3+ years in culinary R&D or product development roles
Experience leading teams or projects, with potential for growth into a Director role
Strong culinary foundation with knowledge of food science and recipe development
Preferred experience in high-volume, multi-unit, or manufacturing environments
Business acumen to balance culinary quality with cost and margin
Strong project management and communication skills
Knowledge of food safety and sanitation practices, with experience in SOPs
Culinary or food science education and ServSafe certification preferred
Responsibilities
Lead hands-on development of menu items and recipes from concept to approval
Manage concurrent R&D projects with clear priorities and timelines
Utilize food trends and customer feedback to propose new products
Train and develop the R&D kitchen team, fostering a culture of creativity
Transform concepts into production-ready products for high-volume operations
Build accurate product costing and collaborate with other departments to meet targets
Document recipes and specifications, and execute product launches with various teams
Track KPIs and implement improvements based on performance feedback
Benefits
Opportunity for career growth into a Director of R&D role
Hands-on involvement in culinary innovation across multiple brands
Collaborative work environment with a focus on creativity and experimentation
Access to a diverse range of culinary projects and challenges
Engagement with food trends and customer insights to drive product development
Full Job Description
Position Overview
The Research & Development Manager is a hands-on culinary developer and team lead who runs day-to-day development, testing, and commercialization across Orbital Kitchens' 20+ brands. The Manager delivers products that taste great, hit margin targets, and run consistently at volume. The role is built to grow into Director of R&D as the function scales. Key Responsibilities
Product Development & Testing: Lead hands-on development of menu items, recipes, ingredients, and processes from concept through approval, including recipe testing, food costing, yield and shelf-life testing, stabilization, large-batch validation, and tastings.
Pipeline & Project Management: Run concurrent R&D projects with clear priorities, timelines, testing requirements, and success criteria. Keep the pipeline moving, flag risks early, and help shape pipeline priorities.
Ideation & Insights: Use food trends, competitor menus, sales data, and customer feedback to pitch new products and menu improvements.
Team Leadership: Lead, train, and develop the R&D kitchen team. Set daily priorities and build a culture of creativity, disciplined experimentation, and clean documentation.
Scaling & Operational Feasibility: Turn concepts into repeatable, production-ready products for a high-volume, multi-brand operation. Test in real production conditions and resolve labor, equipment, storage, capacity, workflow, and food safety issues before launch.
Cost & Profitability: Build accurate costing for every product and work with Procurement, Supply Chain, and Finance to hit food cost, yield, waste, and margin targets.
Documentation & Launch: Write complete recipes, specs, yields, build sheets, and SOPs for every approved product. Execute launches with Operations, Production, Training, and Marketing, including kitchen training and post-launch troubleshooting.
Performance & Continuous Improvement: Track product and launch KPIs, including sales, margin, quality, and on-time launches, and turn results and operational feedback into product and process improvements.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
3+ years in culinary R&D, product development, or senior culinary roles, including taking products from concept to launch.
Experience leading small teams or projects, with the drive to grow into a Director role.
Strong culinary foundation and working knowledge of food science, recipe development, scaling, shelf life, yields, and food costing.
High-volume, multi-unit, commissary, or manufacturing experience is strongly preferred.
Business sense to balance culinary quality with feasibility, cost, and margin.
Strong project-management, documentation, and communication skills.
Working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, QA, and HACCP, plus experience writing or supporting SOPs.
Culinary or food science education and ServSafe certification preferred; PCQI or SQF a plus.
