We believe amazing things can happen over a cup of coffee.

Everyone’s coffee experience is unique – that’s why we bring this flavour into our careers. We keep our care and guidance individual to you. We celebrate achievements and support one another in a workplace that’s committed to doing the right thing – all across the world.

Our goal is simple but ambitious. Jacobs Douwe Egberts: a coffee for every cup.

JDE is a €5 billion global business retaining a start-up feel and containing some of the leading brands in Coffee and Tea – Kenco, L’OR, Tassimo and Douwe Egberts to name a few.

The UK represents a top 5 global market for JDE and continues to be a growth engine for the category, driving premiumisation by leading the single-serve partition with the Tassimo brand and premiumising the instant coffee segment through Kenco, L’OR and the Douwe Egberts brands.

Working with us is an exciting opportunity to make a difference in the world’s largest pure play coffee company.

PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE FLEXIBILITY AND THIS ROLE COULD BE BASED AT EITHER OUR BANBURY SITE OR OUR SITE IN UTRECHT

Business context of the role:

Jacobs Douwe Egberts Research and Development (R&D) is part of the Global JDE organization. R&D is the major contributor to the development of innovative coffee and tea products and is constantly optimizing the product portfolio. Focus of R&D is on building technology platforms, new products, portfolio renovations and productivity initiatives. R&D have a strong involvement in JDE business and are providing valuable input to enable business decisions to be made. Projects are mostly carried out together with Marketing, Operation and Procurement Departments.

About the role:

The Process Development specialist is part of the Global R&D organization, within the Science & New Technology department. The Process Development Specialist leads or supports projects up to process build & implementation and they are the key knowledge holders in their field. The specialist is consulted by other R&D members for NPD projects and by other JDE employees in case of operational issues. One or more specialists are responsible for the development and exploitation of JDE's proprietary knowledge, and building the network of external experts and suppliers.       

The role is to support the R&D department by determining and investigating product or process solutions within the global coffee network.  This role is critical to the Process Technology team within the Science and Technology group and will support programmes that deliver understanding to unlock end to end value, co-create and enable new consumer experiences and protect future processing potential.

The primary goal of this role is to deliver processing expertise to projects arising from the Process technology roadmaps.  The roadmaps are developed to deliver across the range of Category Value Creation Plans (R&G/Beans/Tea, Instant & Liquid and Single Serve) covering elements to deliver both Growth and to reach and sustain cost and cash leadership.

The objectives will include

• Understanding the impact of equipment and process on product
• Fundamental research through to commercialisation of new processes
• Equipment and process design
• Next generation process design
• Technology scouting

Whilst projects may cover across the spectrum of the Pure Instant & Speciality coffee processes there will a particular focus on process technologies for production of dairy and non-dairy creamer powders so an understanding of the fundamentals in this area would be an advantage but not essential.

Below is a breakdown of those key tasks to be undertaken to achieve the above goals.

Key responsibilities of the role:  

• Scope out and execute laboratory and pilot-plant experiments to support technical development
• Execution of bench top product evaluation – preparation of physical samples, validation of product designs, reporting and providing recommendations
• Analysis and interpretation of physical and chemistry methods
• Participate in the wider instant R&D community activities (i.e. pilot plant trials and plant start-ups) to support the Instant category agenda
• Develop and grow personally through technical and functional training, development planning, and networking within the wider R&D community.
• Clearly communicate within R&D and to key stakeholders in Engineering, Marketing and Supply Chain and provide support through knowledge creation and appropriate & clear documentation
• Be able to manage own time on a daily basis to deliver required project output and regularly review progress and results with line manager.

Degree or other formal qualifications required

• University degree (ideally Chemical Engineering or Food Science/Technology) with experience in FMCG R&D environment (pref 1-3 years)
• Chartered Engineer or on-track for becoming a chartered engineer (optional)
• Green belt certification (optional)

Must Have (experience & Skills)

• Chemical Engineering / Process Engineering or Food Science & Technology
• Designing, executing, supporting, and leading trials to take product / process from lab scale to production scale
• Decision making based on understanding process data and trends
• Understanding of sensory product profiles and consumer testing tools for product design validation
• Resilience and drive to see projects through to completion
• Strong and clear communicator at all levels (trial reports, presentation skills, cross-functional working)
• Delivering results through individual and team environments
• Build and develop cross-functional relationships
• Passionate and take a hands-on approach
• Able to travel outside the UK and be away from the home office for multiple days

Desirables

• Key stakeholder management & Influencing skills within the organization
• Project management
• Statistical knowledge and strong understanding and use of Minitab or other statistical software
• Break complex tasks into manageable pieces

What’s it like to work at JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS?

We are proud of our passionate and driven associates who challenge the status quo and pursue mastery in everything they do. Our goal is simple and ambitious – JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS: A coffee for every cup

Working with us means you’ll be making an impact in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. We work as a team, celebrating success and support one another. Our associates work with a diverse group of like-minded people in an innovative environment committed to doing the right thing across the globe. Your achievements here will get noticed.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts is a global coffee & tea company, serving consumers in more than 80 countries through iconic brands including: JACOBS, TASSIMO, MOCCONA, SENSEO, L'OR, DOUWE EGBERTS, KENCO, PILAO and GEVALIA