Culinary R&D Chef — Innovation & Craftsmanship (Hybrid)

Nestlé; Lausanne; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working options

Paid holidays beyond legal

Learning and development opportunities

Performance based bonus

Healthcare contribution

Pension plan

Parental leave

Employee discounts

Job summary

Nestlé in Lausanne is seeking a Culinary Specialist R&D Chef to bring high-level gastronomy into product development. You will collaborate with chefs, product developers, food scientists, sensory experts, markets and factories to own and grow expertise in craftsmanship.

You’ll translate insights into original concepts, drive structured experiments, and ensure scalable, reproducible recipes while maintaining original intent across Nestlé’s global culinary community.

Qualifications

• Seasoned professional chef with high-end restaurant experience.
• Strong sensory judgement and broad knowledge of classical/contemporary cuisine.
• Apply curiosity and scientific thinking to hypothesis testing and learning.
• Clear documentation to deliver reproducible recipes and methods.
• Collaborate across culinary, scientific, technical and business teams globally.

Responsibilities

• Create benchmarks and prototypes delivering distinctive taste, texture, and appearance.
• Translate consumer insights into original concepts with compelling stories.
• Drive structured experiments linking ingredients and processes to sensory outcomes.
• Adapt ideas into feasible, scalable product solutions while preserving intent.
• Inspire and share knowledge across a global culinary community.
• Build an external culinary network to bring innovation opportunities to Nestlé.

Skills

Seasoned chef

Culinary craftsmanship

Sensory judgement

Scientific thinking

Documentation

Cross-functional collaboration

English fluency

Job description

Nestlé in Lausanne is seeking a Culinary Specialist R&D Chef to bring high-level gastronomy into product development. You will collaborate with chefs, product developers, food scientists, sensory experts, markets and factories to own and grow expertise in craftsmanship.

You’ll translate insights into original concepts, drive structured experiments, and ensure scalable, reproducible recipes while maintaining original intent across Nestlé’s global culinary community.