Culinary Automation & Menu Innovation Lead

Jobtailor; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Boston seeks a seasoned culinary operations leader to drive menu adaptation and ingredient strategy on automated robotic platforms for enterprise clients.

You will oversee high-volume kitchen workflows, supplier relations, and R&D processes from bench testing to full-scale rollouts, partnering with engineering and product teams to deliver reliable culinary solutions. This role requires strong communication, hands-on kitchen management, and mastery of HACCP/FSMA standards.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of restaurant and/or kitchen management experience.
• Experience setting up new vendors, leading ingredient cuttings, managing order guides and vendor ordering platforms.
• Experience with menu mix analysis, setting pars and forecasting usage.
• Practical knowledge of Fast Casual and Quick Service Restaurant operations.
• Experience with the culinary R&D process, scaling recipes, bench testing, leading menu roll outs and new product launches.
• Strong understanding of high-volume kitchen systems, line flows, and food safety.
• Solid culinary skills and familiarity with a wide variety of standard kitchen equipment.
• Comfortable working alongside engineers; ability to quickly master and troubleshoot tech/software interfaces.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel

Responsibilities

• Drive menu and recipe adaptation on automated robotic platforms.
• Lead ingredient sourcing, vendor relations, procurement logistics, order guides, cost tracking, and ingredient specification documentation.
• Lead internal tastings of raw ingredients, co-manufactured products, and production recipes.
• Partner with engineering to test and validate ingredients on automated systems, especially for B2B customers.
• Serve as primary culinary subject matter expert for enterprise clients integrating custom menus onto robotic hardware.
• Build operational manuals, prep guides, and food safety protocols including HACCP/FSMA.
• Support B2B clients during testing, training, launches, new store openings, menu changes, and line extensions.
• Collaborate with the Wonder CE team and Sr. Director of Culinary Platform Strategy on cross-functional R&D.
• Provide feedback and proposed modifications to ensure quality standards.
• Support demos, training, and testing on automated systems.
• Manage the day-to-day operations of the test kitchen in partnership with the Culinary Operations Manager and Engineering team.
• Report to the Sr. Director of Culinary Platform Strategy.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Collaboration

Problem solving

Culinary R&D

Ingredient sourcing

Food safety

High-volume systems

Vendor relations

Excel proficiency

Tools

Automated Robotic Platforms

Vendor Ordering Platforms

Testing Software

Job description

Jobtailor in Boston seeks a seasoned culinary operations leader to drive menu adaptation and ingredient strategy on automated robotic platforms for enterprise clients.

You will oversee high-volume kitchen workflows, supplier relations, and R&D processes from bench testing to full-scale rollouts, partnering with engineering and product teams to deliver reliable culinary solutions. This role requires strong communication, hands-on kitchen management, and mastery of HACCP/FSMA standards.