Food R&D Manager (Pattaya)

• Lead new product development across a range of food products, combining creative innovation with practical manufacturing requirements.
• Develop and optimise formulations for cost, stability, shelf-life, and scalability, including clean-label and natural ingredient solutions.
• Manage daily client sample delivery, ensuring timely turnaround, consistency, and presentation quality.
• Lead factory trials and production scale-up, troubleshooting technical issues during product transfer.
• Supervise and develop an R&D team of 2–5 people while remaining actively involved in laboratory activities.
• Work closely with production, QA, and sales teams to meet product specifications, customer requirements, and project timelines.
• Maintain accurate formulations, SOPs, and R&D documentation, ensuring compliance with food safety standards and export market requirements, including US FDA, EU, SEA, and ANZ.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, or a related field.
• 5–10 years’ experience in food R&D, preferably in confectionery or related food manufacturing.
• Proven experience managing a small team within a factory or production environment.
• Strong knowledge of formulation, food processing, and production scale-up, ideally with sugar, chocolate, or marshmallow products.
• Creative approach to product design, with attention to visual presentation and practical manufacturing requirements.
• Knowledge of clean-label reformulation and familiarity with HACCP, GMP, and FSSC 22000.
• Good command of English for technical documentation and communication.
• Hands-on, proactive, and able to work independently in a small, agile environment serving demanding international clients.
• Experience with ERP systems, such as Odoo, is an advantage.

Our client is a global leader in electronic interconnect and component manufacturing, with a strong presence across mission-critical industries including automotive, industrial automation, telecommunications, and medical technology.
The company is rapidly expanding its manufacturing and sourcing hub in Thailand and is seeking a Senior Sourcing Manager, South and East Asia to serve as the single point of strategic accountability for regional sourcing, with a primary focus on direct electronics commodities including cables, wires, connectors, wire harnesses, and electro-mechanical components.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute end-to-end category strategies for Thailand and Southeast Asia, focusing on direct electronics categories including cables, wires, connectors, wire harnesses, and components
• Leverage local and Asian market intelligence to identify, audit, and onboard high-performing suppliers that enhance cost, quality, lead time, and supply chain resilience
• Partner with NPI and Quality teams to support regulated programme requirements, ensuring full compliance, traceability, and risk alignment
• Lead executive-level commercial negotiations covering unit pricing, payment terms, capacity reservation, tooling agreements, and risk-sharing terms
• Build forward-looking, volume-aggregated pricing models using long-term demand visibility to secure market-leading total cost of ownership structures
• Establish quotation history tracking, benchmark analytics, and cost-breakdown models to drive continuous cost-down and VA/VE cost reduction initiatives
• Provide hands-on quotation support to improve RFQ turnaround speed, accuracy, and competitiveness for new business development
• Act as the central bridge aligning local manufacturing operations, engineering, NPI, materials planning, and global commercial sourcing teams
• Serve as the primary escalation point for commercial disputes, vendor performance issues, and supply continuity risks across the Asian vendor base

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field
• 10 or more years of strategic sourcing or procurement experience within electronics, EMS, or Tier-1 automotive manufacturing environments
• Strong domain expertise in direct materials sourcing including wire harnesses, cable assemblies, connectors, mechanical and stamping parts, or electronic components
• Proven track record in BOM costing, supplier localisation, VA/VE cost reduction, and commercial negotiations
• Solid CAPEX procurement experience including machinery, tooling, and equipment sourcing is desirable
• Demonstrated track record of navigating and negotiating within the Asian supply network across Thailand, Greater China, and Southeast Asia
• Fluent in English with strong communication skills for regional and global stakeholder management
• Based in or able to commute to Chachoengsao; the site is commutable from Eastern Bangkok, Samut Prakan, and Chonburi