Director of Research Development

Director of R&D – Pet Food Ingredients

Location : Italy (Onsite)

Role Overview

My client is seeking an experienced Director of R&D to lead innovation and product development across its pet food ingredient portfolio. This is a senior leadership role combining hands-on technical expertise, people leadership, and strategic input at European level.

The successful candidate will play a key role in shaping future product pipelines, supporting customer-specific formulation work, and contributing to M&A technical evaluations, while building and leading a high-performing R&D team in a newly established laboratory environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop an R&D team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and scientific excellence
• Drive the development of new products across pet food applications
• Oversee the continuous improvement and optimisation of existing products, focusing on performance, palatability, stability, and cost efficiency
• Translate customer requirements into tailored formulations, working closely with commercial and technical stakeholders to deliver differentiated solutions
• Provide technical and formulation expertise to support customer projects and strategic partnerships
• Conduct technical due diligence and product analysis for potential M&A targets, assessing formulation robustness, scalability, and innovation potential
• Operate within and help shape workflows in a newly built laboratory, supporting method development, testing, and validation
• Act as a member of the European leadership team, contributing to R&D strategy, innovation roadmaps, and long-term growth plans across Europe

Candidate Profile

Compensation & Benefits