R&D Manager (Health & Fitness Supplements)

The candidate is required to work fully on-site at Tangerang, Indonesia.

Client Overview

Our client is a rapidly growing Indonesian consumer health company specializing in sports nutrition, dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional food products.

The company develops and commercializes a broad range of active nutrition and wellness products serving fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and health-conscious consumers. Its product portfolio covers multiple formats, including protein powders, amino acids, creatine, pre-workout products, capsules, tablets, and functional beverage concepts.

With continued business expansion and increasing consumer demand for locally developed health and sports nutrition products, the company is strengthening its R&D capabilities to accelerate product innovation, improve formulation quality, optimize product costs, and strengthen its position within Indonesia's consumer health market.

Job Role

The R&D Manager – Sports Nutrition & Nutraceuticals is a key leadership position responsible for overseeing research, product development, formulation, laboratory operations, scale-up, and commercialization of sports nutrition, dietary supplement, nutraceutical, and functional food products.

The role will lead the full product development lifecycle, from product concept and raw material evaluation through formulation, laboratory trials, pilot-scale development, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial launch.

This is a highly hands-on management position requiring strong technical expertise in supplement formulation, sensory development, ingredient functionality, product stability, and COGS optimization. The ideal candidate is also expected to have genuine knowledge and passion for fitness and sports nutrition products, combined with strong leadership and commercial awareness.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end R&D and product development for sports nutrition, dietary supplement, nutraceutical, and functional food products.
• Translate consumer trends, market opportunities, scientific research, and business requirements into commercially viable product concepts.
• Develop and optimize formulations across powder blends, capsules, tablets, stick packs, RTDs, and other relevant product formats.
• Conduct and oversee laboratory trials to optimize taste, flavor masking, solubility, dispersibility, sensory profile, and active ingredient stability.
• Lead product development from initial concept and raw material evaluation through formulation, laboratory trials, pilot-scale testing, manufacturing scale-up, and commercial launch.
• Direct laboratory and pilot-scale trials at the BSD R&D facility and ensure effective technical transfer to manufacturing facilities.
• Troubleshoot formulation challenges involving ingredient interactions, sensory performance, solubility, stability, shelf life, and manufacturing processes.
• Optimize existing product formulations to improve product quality, consumer experience, production efficiency, and cost competitiveness.
• Establish target COGS and cost-per-serving calculations for new product concepts and reformulation projects.
• Evaluate alternative raw materials and functional ingredients to achieve cost efficiencies without compromising product efficacy, quality, taste, or consumer acceptance.
• Evaluate, qualify, and approve raw materials, active ingredients, suppliers, and relevant technical documentation.
• Work closely with Regulatory, Quality Control, Production, Procurement, and Marketing teams to ensure successful product development and commercialization.
• Ensure product development activities comply with applicable BPOM, Halal, GMP, HACCP, and other relevant quality and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain complete and audit-ready R&D documentation, including formulation records, trial reports, product specifications, technical documentation, and SOPs.
• Establish standardized R&D processes, laboratory procedures, testing protocols, and product development documentation.
• Monitor product development timelines, project priorities, technical milestones, and commercialization readiness across multiple product pipelines.
• Manage, mentor, and develop the R&D team, including Supervisors and Staff, by establishing clear responsibilities, KPIs, performance standards, and development plans.
• Foster a hands-on, accountable, collaborative, and innovation-driven R&D culture.
• Conduct ongoing product benchmarking and competitor analysis across local and international sports nutrition, supplement, and nutraceutical markets.
• Provide technical and commercial recommendations to senior management regarding product innovation, formulation strategy, cost optimization, and portfolio development.

Candidate Requirements

• Minimum Bachelor's Degree (S1) or Master's Degree (S2) in Food Technology, Nutrition, Pharmacy, Biochemistry, Food Science, or a related scientific discipline.
• Minimum 5+ years of proven R&D experience within the dietary supplement, sports nutrition, nutraceutical, functional food, or related consumer health industry.
• Minimum 2–3 years of managerial or team leadership experience within an R&D function.
• Proven experience managing R&D teams, multiple product development projects, and end-to-end product pipelines.
• Strong technical knowledge of sports nutrition, dietary supplements, nutraceutical formulations, functional ingredients, and product development processes.
• Hands-on experience with formulation development, laboratory trials, pilot-scale testing, manufacturing scale-up, and product troubleshooting.
• Strong understanding of flavor masking, solubility, dispersibility, sensory evaluation, ingredient interactions, and active ingredient stability.
• Strong knowledge of protein ingredients, amino acids, creatine, functional actives, vitamins, minerals, and other sports nutrition ingredients is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of COGS optimization, cost-per-serving analysis, raw material alternatives, and formulation cost management.
• Strong knowledge of BPOM requirements, Halal certification processes, GMP, HACCP, and relevant product quality standards.
• Experience evaluating raw materials, active ingredients, suppliers, and technical documentation.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally with Regulatory, QC, Production, Procurement, Marketing, and commercial teams.
• Strong experience in R&D documentation, technical reporting, product specifications, SOP development, and audit readiness.
• Active interest in fitness, sports nutrition, and supplement products, with a strong understanding of consumer needs and market trends.
• Regular gym or fitness activity and genuine familiarity with sports nutrition products are strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of local and international supplement brands, ingredient profiles, product positioning, macros, and cost-per-serving dynamics.
• Strong commercial awareness and demonstrated ability to translate technical R&D activities into measurable business impact.
• Proven track record of formulation improvement, COGS reduction, yield improvement, or other measurable R&D-driven business results is highly advantageous.
• Strong leadership, problem-solving, analytical, project management, and team development capabilities.
• Professional proficiency in English, both written and spoken, for technical documentation, scientific references, and supplier/vendor communication.
• High level of ownership, attention to detail, hands-on execution, and passion for product innovation.
  

Job Code: #867