Applications Manager

Company: This established international food ingredients business specialises in natural colour solutions for food and beverage manufacturers. The organisation works closely with customers to develop technically effective, visually appealing products across a broad range of applications, supported by an international network of technical, commercial and applications specialists.

As its activities across the Americas continue to develop, the company is looking to appoint an Applications Manager to lead and strengthen its regional applications capability. The successful individual will play a central role in supporting customer projects, developing the technical team and connecting regional requirements with expertise from the company’s global applications centres.

Role: The Applications Manager will lead and develop the applications team across the Americas, providing direct technical support to sales colleagues and customers throughout the product development process.

This is a hands-on technical leadership position combining food science, applications development, team management and customer-facing support. The successful individual will work closely with sales and marketing teams to prioritise commercially relevant projects, develop application concepts and demonstrate the performance of the company’s natural colour solutions across a wide range of food and beverage products.

The position will be responsible for building technical knowledge within the regional business, training new applications and sales colleagues, creating technical materials and improving the processes used to manage customer projects. The Applications Manager will also contribute to new product launch decisions, develop validation and stability data and collaborate with international counterparts to share knowledge and best practices.

This opportunity would suit an experienced food scientist who enjoys combining laboratory work, technical leadership and commercial collaboration within an international ingredients business.

Main Responsibilities

• Lead, manage and develop the applications team supporting customers and commercial colleagues across the Americas.
• Partner with sales teams to prioritise projects according to customer requirements, commercial potential and strategic importance.
• Provide direct technical and applications support throughout customer development projects.
• Develop application concepts, product demonstrations and supporting materials for customer meetings, presentations and industry exhibitions.
• Collaborate with sales and marketing colleagues to create technical presentations, webinars and other customer-facing content.
• Build stability and validation data across new applications and product categories to identify potential business opportunities.
• Support technical evaluation and go/no-go decisions relating to new product launches.
• Develop processes, guidelines, training documents and internal tools to improve the consistency and efficiency of applications work.
• Strengthen the technical and creative capabilities of the applications team through coaching, training and project support.
• Lead research into manufacturing processes, formulations, ingredient interactions and the practical replication of customer products.
• Work closely with global applications leaders to share technical knowledge, project experience and best practices.
• Train and onboard new applications and sales colleagues on product properties, performance and technical considerations.
• Attend relevant industry exhibitions, customer meetings and technical events as a representative of the business.
• Respond to technical questions from customers and commercial colleagues.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date project records, application sheets, demonstration materials and technical documentation.
• Take ownership of project-tracking software and identify opportunities to improve its effectiveness.
• Ensure the applications laboratory remains clean, organised and compliant with internal safety and hygiene standards.
• Maintain compliance with established processes, Good Manufacturing Practices, personal protective equipment requirements, food safety standards and product quality procedures.
• Support a collaborative team culture and contribute actively to the company's wider food safety programme.

Key Requirements

• A minimum of six years' professional experience within the food industry.
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science or a closely related discipline.
• Strong product development and food applications experience.
• Previous experience leading, mentoring or developing technical personnel would be highly advantageous.
• Good understanding of food ingredients and their performance across different product applications.
• Strong knowledge of analytical methods and the ability to interpret technical data effectively.
• Experience building stability data, validating formulations and supporting product development projects.
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills.
• Confidence working with sales, marketing, customers and international technical colleagues.
• Strong organisational, project management and time-management capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining accurate documentation and clear communication.
• Comfortable working both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
• Practical understanding of laboratory safety, hygiene, food quality and Good Manufacturing Practices.
• Willingness to travel for customer meetings, exhibitions, training and collaboration when required.