Application Services Team Manager (W/M)

As a global key player in yeasts and fermentation, Lesaffre designs, manufactures and markets innovative solutions for Baking, Food taste & pleasure, Health care and Biotechnology.

Family group born in northern France in 1853, now a multi-national and a multicultural company, Lesaffre is committed to working with confidence to better nourish and protect the planet.
In close collaboration with its clients and partners, Lesaffre employs 11 000 people in more than 50 countries.

Lesaffre achieves a turnover of 3 billion euros.

For over 30 years, Lesaffre has been involved in Human Health & Nutrition as part of its ambition to Better Nourish and Protect the Planet. In November 2018, Lesaffre acquired Gnosis Advanced Biotech and officially combined it with Lesaffre Human Care to form a new Business Unit named Gnosis by Lesaffre.

Gnosis by Lesaffre is the business unit dedicated to human health.

At Gnosis by Lesaffre, we are committed to cultivating and to delivering nutritional actives, biotics, and nutritional yeasts that benefit human health and wellbeing, thanks to the power of microorganisms and biotransformation processes like fermentation. Put differently, we explore life to improve living.
Our vision: At Gnosis by Lesaffre, we strive for a world that moves better, digests better, ages better, feels better, and, ultimately, lives better thanks to microorganisms and fermentation.

The mission of the Customer Solutions Center is to be a key contributor to Gnosis’ transformative growth by bridging the gap between R&D and Commercial activities to unlock deeper connections with customers. You will lead and work with a collaborative team of scientists and industry experts using a proactive, customer-centric approach. This involves a strategic focus on organizing existing data while leveraging and further developing your scientific expertise to create new knowledge for customers and global Commercial teams.

Your main missions will be :

TEAM & BUDGET MANAGEMENT:

• Create, lead, and mentor a team of Application Scientists, Technicians, and/or Trainees.
• Facilitate collaboration between the team and other R&D functions.
• Ensure alignment between business strategy, strategic fit, and customer needs.
• Propose and supervise team budget and CapEx for laboratories under your supervision.
• Direct and support the team to process customer requests within target timelines (provide technical opinions / assessments ; draft or review technical documentation ; assist with troubleshooting formulation challenges).

PROJECT MANAGEMENT & RESARCH:

• Manage or contribute to one or more projects or work packages related to customized dietary supplement formulations or new finished product (application) concepts.
• Lead research initiatives to identify emerging trends in dietary supplements (intellectual property strategies for novel concepts / Design and implement experimental protocols for testing new concepts).

FORMULATIONS:

• Acquire technical knowledge of the intrinsic characteristics and behavior of the portfolio of ingredients in preformulations and formulations.
• Establish and maintain relationships with CMO (Contract Manufacturing Organization) / CDMOs (Contract Development Manufacturing Organization) to enhance the scope of testing, pilot trial, and stability study capabilities.
• Oversee and support troubleshooting of customers’ formulation challenges.

GALENIC & FOOD APPLICATIONS:

• Direct the development of innovative lab-scale supplement applications that meet market demands.
• Oversee stability testing and formula optimization internally and through external labs.
• Evaluate ingredient interactions and compatibility.
• Review and contribute to written technical reports and assessments.

LABORATORY MANAGEMENT, DAILY LIFE:

• Coordinate work planning internally and transversally.
• Active participation in operational & safety procedure writing and follow-up.
• Responsible to supervise equipment maintenance programs and corresponding user training.
• Supervision of and respect for good management of consumable stocks, respect of safety procedures and Sanitary Master Plan.

Background:

• Master's degree or PhD in engineering, food chemistry, biotechnology, or pharmaceutical science
• Solid understanding of food and galenic formulations, the performance of active molecules and excipients
• Minimum 10 years of experience in the development of formulations and finished products with nutraceutical or pharmaceutical ingredients from biological sources
• Extensive knowledge of the science of active molecules and probiotics
• Expertise in water behavior (hygroscopicity, Aw, degradation, etc.)
• Proficiency in physicochemical and microbiological analysis in the pharmaceutical, food, or food supplement sectors
• Knowledge of industrial fermentation processes (fermentation, purification, blending, stabilization)
• Moderate understanding of digestive physiology and the uses of food supplements
• Knowledge of international regulatory frameworks for dietary supplements

Technical Skills:

• Proven experience in leading a team in the development of products in various galenic forms (capsules, tablets, gummies, soft gels, liquids, medical foods, etc.)
• Pharmacotechnology on formulations for physicochemistry and microbiology.
• Synthesis of theoretical scientific assessments, interpretation of scientific results and assays.
• Proficiency in oral and written English required for reporting and presentations, French and/or Italian optional and beneficial.

At Lesaffre, diversity is a strength that enriches our culture and our teams. We are committed to offering you a work environment where you can thrive, regardless of your background, gender, age or abilities. We encourage all applications, as we believe that diverse perspectives strengthen our ability to innovate and meet the challenges of tomorrow.