The Company

Our client is a growing Australian food manufacturer investing heavily in innovation, product development and manufacturing capability.

With a strong focus on quality and craftsmanship, this is an exciting opportunity to join the business during a period of growth and play a key role in bringing new baked goods to market.

The Role

Reporting into senior leadership, this NPD Bakery Lead will own NPD from initial concept through to commercialisation.

This is a hands-on role suited to someone with a genuine background in artisanal baking or patisserie who enjoys formulation, trials, scale-up and turning ideas into commercially viable products.

Key responsibilities will include:

- Leading end-to-end NPD from concept through to commercialisation
- Developing and refining new bakery formulations
- Conducting laboratory, kitchen and production-scale trials
- Managing formulation, ingredients and product specifications
- Coordinating sensory evaluation, testing and shelf-life trials
- Supporting product scale-up into manufacturing
- Working closely with Quality, Regulatory, Manufacturing and Commercial teams
- Liaising with suppliers and external technical partners
- Ensuring products meet food safety, quality and regulatory requirements
- Troubleshooting technical and formulation challenges
- Maintaining accurate technical documentation
- Identifying opportunities for product innovation and improvement

This is an opportunity to create and influence new products rather than simply maintain an existing portfolio.

About You

The ideal candidate will bring:

- A genuine background in artisanal baked goods or patisserie, ideally trained or having come up through a bakery or patisserie environment
- Proven NPD experience within food manufacturing or bakery production




- Strong formulation and product development capability
- Experience taking products through development, scale-up and commercialisation
- Sound understanding of bakery ingredients and manufacturing processes
- Experience with trials, sensory assessment and/or shelf-life testing
- Strong knowledge of food safety, quality and regulatory requirements
- Experience working with suppliers and external technical partners
- Strong project management and stakeholder skills
- Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively

Above all, we're looking for someone with the right personal attributes: a genuine team player who is easy going, coachable and open to feedback, with a demonstrated history of strong tenure in previous roles. This is a business that values loyalty and longevity as much as technical skill, so a stable career background will be highly regarded.

Experience across artisan breads, viennoiserie, pastry, cakes or other baked formulated products will be highly regarded.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone passionate about bakery innovation who enjoys taking products from concept through to the production floor, and who will fit seamlessly into a close-knit, collaborative team.

Why This Opportunity?

- Take ownership of meaningful NPD projects
- Work across the full product development lifecycle
- Influence future product ranges
- Collaborate with senior stakeholders and technical specialists
- Play a key role in a growing, innovation-focused manufacturing environment

If you're an experienced Bakery or Patisserie professional with a solid tenure history, looking for a role where you can develop rather than simply maintain, this could be an excellent next step.

Contact

Please call Eugene Lane-Mullins on or email to discuss this opportunity or other specialist Food Manufacturing and Technical opportunities.

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📌 NPD Bakery Lead (Melbourne)
🏢 Aspect Personnel
📍 Melbourne