation databases, and trial documentation in line with internal systems
• Build and maintain strong customer relationships, delivering customer‑centric solutions and proactively managing opportunities to drive sustainable business growth.
• Provide technical support during customer plant trials and commercialisation
• Contribute to collection and portfolio development in close partnership with cross functional teams.
• Drive new product development (NPD) from concept through factory scale-up, applying technical expertise to develop, innovate, and commercialise seasonings while collaborating closely with operations and manufacturing teams to ensure efficient and scalable production.
• Apply a comprehensive understanding of the full Kerry Technology portfolio within snack seasoning development.
• Maintain strong commercial awareness, developing cost-effective formulations that deliver customer value, while leading cost optimisation initiatives.

Qualifications and skills

• B. Tech or M.Sc. in Food Science/Technology or equivalent qualifications
• 2–4 years of hands-on experience in snack seasoning formulation, noodle flavour development, or savoury flavour applications — within an ingredient supplier, flavour house, or snack/noodle manufacturer
• Solid understanding of dry seasoning systems — spice blending, flavour release mechanisms, coating adhesion, and Maillard/process flavour interactions
• Proficiency in sensory evaluation and ability to articulate and document flavour profiles clearly
• Strong project management and communication skills, with ability to manage multiple briefs simultaneously
• Proficiency in Arabic — written and spoken — is a significant advantage given the regional customer base across GCC and wider Middle eastern markets