Product Development Scientist

Job Title: Product Development Scientist

Location: Mumbai HURC

Function: R&D  

BUSINESS CONTEXT

We are the Global Wellbeing (H&W) team at Unilever. We are a start-up focused on one of Unilever’s largest growth opportunities – the €140bn Health & Wellbeing space defined by Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (VMS).  

We work in an agile and entrepreneurial way, collaboratively within the team and with our Unilever colleagues around the world. We work in a project based networked way where everyone needs to be able to take a step back and think strategically as well as rolling up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, to be entrepreneurial and experiment as well as bringing in the best of Unilever and work the structures of a large company, to take charge and lead as well as follow and support others.

Unilever’s  Wellbeing Group holds the company’s functional nutrition brands and the portfolio of brands that includes Equilibra (Italy) and US acquired brands Olly, Liquid IV, Smarty Pants, Welly and most recently, Onnit. Each brand is completely unique and focused on giving consumers superior experiences within their respective spaces and target segments. For the acquired businesses, we are committed to continue growing this strategic business for Unilever through international expansion of the acquired brands, utilizing Unilever’s scale and network in the markets. 

JOB PURPOSE

The Product Development Scientist, Wellbeing Collective will be responsible for supporting the development of the best-in-class formulations to aid the growth ambition for the Wellbeing Collective – specifically in relation to new product development and new market entry and the establishment of an external ecosystem technical partners/ capability. The role will have heavy cross functional interactions and coordination across Marketing, Supply chain, SEAC, Quality, Regulatory and external Contract labs & Raw material suppliers to ensure timely delivery of the objectives.  

The role will be required to provide technical support related to formulation development and would cover a broad range of challenges – from designing consumer preferred robust formulas, to developing raw material and finished product spec, scaling up by leveraging external Contract labs and Collaborative manufacturers.  

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Formulation design work for innovations & cost saving initiatives to deliver superior and consumer winning products OTIF.  

• Work seamlessly with other R&D functions (packaging, CTI, processing, regulatory teams) to ensure delivery on assigned projects.

• Ensuring statutory regulatory & legal compliances for products & process.

• Responsible for identifying and establishing appropriate technology for manufacturing products to specification at lab-scale and pilot-scale.

• Responsible for scaling up to factory with relevant transfer of technology documentation and training factory team.

• Responsible for specification of formulation, process, pack, and Quality Assurance regimes to support / enforce these specs agreed technical action standards.

• Conduct shelf-life studies to establish shelf-life of new products and/or intervene through formulation/recipes to enhance shelf-life.

• Use appropriate analytical techniques (either existing or develop new techniques) to characterize key attributes of the product.

• Appreciating and engaging with marketing team constantly for insights and translating them into product properties & performance.

• Managing customer complaints (technical aspect) and appreciating their concerns.

• Anticipate assessment and minimization of environmental, safety, regulatory, PR and competitive challenges.

• Build and maintain strong networks with cross functional (Brand, CMI, SC, CQA etc) teams.

SKILL REQUIREMENTS

• Formulation Expertise: A strong understanding of formulation principles, theoretical and applied, to drive innovation and sustainability agenda

• Communication Skills: Ability to clearly communicate technical information to non-technical teams and manage stakeholders in project meetings.

• Demonstrating calculated risk-taking ability with a rigor to maximize learning with minimum investment of people, money and time.

• Collaboration and communication: Need to collaborate with key core members, and seek input and navigate the project fully with cross functional team.

• A skilled and empathetic person who approaches challenges with flexibility, adaptability, and a focus on long-term impact.

• Prioritization: Demonstrating work-load capability, manage priorities of multiple projects running across the business.

• Flexible with work timings to collaborate with global stakeholders across various time zones.

• Business acumen, agility, growth mindset, Consumer and Customer Love are critical competencies for this role.

 QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE RANGE

• Master’s degree (Pharmaceutics/ Industrial Pharmacy/ Food science) would be preferred.

• 6+ years’ experience in formulation development or technology development (Dietary supplement/OTC products experience would be preferred).

• Good understanding of Product development principles – formulation development for consumer-friendly ingestible dosage forms such as Functional Powders, Mouth-dissolving films, Effervescent tablets etc., material understanding, product scale up, ingredient sources and GMP.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, ability to work well with others, and ability to plan and execute work independently with minimal supervision. Able to interact effectively with the most senior levels of management both internally and externally

• Ability to support projects with multiple external parties including contractors, research partners, manufacturing facilities, etc.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. 

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