Food Product Developer – Value Engineering & Continuous Improvement

Our client is a leading provider of prepared meal solutions for healthcare, senior care, and community-based food service organizations. The company operates across multiple international markets and also provides home-delivered meal solutions to seniors.

The Role
We are looking for a commercially minded Product Developer to join our Product Development Team, with a primary focus on Value Engineering across the company's product portfolio. Reporting to the Product Development Manager, the successful candidate will work to optimize existing products and support new product development by identifying opportunities to improve cost, quality, nutrition, functionality, and operational efficiency. The role will play an important part in ensuring our products deliver the best possible value to both our customer and the business.

Working closely with other members of Product Development, Category Management, Procurement, Operations, Quality Assurance and other key stakeholders, the Product Developer will investigate and implement opportunities to reduce cost while maintaining or improving the customer experience.

The role will involve evaluating recipes, raw materials, and operational processes to identify opportunities for improvement. This may include ingredient substitutions, recipe optimization, supplier changes, yield improvements, and process efficiencies.

Key Responsibilities
Value Engineering & Cost Optimization

Lead and support value engineering projects across the existing product portfolio,



identifying opportunities to reduce cost while maintaining or improving product quality, nutrition and customer appeal.

Analyse recipes, ingredient specifications, yields, portion sizes and manufacturing processes to identify cost‑saving opportunities.

Evaluate alternative ingredients, suppliers, and specifications to determine the best balance of cost, quality, functionality and availability.

Partner with Procurement and suppliers to identify cost‑effective ingredients and alternative sourcing opportunities.

Identify ingredients to rationalize across the range where appropriate.

Conduct kitchen bench samples and product evaluations to validate proposed changes.

Product & Continuous Improvement

Improve existing products through recipe optimization, ingredient changes, process improvements and specification changes.

Ensure cost reductions do not negatively impact taste, texture, appearance, nutritional value, portion size or overall customer experience.

Investigate product quality issues and identify opportunities for corrective action and continuous improvement.

Use sensory evaluation and product testing to validate changes before implementation.





Support initiatives to improve manufacturing efficiency, reduce waste, and optimise product yields.

Maintain clear documentation of trials, changes, costs and project outcomes.

Manage multiple projects and priorities while ensuring timelines and objectives are achieved.

Support the broader Product Development team as required.

Qualifications

Post‑secondary education qualification (or equivalent) in food related subject and / or demonstrable track record within food product development

Experience of working within food product development, food manufacturing or a related commercial food environment.

Experience managing projects and delivering measurable outcomes.

Strong analytical, problem‑solving and decision‑making skills.

Cutting-edge, organised, adaptable and conscientious, with good communication and team working skills.

Experience within frozen food manufacturing

Excellent culinary skills

Good presentation and stakeholder management skills

Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada without sponsorship.

We are equal‑opportunity and affirmative action employers that do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, age, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, provincial, or federal laws, rules, or regulations. Our policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

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📌 Food Product Developer (Quebec City)
🏢 Lock Search Group
📍 Quebec City