Head of Application and Solutions Development

Job Category: Research and Development

Work Location: Hybrid

Office Location:

Gorinchem, NL

Job Type: Full Time

Job ID: 5846

At Corbion, we exist to champion preservation in all its forms, preserving food and food production, health, and our planet.

Innovation is how we build a more sustainable future. Guided by our purpose—to preserve what matters—and driven by our BRIGHT 2030 Strategy, we are accelerating our leadership in clean-label preservation, sustainable ingredient solutions, and advanced biotechnology.

As Head of Global Applications & Solutions Development, you will play a pivotal role in converting Corbion’s scientific excellence into differentiated customer value. This is a senior, enterprise-wide leadership role, accountable for a global technical organization that brings our ingredient technologies to life across food and beverage applications worldwide. The position will be based at one of our two global innovation hubs in Gorinchem (The Netherlands) or Lenexa (Kansas) and reports to the Chief Technology Officer.

Your Role & Impact

You will lead and integrate four critical global capability pillars:

Global Applications – Unifying and elevating application teams across regions and categories

Sensory Science – Translating functional performance into compelling sensory experiences

Microbiology & Preservation – Advancing Corbion’s leadership in natural preservation

Global Ingredient Technology – Building predictive, specification-driven ingredient capabilities

Together, these capabilities strengthen Corbion’s customer relevance, accelerate innovation, and support sustainable growth.

What You Will Lead

Global Applications & Solutions Leadership

Set the strategic and technical direction for Corbion’s global applications organization

Build high-performing global communities of practice and category leadership

Identify unmet customer and market needs to fuel the innovation pipeline

Balance near-term commercial delivery with long-term technology and capability development

Attract, develop, and inspire world-class technical talent globally

Act as the voice of the customer in innovation, portfolio, and commercial decision forums

Customer-Facing Technical Excellence

Partner with senior R&D and product development leaders at key global customers

Translate complex technical challenges into differentiated, value-creating solutions

Support Sales and Business Development in strategic customer engagements and industry events

Ensure a robust, technically credible new-business development pipeline

Application Innovation & Validation

Lead the evaluation of Corbion solutions in real food and beverage matrices

Drive the development of clear, compelling technical value propositions

Co-create and steer global roadmaps for sensory science and microbiology capabilities

Global Ingredient Technology

Establish predictive tools, functional specifications, and standardized testing methodologies

Govern approval of new ingredients and evaluation of new suppliers

Enable co-development and partnership opportunities with strategic external partners

Strategic Contribution

This role is a key enabler of Corbion’s BRIGHT 2030 Strategy, accelerating clean-label preservation, strengthening technology-led customer engagement, and expanding our leadership in specialty ingredients.

What You Bring

15+ years of experience in the functional ingredient industry, with strong innovation and commercial exposure

Background in FMCG food product development or R&D

Proven success leading global technical, application, or solutions organizations

Strong customer orientation with the ability to translate technical capability into commercial value

Master’s or PhD in Food Science, Chemistry, Food Technology, or a related discipline

Ability to influence and align senior stakeholders across functions and geographies

An inclusive, courageous leadership style that fosters collaboration and innovation

Why Join Corbion

Corbion is a global leader in sustainable ingredient solutions, powered by nearly a century of fermentation expertise. Our BRIGHT 2030 Strategy sets ambitious goals in clean-label preservation, sustainable food systems, biotechnology, and specialty ingredients. We offer a collaborative, purpose-driven culture where innovation, customer impact, and sustainability go hand in hand.

About Corbion

Corbion is a sustainable ingredients company dedicated to preserving what matters, including food and food production, health, and the planet. We specialize in lactic acid, lactic acid derivatives, food preservation solutions, functional blends, and algae ingredients, using our deep application and product knowledge to propel nature’s ingenuity through science. With more than a century of experience, we continue working side-by-side with our customers to make our cutting-edge technologies work for them. Leveraging our advanced capabilities in fermentation and preservation technology, we help customers differentiate their products in diverse markets ranging from food and animal nutrition to home & personal care, pharmaceuticals, electronics, medical devices, and bioplastics. In 2024, Corbion generated annual sales of € 1,332.0 million with a workforce of 2,399 FTEs. Corbion is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. For more information: www.corbion.com

Corbion is an equal opportunity employer and committed to a diverse workplace. All applicants will be considered equally.

Corbion does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers. All candidates must be submitted by approved Corbion vendors who have been expressly requested to make a submission by our Talent Acquisition team for a specific job opening. No placement fees will be paid to any firm unless such a request has been made by the Corbion Talent Acquisition team and such candidate was submitted to the Corbion Talent Acquisition Team.