Product Design Engineer for Food at IKEA

Are you a Foodie or interested in becoming one?
Great, then you might be the one we are looking for. We are all passionate food lovers that develop and provide delicious, desirable, safe, healthy and sustainable food for the many people around the world. No doubt food matters to people and the planet and to the IKEA business. Our Food business is a strong contributor to the IKEA brand and business growth, and we have the ambition to drive positive change in the food industry.
We are on an existing journey where we, over the next years, will continue to strengthen the core of what we do developing food that is good for people and the planet. Everyday we dare to challenge ourselves and living our values and we embrace the future and face the opportunities to enable success.
One part of this journey is to move to Älmhult, to IKEA of Sweden, where the total customer offer is being developed. With the move, we want to work closer to our IKEA colleagues across the value chain and how we meet our customers every day. For example, did you know that more than 520 million guests enjoyed our food last year?
Älmhult – the heart of IKEA
This is where our culture and values were shaped and still develop. It is a melting pot of many different nationalities and cultures. Beside the IKEA Museum, IKEA Hotell, the IKEA store and many other places to learn and meet, there is Aktivitetshuset, which is a meeting place and spare time facility with lots of possibilities for IKEA co-workers and their families. If you choose to commute to Älmhult, this is not a problem because the office is a stone's throw from the train station, and the shuttle buses to Helsingborg leave right outside IKEA of Sweden
Job Description
As a Product Design Engineer (PDE) in Food, you are responsible for leading the process of developing new products, as well as contributing to continuous improvements of the quality, customer experience and compliance of our existing products range. You are accountable for bringing the required engineering competencies into the projects and secure that all the technical deliverables are on time. In a collaborative and multifunctional environment, you will lead a team of highly skilled Engineers through the product development process. This is a role with great impact. Your work influences every stage of the product development, from idea to seeing the product in our stores. You work together with vast variety of people, involved in not only the product development, but also the business side.
Your key responsibilities are (among others):
Lead development of Improve projects together with needed functions and specialists
Lead project teams and engineering teams through product development projects from brief to final product available on the sales floor, ensuring that products are delivered on time, within budget, and meet established quality standards
Enable collaboration and involvement of engineering competences and development partners across the value chain
Staying up to date with trends in the food industry, such as new ingredients, packaging innovations, and sustainability initiatives
Be involved and actively contribute to various innovation initiatives
Drive for the development of new features, technology, and materials as well as risk assessments

And of course – it will be a lot of fun!
Qualifications
We are looking for you who are a skilled leader, who have experience from product development and from leading projects within product development. You strongly believe that your biggest asset is the people working with you and the network inside and outside of the company. You are good at spreading enthusiasm and energy, as well as being an excellent communicator with a strong passion for people. An analytical mindset in combination with a holistic view on strategic business decisions is essential. By always having the customer in focus, with a sound business mind and a problem-solving approach, you are creating the prerequisite to secure the development of tasty and healthy food products for the many people. You have a university degree in Engineering, or other experience and education which we can consider as equal. You have experience in leading technical development of physical products. IKEA of Sweden is a truly global work environment; therefore, we expect you to be fluent in written and spoken English.

As PDE you probably have:
University Degree in Engineering or equivalent, university degree in Food Engineering, Food Science or Food Technology would be a plus but not a limiting factor
Experience in a product development for Food or a similar area
Project Management experience (planning, execution, risk management)
Strong communication skills, building trust true 2-way dialogue
Seniority in your PDE role, confident leader, and self-starter and finalizer
Product engineering knowledge (tools, documentation, and verification methods)
Product development experience to find the balance between cost, quality and sustainability
Good insight in development processes as well as portfolio understanding

Additional information
Does this sound like your next challenge? We are curious to get to know you so warm welcome with your application – CV and letter of motivation-in English-no later than 2023-06-27. Please note that we will review applications as they come through so do not delay, send in your application today!
If you are having any questions about the process, please reach out to Maria Fröberg Larsson, +46 766 190 996.