Internal Panel Leader

• Location: Orbe
• Work rate: 100%
• Duration: mid-November 2026 to mid-May 2027

Coffee holds no secrets for you? Put your sensory expertise at the service of our activities. As an Internal Panel Leader, you will lead the internal panels, ensure the quality and reliability of tastings, and play a key role in the link between our technical centre and the factories.

As an Internal Panel Leader, you support the 'Coffee Sensory Operations' and 'Sensory & Product Experience' (SPX) teams in all practical aspects of sensory evaluations with internal panels, ensuring compliance with good laboratory practices.

You lead activities related to internal sensory panels with the support of a technician (training, performance monitoring, facilitation of tasting sessions), and provide initial analyses and reports for simple tests (comparative profile, product shelf life, agile methods).

You also advise factories on request, ensuring the sharing and alignment of best practices and panel performances.

You manage the internal sensory panels — recruitment, training and monitoring of panellists — organise and conduct tests (technical validation, shelf life studies), prepare studies on EyeQuestion and guarantee data reliability. You maintain the link with production and project teams to uphold consistent sensory standards between the technical centre (NPTC Coffee) and the group’s factories.

1. Management of internal sensory panels

- Recruit, train and monitor the performance of internal panellists

- Keep attendance records up to date and manage panel-related information

- Organise tests according to requests (technical validation, shelf life)

- Challenge product selection and sensory methodologies, in alignment with the SPX specialist or sensory laboratory supervisor

- Prepare tests using EyeQuestion software

- Monitor data quality daily and implement corrective actions

- Analyse data and report results to relevant teams

2. Management of the laboratory, equipment and facilities

- Ensure compliance with good laboratory practices and safe behaviours

- Maintain equipment and facilities clean and operational

- Manage stocks, order supplies and suggest improvements

- Manage sensory references and products under testing

3. Support for factories

- Share and align best sensory practices between factories and the technical centre

- Serve as a reference for any questions on glossaries, methodologies and tools

- Act proactively in case of panel performance deviation in a factory

Behavioural skills

- Precise and conscientious work

- Well organised and independent

- Logical and analytical mindset

- Autonomous, likes to take initiative

- Sense of responsibility

- Focus on laboratory, products and quality

- Dynamic, proactive and flexible

Qualifications (education, experience and knowledge)

- Bachelor’s degree in sensory science, food science or related discipline

- Experience in panel management: a plus

- Experience as a sensory laboratory technician or within a flavour, beverage or food company

- Technical training in a scientific or food field is a plus

- Strong IT skills: MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook)

- Experience with EyeQuestion (sensory data collection software)

- Good mathematical skills and basic understanding of statistical analysis

- Strong administrative and organisational skills

- Ability to work in a collaborative environment

- Flexible hours according to activity needs

- Comfortable interacting in an English-speaking environment