Operations Manager – Food Flavors (Jeddah)

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Operations Manager – Food Flavors to lead the technical and application function of our growing food ingredients and flavors business in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The role bridges R&D, sales, production and customers to drive innovation and technical excellence.

Key responsibilities

• Lead technical and application activities for food flavors across beverages, dairy, bakery, confectionery, snacks and savory products.
• Develop and optimise flavour applications based on customer requirements and market trends.
• Provide technical support to sales teams and customers during product development, trials and commercialisation.
• Collaborate with customers to understand formulation challenges and propose effective flavour solutions.
• Coordinate with R&D, production, quality and procurement to ensure smooth product development and delivery.
• Conduct sensory evaluations, product benchmarking and stability assessments.
• Drive innovation initiatives and identify new product opportunities.
• Ensure compliance with food safety standards, regulatory requirements and quality specifications.
• Support scale‑up activities and manufacturing trials.
• Prepare technical documentation, product specifications and application reports.
• Mentor and develop the technical team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Chemistry or a related field.
• 8–12 years of experience in food flavours, food ingredients or FMCG industry.
• Strong hands‑on experience in flavour applications and product development.
• Knowledge of food processing, flavour systems, sensory science and formulation techniques.
• Experience working with B2B customers in the food manufacturing sector.
• Excellent English communication skills and commercial awareness.

Required skills

• Flavour application development
• Product development
• Food processing knowledge
• Sensory evaluation
• Microsoft Office
• Technical reporting