Senior R&D Manager

The R&D Senior Manager leads, develops and commercialises a multidisciplinary consultancy for the food and drink sector. The role provides strategic, technical and commercial leadership across multiple specialist teams, including Product R&D, Consumer Insights and Sensory Analysis, delivering integrated consultancy, research and training services to start‑ups, scale‑ups and established food manufacturing businesses. The post holder will drive sustainable growth in revenue, margin and market reputation by building strong client relationships and positioning the organisation as a trusted partner for product development, reformulation, quality improvement and consumer‑led innovation. The role covers the full innovation lifecycle—from consumer insight and concept development through product design, scale‑up and manufacture—alongside ingredient research, troubleshooting, root cause analysis and the resolution of sensory, quality and performance issues. It also includes reformulation to support health trends, regulatory compliance, ingredient availability, design to value, cost optimisation and shelf‑life extension, as well as providing deep technical expertise on ingredient functionality and raw material specification changes.