A leading food manufacturing company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is seeking a highly motivated and innovative New Product Development (NPD) Specialist to drive the development and improvement of bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert products from concept through to commercial launch. You will be responsible for product trials, pilot runs, factory validations, formulation documentation, ingredient evaluation, and cross-functional collaboration with Production, Quality, Procurement, and Commercial teams — all while keeping a sharp eye on market trends, consumer preferences, and competitor activity to ensure every new product you develop is relevant, commercially viable, and built to scale in a fast-moving Saudi FMCG food manufacturing environment.
About the Role — Riyadh’s Bakery & Confectionery NPD Opportunity
Company: A leading food manufacturing business in Riyadh operating across bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert product categories
NPD Scope: Full product development lifecycle — from ideation, formulation, and trials through pilot runs, factory validation, and commercial launch
Product Categories: Industrial bakery, pastry, confectionery, dessert, and snack products — one of the most creative and technically demanding areas of food manufacturing
Cross-Functional Teams: Close collaboration with Production, Quality Assurance, Procurement, and Commercial departments throughout every development project
Standards: Full compliance with food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements throughout all product development and commercialization activities
Why Build Your NPD Career in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?
Tax-Free Salary: Competitive SAR compensation in Saudi Arabia’s zero-income-tax environment — NPD specialists in food manufacturing are among the most in-demand professionals in the Kingdom
Fast-Growing Market: Saudi Arabia’s bakery, confectionery, and snack food manufacturing sector is expanding rapidly driven by Vision 2030 food industry localization goals
Creative Innovation: Work in one of food science’s most exciting and creative product categories — desserts, pastries, and confectionery demand constant innovation and sensory excellence
GCC Career Platform: Riyadh NPD experience in FMCG food manufacturing opens doors to senior product development roles across the entire GCC and MENA region
Position Overview
This NPD Specialist role in Riyadh is a full-time, on-site product development position at the heart of a leading Saudi food manufacturing operation. You will take complete ownership of developing new bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert products — from initial concept through formulation, product trials, pilot runs, and factory validations to successful commercial launch. Alongside new product creation, you will optimize existing products to enhance quality, consistency, and cost efficiency; prepare technical documentation including recipes and specifications; evaluate new ingredients and raw materials; and monitor consumer and market trends to continuously identify innovation opportunities. With 3 to 5 years of food manufacturing NPD experience, a strong bakery and confectionery background, and a BSc in Food Science or a related discipline, this is a genuinely outstanding opportunity to take ownership of product innovation at one of Riyadh’s most respected food companies.
Why This Role Matters: As NPD Specialist at this Riyadh food company, you are the creative and technical heart of a product portfolio that reaches consumers across Saudi Arabia and potentially the wider GCC — your formulations, trials, and launches become the baked goods and desserts that people genuinely enjoy and remember, you build rare and highly valued expertise spanning the full NPD lifecycle — concept, formulation, trials, factory scale-up, and launch — in the most in-demand bakery and confectionery product categories in Saudi Arabia’s booming food manufacturing sector, you collaborate daily with production, quality, and commercial teams in a way that makes you the connecting thread between food science innovation and real-world manufacturing excellence, and you build an NPD career in Riyadh’s growing food industry at exactly the right moment — as Saudi Vision 2030 drives unprecedented investment in domestic food production and product innovation.
