Technical Services Specialist – bridging science and real-world flavour success
Technical Services Specialists play a key role in making sure flavour solutions not only taste great but also perform reliably in real food and drink products. They combine scientific understanding with practical application, working closely with customers and internal teams to solve technical challenges and support product success.
Whether it’s advising on how a flavour behaves under heat, helping a new drink recipe retain its aroma, or troubleshooting an unexpected taste change during production, Technical Services is where science meets practical food technology.
Technical Services Specialists support the lifecycle of flavour use in products by:
- Supporting customers technically – helping them choose and use flavours in different products and processing conditions.
- Testing flavours in real applications – running trials to ensure performance under conditions like baking, pasteurisation, freezing or fermentation.
- Troubleshooting problems – such as off-notes, instability, processing losses or unexpected interactions.
- Working with cross-functional teams – including flavour creation, applications, regulatory and quality, to ensure solutions meet customer needs.
- Advising on scale-up and production – supporting customers as they transfer formulations from concept to commercial manufacturing.
Career path
Like other technical disciplines in the flavour industry, there’s a structured progression as you build experience and expertise:
- Technical Services Assistant / Technician – Supporting trials, preparing samples and learning the practical aspects of flavour application.
- Technical Services Specialist – Running application tests, advising on flavour performance and solving technical challenges for customers.
- Senior Technical Services Specialist / Manager – Leading technical support projects, managing customer relationships and mentoring junior team members.
Some professionals specialise in particular product categories (like beverages, bakery or dairy), whilst others gain broad experience across many foods and processing technologies.
What qualifications help?
There is no single path into Technical Services, but many people start with a scientific or technology degree. Useful backgrounds include:
- Food Science or Food Technology
- Chemistry or Chemical Engineering
- Nutrition or Biochemistry
Practical experience in food processing, product development or laboratory work is highly valued and many flavour companies offer in-house training and mentorship. Short courses in sensory science, processing technology or product formulation can also help prepare you for the role.