Culinary Technician

The Culinary Technician supports Culinary R&D activities, including the development, formulation, testing, documentation and commercialization of new food and beverage products. Depending on business need and job focus, responsibilities may include culinary execution, recipe development, sensory and consumer testing support, shelf-life studies, ingredient documentation, labeling support, quality improvement, packaging and equipment evaluation, and other technical product development activities. The role may also support the translation of concepts into accurate, repeatable products and procedures, assist with internal and external product evaluations, and partner with cross-functional teams and suppliers to ensure concepts are ready for review, validation and commercialization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support Culinary R&D product development activities, including new product concepts, recipe development, testing, optimization, and commercialization.
• Execute early-stage culinary and beverage product development by organizing supplier samples, preparing items for review, and supporting Culinary R&D leadership initiatives.
• Translate product concepts into clear, repeatable recipes, preparation procedures, and supporting documentation.
• Test, refine and evaluate recipes and product samples to ensure consistency, quality, practicality, and operational ease of execution.
• Conduct and document shelf-life studies for raw materials, ingredients, and finished food products.
• Support internal sensory evaluations, external Central Location Tests (CLTs), category reviews, product showings, and other internal food-focused presentations.
• Assist in competitor product deconstruction, benchmarking, and evaluation to identify opportunities and best practices.
• Support quality, packaging, equipment, and operational requirements for new and existing products while championing best-in-class food safety practices.

• Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Culinary Food Science, Culinary Arts, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Familiarity with product and process development, including formulation, optimization, commercialization and scaling from benchtop to full-scale production. Familiarity with food quality assurance principles and established food safety requirements.
• Awareness of food and beverage trends, including new technology, ingredients, equipment, packaging, and related innovation.
• Ability to understand and apply knowledge of federal, state, local, and industry regulations related to food safety, nutrition, food preparation, and food processing in the design and development of food products.
• Culinary experience or hands-on food preparation/product development experience.
• ServSafe Food Manager Certification or ability to obtain within 60 days of employment.
• Work is primarily performed in an office and innovation kitchen.
• Must be able to occasionally lift and/or move objects up to 30 pounds or more.
  
• May require working on occasional weekends, holidays, and outside of regular business hours.
• Occasional travel is required, approximately 20% of the time.