Key Responsibilities
New Product Development — Concept to Commercial Launch
- Develop new bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert products from initial concept stage through formulation, trials, and successful commercial market launch
- Prepare comprehensive product specifications, recipes, formulations, and full technical documentation for all new product development projects
- Conduct product trials, pilot runs, and factory validation activities to verify that new products are technically sound, reproducible, and commercially viable at scale
- Support all factory implementation and scale-up activities to ensure smooth and successful transition from R&D to full commercial production
Product Optimization & Quality Enhancement
- Optimize existing bakery, pastry, confectionery, and dessert products to enhance their quality, consistency, taste profile, and shelf life performance
- Identify and implement cost efficiency improvements in existing product formulations without compromising consumer-facing quality or sensory attributes
- Evaluate the performance of current ingredient systems and recommend targeted reformulation strategies that deliver measurable quality and cost improvements
- Ensure all product optimization activities meet food safety, regulatory compliance, and company quality standards at every stage of the development process
Ingredient Evaluation & Raw Material Selection
- Evaluate new and existing ingredients and raw materials for suitability in product development initiatives across bakery, confectionery, and dessert categories
- Collaborate with Procurement and Quality teams to source, assess, and approve new ingredients that meet defined technical, safety, and commercial specifications
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of ingredient innovations, functional ingredient technologies, and raw material trends in the bakery and confectionery sectors
- Document ingredient evaluation findings, testing outcomes, and approval decisions in professional, traceable technical records for all development projects
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Project Coordination
- Collaborate closely with Production, Quality Assurance, Procurement, and Commercial teams throughout every phase of the product development process
- Communicate NPD project status, technical findings, trial results, and commercialization readiness clearly and effectively to all relevant internal stakeholders
- Coordinate project timelines, trial schedules, and factory implementation plans to ensure NPD projects are delivered on time and within resource parameters
- Ensure full food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance throughout all NPD activities in accordance with company standards and Saudi food regulations
Market Trend Monitoring & Innovation Identification
- Monitor consumer preferences, global and regional food trends, and competitor product launches to continuously identify new product innovation opportunities
- Translate market and consumer insights into commercially relevant NPD concepts that align with the company’s portfolio strategy and target consumer needs
- Stay current with ingredient innovations, manufacturing technology advances, and food science developments relevant to bakery, confectionery, and dessert categories
- Contribute fresh, consumer-grounded product ideas to the NPD pipeline on a regular basis — supporting the company’s ambition for continuous product portfolio growth
Qualifications & Requirements
Educational Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or a closely related discipline — with strong academic grounding in food formulation and ingredient science
- Additional certifications or training in food safety, HACCP, sensory evaluation, or bakery/confectionery technology are a clear advantage
Experience Requirements
- 3 to 5 years of experience in New Product Development within a food manufacturing environment — bakery, pastry, confectionery, or dessert sector experience is required
- Proven hands-on experience in product trials, factory validations, and scale-up activities within an industrial food manufacturing facility
- Solid technical understanding of food ingredients, formulations, and manufacturing processes relevant to baked goods, confectionery, and dessert products
Essential Skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills for navigating formulation challenges, trial failures, and scale-up complexities in bakery and confectionery NPD
- Excellent communication skills — both written and verbal in English — for cross-functional project collaboration and professional documentation
- Good command of English for daily team interaction, technical reporting, and ingredient supplier engagement
- Detail-oriented, well-organized, and proactively motivated approach to managing multiple NPD projects simultaneously within a busy food manufacturing environment
About the Employer — Riyadh’s Leading Food Manufacturing Business
This NPD Specialist opportunity is offered by a leading food manufacturing business based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, operating across bakery, pastry, confectionery, dessert, and snack product categories. The company is committed to product innovation, manufacturing excellence, and delivering high-quality food products that meet the evolving tastes and expectations of Saudi and GCC consumers. Its NPD function is a key driver of the company’s growth strategy — investing in talented food technologists and product development specialists who combine formulation expertise with commercial awareness and a genuine passion for food innovation.
Riyadh’s rapidly expanding food manufacturing sector, combined with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 food localization ambitions and zero-income-tax compensation environment, makes this an outstanding time to advance your NPD career at the Kingdom’s most dynamic and ambitious food companies.
Who Should Apply?
- Bakery & Confectionery NPD Specialists: With 3–5 years of food manufacturing product development experience in baked goods, pastry, or confectionery
- Food Science Graduates: With a BSc in Food Science or Food Technology and hands-on NPD formulation and trials experience in industrial food manufacturing
- Product Development Technologists: With strong ingredient knowledge, factory trial experience, and a track record of successful food product commercialization
- FMCG Food Innovators: With a consumer trend mindset, analytical skills, and a passion for creating innovative bakery, dessert, and confectionery products for Saudi consumers
- Saudi Arabia-Based NPD Professionals: Currently in Riyadh or the KSA market and ready to join a leading food manufacturer with a growing and exciting product development function
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