R&D Senior Technologist

R&D Senior Technologist (Applications)

12 Month FTC

Tirlán

Tirlán, is a world-class food and nutrition co-operative, with a diverse portfolio of quality ingredients, leading consumer and agri brands.

Tirlán owns leading brands such as Avonmore, Kilmeaden Cheese, Millac, Solmiko, Truly Grass Fed, Premier Milk, Wexford, mymilkman.ie and GAIN Animal Nutrition.

We nurture a talented team across Ireland, the US, MEA and China, delivering annual revenues of over €3 billion, and circa 2,000 people to manage our network of 11 processing plants and 52 agri branches. Our purpose is to nourish the world, while safeguarding our environment for future generations.

Role Profile

Based in Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny, this role reports to the R&D Manager Customer & Technical Solutions and plays a key role developing customer-focused solutions that unlock the full value of Tirlán's dairy and plant ingredient portfolio, supporting strategic growth across global markets. Working with cross-functional colleagues, customers and external collaborators, the successful candidate will lead and support projects across a diverse portfolio of dairy and hybrid-based applications.

The Customer & Technical Solutions team is focused on maximising the value of Tirlán's product portfolio by translating ingredient functionality into differentiated customer solutions, providing technical support to key customers and cross functional teams, and leveraging external partnerships to identify new opportunities and accelerate innovation. This position requires an experienced Technologist with strong dairy product knowledge, excellent technical and project management skills, and a passion for delivering commercially relevant, customer-focused solutions in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead application projects from concept through to delivery.
• Partner with customers, cross-functional teams, and external collaborators to deliver priority projects.
• Develop and validate new concepts through recipe formulation, functionality testing, sensory evaluation, shelf-life studies, and benchmarking.
• Generate technical data, application insights, and customer solutions that maximise product value and support business growth.
• Plan, execute, and report on laboratory and pilot-scale trials, ensuring compliance with R&D standards and procedures.
• Support strategic customers and supplier engagements through technical expertise, application development, and solution-focused collaboration.
• Present technical findings, application concepts, and product solutions to customers and internal stakeholders through demonstrations, presentations, and technical workshops.
• Maintain awareness of emerging technologies, ingredients and market trends to support internal capability build in plant & dairy applications

Requirements

• Preferred 5+ year’s relevant technical experience in a value-added dairy or related food industry
• Science based qualification in Food Science/Nutrition, Food Technology or Food Engineering
• Application and product development experience
• Experience managing technical projects and collaborating with stakeholders to deliver projects on time, in scope and within budget
• Strong knowledge in dairy processing technology and food chemistry
• Full Clean Drivers licence
• Strong project management and organisational skills.
• Customer-focused mindset with excellent problem-solving abilities
• Ability to work proactively and effectively in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Collaborative approach with strong teamwork and relationship-building skills

We offer

• Work/life balance and collaborative work culture
• Career progression opportunities
• Free parking incl. EV charging

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We believe in the value of difference. We know that different perspectives, life experience and backgrounds can drive innovation and deliver growth.

We welcome people from all walks of life without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, or disability status. 

Join our Talent Pool

Considering a new career in Tirlán but this isn’t the role for you? Join our talent community and sign up for job notifications at www.tirlan.com/careers

Tirlán is a Values Based Organisation