Senior Product Development Specialist (Functional System Blends)

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

The role
As Senior Product Development Specialist (Functional System Blends), you play a pivotal role in building and strengthening Corbion’s bakery and functional systems capability in Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore and reporting directly to the APAC RD&A Director, this is a hands-on, senior technical role with a strong focus on enzyme based system blends, complemented by exposure to preservation blends over time.
This is a newly created position, driven by Corbion’s growth ambitions and recent business expansion in India. You will spend the majority of your time in the lab, developing, optimizing, and commercializing functional bakery solutions, while also engaging directly with customers and internal stakeholders. The role offers significant technical depth and regional exposure.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the investigation, design, and commercialization of functional system blends for bakery applications, with primary focus on enzyme blends and one stop functional solutions.
• Independently design, evaluate, and optimize enzyme blend formulations through iterative lab testing, adjusting composition based on dough behavior, processing performance, and finished product quality.
• Translate customer and market needs (e.g. machinability, softness, resilience, anti-staling, volume tolerance, mold inhibition, clean label) into clear design criteria and robust prototypes.
• Spend approximately 70% of time working hands-on in the laboratory, with the remaining time dedicated to customer interaction, internal collaboration, and regional travel.
• Lead or contribute to product and process development projects from feasibility through pilot trials and plant implementation.
• Optimize and continuously improve existing bakery portfolios (e.g. enzyme systems, acidulants, ferments) to enhance performance, robustness, and cost-in-use.
• Provide technical expertise for customer qualifications, troubleshooting, and scaleu p at pilot and production level.
• Support Sales, Business Development, and Technical Service teams with customer visits, application support, value selling, and preparation of technical documentation.
• Work closely with Product Management, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, RA, IP, and Marketing on specifications, claims, CoAs, sensory and analytical standards.
• Safeguard and advance Corbion’s bakery technology knowhow, including dough rheology, cereal chemistry, enzyme–starch interactions, flour variability, water activity, microbiology, and shelf life.
• Manage and maintain the bakery laboratory, including equipment (mixers, ovens), raw materials, SOPs, housekeeping, and procurement of consumables or upgrades as needed.
• Build and maintain strong external networks with customers, suppliers, academia, and institutes to accelerate learning and innovation.
• Travel up to 15%, primarily to India as a key market, typically involving trips of around one week.

You bring

• A BSc or MSc in Food Science, Cereal Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least 5 years of experience in bakery product development and/or functional system blend development.
• Strong hands-on experience with enzyme blends; experience with preservation blends (e.g. lactate/acetate systems) is an advantage.
• Deep understanding of cereal chemistry, dough rheology, flour variability, enzyme functionality, starch and lipid interactions, water activity, preservation, and sensory attributes.
• Experience with bakery analytical techniques such as RVA, farinograph/extensograph/alveograph, DSC, texture analysis, moisture/aw measurement, shelf life and challenge testing.
• Proven ability to work independently in the lab, designing experiments, interpreting results, and iterating formulations without close supervision.
• A practical, solution oriented mindset with strong troubleshooting skills at bench, pilot, and plant scale.
• Comfort operating in a customer facing RD&A environment, with frequent interaction with sales teams and customers across APAC.
• Strong project management skills, including documentation, data analysis (DoE, statistics), and clear technical communication.
• Willingness to learn beyond enzymes and expand expertise into broader functional and preservation systems.
• Availability for a full time, on site role in Singapore

What we offer

• A technically deep, high impact role at the core of Corbion’s bakery and functional systems growth in Asia Pacific.
• The opportunity to build and shape a newly created position with strong visibility and ownership.
• Access to a global community of experts in North America and Latin America, offering knowledge exchange and development in enzyme and bakery technologies.
• Direct exposure to customers, markets, and strategic initiatives in a fast-growing and diverse region.
• A collaborative RD&A environment that values scientific rigor, hands-on expertise, and continuous learning.

About Corbion

Corbion is the global market leader in lactic acid and its derivatives, and a leading supplier of emulsifiers, functional enzyme blends, minerals, vitamins, and algae ingredients. We use our unique expertise in fermentation and other processes to deliver sustainable solutions for the preservation of food and food production, health, and our planet. For over 100 years, we have been uncompromising in our commitment to safety, quality, innovation and performance. Drawing on our deep application and product knowledge, we work side-by-side with customers to make our cutting-edge technologies work for them. Our solutions help differentiate products in markets such as food, home & personal care, animal nutrition, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and bioplastics. In 2025, Corbion generated annual sales of €1,267.4 million and had a workforce of 2,408 FTE. 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.