Head of Product Development & Laboratory - FoodTech

Head of Product Development & Laboratory

Location: London | Hybrid, Flexible Working

Reports to: CEO

We're looking for a Head of Product Development & Laboratory to lead the creation and commercialisation of the next generation of beverage products.

This is a rare opportunity to own product development end-to-end — from first concept, through lab-scale trials, to full commercial production. You'll combine creativity with deep technical expertise. We develop innovative liquid products across multiple consumer brands and hospitality concepts, partnering with household names on innovative concepts.

This is an opportunity to join a fast-growing venture backed start-up which has seen record revenues month on month, and be central to its next stage of growth.

What You'll Do

Own Product Development

• Lead the entire product development lifecycle, from concept to commercialisation
• Turn creative ideas into commercially viable formulations, balancing flavour, function, cost, shelf life and manufacturability
• Build and manage an innovation pipeline spanning multiple brands and categories
• Establish best-in-class development processes to support long‑term growth

Drive Technical Excellence

• Ensure lab‑developed products can be reliably replicated in commercial production
• Own formulation, ingredient selection, processing methods and product specifications
• Maintain quality, taste and stability throughout manufacturing and shelf life
• Set rigorous scientific testing, validation and quality standards
• Design every formulation for repeatability, scalability and efficiency
• Guide products from bench‑scale development to full commercial production
• Work closely with co‑manufacturers to industrialise formulations across CPG and hospitality channels
• Support the build‑out of in‑house manufacturing capability where it makes sense
• Troubleshoot production challenges and optimise formulations for efficiency