Beverage R&D & Product Innovation Lead

Cha Cha Matcha; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Cha Cha Matcha seeks a hands-on Head of R&D / Product Development to own the beverage and menu innovation cycle from concept to store rollout. The role collaborates with supply chain, marketing, and operations to deliver scalable, market-ready products across matcha and coffee categories.

Ideal candidates possess strong flavor intuition, formulation expertise, and experience scaling prototypes for a growing café network in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in beverage R&D, food science, product development, culinary innovation, or related field.
• Experience developing beverages for cafés, restaurants, or multi-unit brands.
• Deep understanding of beverage formulation, ingredient functionality, and cost considerations.
• Strong palate and ability to translate innovation into scalable, store-ready products.
• Experience working with ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, and co-packers.

Responsibilities

• Lead formulation and development of new beverages, seasonal products, foods, and menu innovations.
• Develop products from concept through testing, refinement, commercialization, and launch.
• Build new recipes across matcha, coffee, syrups, concentrates, and other categories.
• Improve existing Cha Cha products for taste, texture, consistency, quality.

Skills

Beverage R&D

Product development

Food science

Culinary innovation

Ingredient sourcing

Costing & margins

Co-packers & suppliers

Project management

Multi-unit operations

Fast-moving environment

Job description

Cha Cha Matcha seeks a hands-on Head of R&D / Product Development to own the beverage and menu innovation cycle from concept to store rollout. The role collaborates with supply chain, marketing, and operations to deliver scalable, market-ready products across matcha and coffee categories.

Ideal candidates possess strong flavor intuition, formulation expertise, and experience scaling prototypes for a growing café network in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.