Job Description
Job Title: Application Lead – Savory
Location: Singapore
Function: Innovation
Reporting manager: Customer Solutions Centre (CSC) Head Singapore/APAC
Position Overview
The Savoury Lead is responsible for defining and driving the Savoury & Culinary application strategy within CSC Singapore, overseeing end-to-end product development, customer solutioning, and technical capability building. This role extends beyond execution to provide technical leadership across all savoury dry, wet, and emulsified systems, ensuring scalable, high-impact solutions across QSR, Foodservice, and B2B segments.
Key Responsibilities
- Product Development & Technical Leadership
Define formulation strategies across categories and applications
Ensure integration of ingredient functionality (e.g. flavours, extracts, hydrocolloids, starches) into robust formulations
Guide development of multi-functional systems adaptable across applications
Drive standardization and development of base formulations and modular systems
Drives translation of concepts across formats (e.g. snack seasoning to meat systems, wet to dry platforms)
- Sensory & Reverse Engineering Excellence
Establish structured sensory frameworks and evaluation protocols
Lead product benchmarking and reverse engineering into scalable formats
Translate sensory gaps into formulation strategies and system improvements
Build sensory guidance across team to ensure consistent product delivery
- Customer Solutioning & Business Impact
Lead technical engagement with key customers across QSR, Foodservice, and B2B
Translate customer briefs, issues, and challenges into innovation opportunities
Drive co-creation sessions, prototypes, and demonstrations
Partner with commercial teams to support customer conversion and growth
- Team Leadership & Capability Building
Manage and develop a team of 2–3 Solution Specialists
Provide technical mentorship and coaching on product design and scale-up
Ensure adherence to development SOPs, documentation, and best practices
Align and guide senior specialists and category managers under broader savoury agenda
- Scale-Up & Manufacturing Integration
Oversee translation from lab to pilot and plant scale
Ensure formulations meet processing, cost, and manufacturability requirements
Guide troubleshooting of scale-up challenges across internal and external manufacturing
Drive alignment between R&D, Quality, Regulatory, Operations, and supply teams
- Ingredient & System Strategy
Define and optimize ingredient selection for performance and scalability
Develop platform systems for reuse across multiple applications
Evaluate supplier capabilities and ingredient alternatives
Drive standardization of blends and systems for efficiency
- Innovation & Knowledge Management
Lead development of application knowledge and formulation databases
Capture learnings from projects to accelerate future development
Identify trends and translate into innovation pipeline
Support regional projects and cross-market initiatives
- Quality, Compliance & Governance
Ensure all developments meet regulatory, food safety, and customer requirements
Maintain documentation of formulations, specifications, and test results
Ensure compliance with internal SOPs and development processes
Requirements
Experience & Qualifications
Minimum Degree in Food Science, Food Technology or related field
15+ years experience in savoury and culinary product development
Strong experience in culinary premixes, solutions, sauces, marinades, seasonings, etc.
Experience across QSR, Foodservice, and B2B applications
Proven leadership of technical teams
Technical Skills
Deep understanding of ingredient functionality across systems
Expertise in powders, emulsions, and liquid applications
Strong capability in reverse engineering and sensory-led development
Experience in scale-up and commercialization
Leadership & Functional Skills
Strong leadership and stakeholder management capability
Ability to operate in fast-paced, multi-project environments
Strong customer-facing and communication skills
Ability to translate technical outcomes into business value
Other Requirements
Willingness to travel (20–25%)
Able to adapt to fast paced working environment and new systems
Reliable, proactive, and highly initiative
