Sweet Flavourist

About Kerry

Kerry is a global leader in taste and nutrition solutions for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors. Each day, the company works with customers to develop products that are healthier, more enjoyable, and more sustainable for people around the world. Kerry aims to be its customers' most trusted partner and is focused on helping shape the future of food in a global setting that supports learning and career growth.

About the Role

The Sweet Flavourist will support flavour sales growth, flavour development, flavour manufacturing, and the upkeep of flavour and raw material libraries. The role requires efficient handling of customer briefs while keeping both customer needs and Kerry’s technical direction in view. The successful candidate may also broaden the team’s capability by guiding or working alongside a trainee or junior flavourist on specific initiatives and projects.

This person will create flavours and collaborate with customers, fellow flavourists, sensory scientists, production teams, and suppliers to make sure objectives are achieved and briefs are delivered on time. A strong grasp of raw materials, finished goods, production processes, regulatory considerations, analytical methods, and flavour applications is essential. The role also calls for deep experience in the specialist area and ongoing development through sensory evaluation, experimentation, research, and peer collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of projects and develop flavour solutions that align with business priorities and customer requirements.
• Explore and apply new ingredients in a proactive manner.
• Use Kerry technologies to create distinctive answers to project briefs.
• Coordinate closely with internal teams across Kerry’s EUM functions.
• Deliver technical presentations to customers.
• Run working sessions with customers and support project discussions.
• Help train flavourist trainees as needed.
• Prepare and spray dry flavours to meet project needs.
• Carry out physical, chemical, and sensory testing and interpretation of flavour samples.
• Partner with the analytical team on flavour matching assignments.
• Apply sound knowledge of flavour-related regulatory and labelling rules.
• Work across functions to combine Kerry’s strengths and provide the best taste and nutrition outcomes for customers.
• Take part in sensory panel activities.
• Manage raw materials and finished flavours through Kerry systems to keep them active and traceable.
• Attend industry seminars and events to expand technical flavour knowledge.

Qualifications and Skills

The ideal candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Life Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or comparable industry experience. They should also bring extensive hands-on experience in sweet flavour work, along with a strong foundation in organic chemistry, food chemistry, and flavour applications.

Experience with powders, emulsions, and liquid blending is preferred. Strong numeracy, troubleshooting ability, a refined sense of smell and taste, and a genuine interest in flavour creation are all important. The role also requires comfort working with cross-functional teams at different levels of the organisation, along with strong interpersonal and communication skills. Broad flavour experience across multiple end uses is desirable, as are flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to taste a wide range of materials without restriction.

Additional Information

Requisition ID: 64606. Position type: FT Permanent. Workplace arrangement: onsite in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland.

Important Notice

Kerry warns applicants to stay alert for fraud. The company will not contact candidates from non-Kerry email addresses or phone numbers, and it does not use video chat rooms such as Google Hangouts for interviews. Candidates should never be asked to pay to take part in the hiring process, including for starter kits or training purchases. The only exception is reimbursable travel expenses. Any legitimate payments from Kerry will come from official company accounts under the Kerry name.

Recruitment Notes

Recruiter information is listed in the source. Posting type: LI.