R&D Technologist - Kilkenny Cheese Ltd

R&D Technologist

Kilkenny Cheese Ltd

This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the start-up of Kilkenny Cheese Limited. Kilkenny Cheese is a joint venture between Tirlán and Dutch family business Royal A-ware, a 130-year-old company with strong positions in EU and global markets. The facility is to be located at a greenfield site adjacent to Tirlán’s specialised nutrition facility at Belview, Co Kilkenny.

About Royal A-ware

Royal A-ware is a traditional Dutch family business with a passion for food and with a strong entrepreneurial attitude. Demand-led, we offer our clients tailored products and services. In recent years investments have been made in the development and management of own supply chains resulting in independence, efficiency, and flexibility. We are specialized in producing, ripening, cutting, and packaging cheese, and also produce and package cream and fresh dairy products. Kilkenny Cheese | Homepage

About Tirlán

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

The farmer-owned co-operative has a first-class track record of success in the global market. Rooted in a rich heritage of family farming and embedded in its communities, Tirlán has evolved to bring the passion of its farmers and their high-quality milk and grains to the international marketplace. Using modern-day technology and applying the best processes to its milk pool of three billion litres and its premium grains portfolio, Tirlán now exports to more than 80 countries.  Its award-winning brands are household names in Ireland, and include Ireland’s number one consumer dairy brand, Avonmore

Role Summary

Based in Belview in South Kilkenny the role reports to the Process Manager. The successful candidate will assist with the development and optimisation of Kilkenny Cheese products and processes. This role will involve direct liaison with all internal departments and relevant external organisations to co-ordinate and drive the completion of all activities in the development process from brief through to full production.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Deliver R&D projects and programmes of work from concept through to commercial delivery as part of the site team.
• Interpret and manage project related pilot and factory trials in compliance with all R&D procedures.
• Work with Process, Operations and Quality teams to ensure seamless transfer of new formulations and technologies into standardised production and commercialisation.
• To work with cross-functional teams to problem solve product quality or consistency issues.
• To contribute to the development of new technologies and capabilities for Kilkenny Cheese in the field of dairy processing.
• Develop an understanding of the impact of processing on product applications and key nutritional and functional requirements.
• Measure and collate processing data that will assist with identifying optimisation areas for both product and process across the business.
• Identify and implement process improvements across all dairy functions within Kilkenny Cheese
• Carry out pilot plant trials and physical and chemical analysis on proteins, lipids carbohydrates as required to deliver on the role

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

• A Food Science/Science qualification or higher with experience in the dairy, food or pharma sector
• Ideally, 3+ years relevant R&D/NPD/Technical or Operational experience in a value-added dairy or food and pharma related industry.
• Excellent communication skills particularly in technical arena for interaction at all levels.
• Knowledge of Dairy or similar food processing industry
• Excellent interpersonal and influencing skills

If you are interested in this position, please apply with an up-to-date resume.

Join our Talent Pool

Considering a new career in Tirlán but this isn’t the role for you?! Then why not register your experience & sign up for career opportunities at www.tirlan.com/careers.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
Tirlán embraces diversity, equal opportunity and inclusion. We are committed to building diverse teams where different perspectives drive innovation and growth. We strive to create an inclusive workplace where people can bring their true self to work and achieve their full potential.

At Tirlán, we celebrate diversity, because we know that our individual strengths make us stronger together. We welcome and encourage interest from a wide variety of candidates, and we will give your application consideration, without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, or disability status. 

At Tirlán our culture will celebrate individuality, knowing that together we are more.

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

About us:

The farmer-owned co-operative has a first-class track record of success in the global market. Rooted in a rich heritage of family farming and embedded in its communities, Tirlán has evolved to bring the passion of its farmers and their high-quality milk and grains to the international marketplace. Using modern-day technology and applying the best processes to its milk pool of three billion litres and its premium grains portfolio, Tirlán now exports to more than 80 countries.  Its award-winning brands are household names in Ireland, and include Ireland’s number one consumer dairy brand, Avonmore.

The organisation draws on a wealth of experience to deliver exceptional products and tailored nutritional solutions including Kilmeaden, Wexford, Truly Grass Fed, Solmiko, CheddMax and GAIN. Tirlán has a strong market presence in the UK, France, Germany, UAE, the US, North Africa, Japan and China.

A talented team of over 2,100 people manage Tirlán’s network of 11 production facilities and 52 agri retail outlets serving its communities with annual revenues of over €3 billion expected in 2022. Tirlán’s state-of-the-art headquarters in Kilkenny city and innovation centre in Ballyragget promote innovation, creativity and collaboration. Tirlán is committed to sustainability throughout the organisation through its comprehensive Living Proof programme, and the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) contained within it. For more information visit www.tirlan.com

Tirlán is a Values Based Organisation - www.tirlan.com