Principal Scientist - Bakery (SEA)

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

Work Location         Jakarta, Indonesia 
Reporting To            RD&A Director
Working Hours        8.30am – 5.30pm

The Principal Scientist will lead innovation and technical excellence for our Bakery business across Southeast Asia, driving the development of differentiated bakery solutions that support sustainable business growth and strengthen customer partnerships. This role is ideal for someone passionate about science, creativity, and market innovation, with the ability to collaborate closely with regional customers and cross-functional teams to deliver end-to-end product development across a broad bakery portfolio.

Key responsibilities

Innovation & Product Development

• Lead the proactive development of integrated bakery solutions that support sustainable growth and profitability across SEA markets.
• Drive technical development activities for key bakery accounts, ensuring solutions are tailored to customer applications and market needs.
• Apply Kerry technologies including inclusions, enzymes, emulsifiers, flavours, preservation systems, and specialty ingredients across bakery applications.
• Develop innovative concepts and support proactive NPD presentations to customers.
• Scale up laboratory developments into industrial production environments at customer facilities.
• Troubleshoot formulation and process challenges to ensure successful commercialization and product launches.

Customer & Commercial Partnership

• Build strong technical partnerships with bakery customers and become a trusted advisor within their business.
• Understand customer challenges, market dynamics, and emerging trends to deliver relevant and impactful solutions.
• Provide technical expertise, product demonstrations, and application support when required.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Commercial, Supply Chain, Operations, Quality, and Regional RD&A teams to ensure successful project execution.
• Champion collaboration and knowledge sharing across teams within the APMEA region.
• Support and mentor team members in technical and day-to-day activities.

Project Management & Documentation

• Develop and maintain detailed product specifications, project timelines, competitive benchmarking, and shelf-life studies.
• Ensure all technical results and documentation are accurately recorded and maintained for future reference and compliance purposes.

Qualifications and skills

• A minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Food Science & Technology, Bakery Science or a related field.
• At least 15 years’ relevant experience in bakery industry.
• Strong technical and operational knowledge across bakery categories specifically soft bakes.
• Hands-on experience with bakery ingredients and their applications.
• Experience working within food laboratories, pilot plants, and manufacturing environments.
• Good understanding of food safety regulations, quality systems, and commercialization processes.
• Exposure to both Retail and Food Service bakery environments is highly preferred.
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting capabilities in fast-paced environments.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders across commercial, technical, and operational functions.
• Effective communication and relationship-building skills with internal and external partners.
• Self-driven, proactive, and comfortable navigating ambiguity and evolving business priorities.
• High attention to detail with strong project execution capabilities.
• Passion for innovation and continuous learning.

Work Environment

• This position requires working in both laboratory and production environments.
• Travel up to 50% across production facilities, customers sites and industry conferences will be required.