Research and Development Executive (Margarine / Oil & Fats)

Unigrà is an Italian agro-food group founded in 1972. Through its various brands, the company offers high-end raw materials, semi-processed and finished products across all channels, the main categories being Chocolate and Chocolate Compounds, UHT Vegetable Creams and Margarine.

The R&D Executive is responsible for the development, optimization and industrialization of margarine, spreads and vegetable fat systems, managing projects independently from concept to commercialization.

The role acts as technical project owner, coordinating laboratory and pilot plant activities and collaborating cross-functionally with Production, QA, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Marketing and Sales.

Responsibilities

Independently manage product development projects (NPD and renovation) for retail and industrial margarine, shortening, functional fat system, vegetable oil and fat blends.

Develop and optimize formulations based on melting profile, crystallization behavior, plasticity and spreadability, oxidative stability.

Apply strong knowledge of fat chemistry and water-in-oil emulsion system

Design and execute experiments to optimize:

• Cost
• Crystal structure
• Emulsion stability
• Shelf life stability
• Texture and application performance (bakery, cooking, whipping)

Plan and lead laboratory, pilot plant and industrial trials

Optimize processing parameters (cooling rate, crystallization etc.) in relation to formulation requirements

Troubleshoot common margarine and fat blend challenges and issues

Coordinate and supervise pilot plant technicians during trials

Support scale-up and industrialization activities

Collaborate with QA and Regulatory to ensure compliance with local and export regulations

Prepare technical documentation including TDS, product specifications and SAP master data

Present technical results and project updates to internal stakeholders

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Food Science, Food Technology or related discipline
• Minimum 3–5 years of experience in R&D within Margarine and/or shortening OR Fat systems and water-in-oil emulsion
• Strong knowledge of Oils Fat chemistry, Lipid crystallization, Margarine technology (pilot plant and industrial line) or Oxidative stability
• Experience with pilot plant operations and industrial scale-up
• Experience in experiments design and data analysis
• Able to work on multiple projects to meets deadline.
• Fluency in Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

This position is reporting to the R&D Asisstant Manager

This position will be based in Tanjung Langsat, Pasir Gudang