Culinary Project Manager (Culinary Science)

Chefman; Mahwah (NJ); On-site; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

CHEF iQ in Mahwah, NJ seeks a Test Kitchen Project Manager (Culinary Science) to define culinary standards and lead testing across hardware, firmware, software, and UI/UX.

You will manage culinary workstreams, validate product performance with real-food testing, and support marketing and content teams with clear, data-driven recommendations. Must have a culinary science background and hands-on testing experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Science, Culinary Arts, or related field.
• 3+ years of culinary experience in product development or test kitchen work.
• 2+ years of project management or coordination experience, ideally on cross‑functional product teams.
• Hands‑on experience writing and running product or food testing procedures.
• Experience with competitive testing, benchmarking, or market research for consumer products.

Responsibilities

• Be the culinary voice and define culinary performance standards for CHEF iQ products.
• Provide culinary feedback on hardware, firmware, software, and UI/UX.
• Challenge product decisions impacting cooking performance or food safety, using testing data.
• Maintain quality control for all CHEF iQ products and content.
• Write and standardize testing procedures to ensure repeatable results across testers and SKUs.
• Assess products at development stages and document clear feedback and recommendations.
• Test firmware and app releases, logging bugs and enhancements for the right team.
• Develop product function charts and conduct market research to set quality benchmarks.
• Manage culinary workstreams, deadlines, and cross-functional collaboration across teams.
• Present testing results with actionable recommendations to Product Development.
• Organize and update all Guided Cooking recipe content for release and support marketing content.

Skills

Culinary expertise

Recipe development

Culinary science knowledge

Data analysis

Project coordination

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Organization

Attention to detail

Critical thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Science or related field

Tools

Excel

Job description

Test Kitchen Project Manager (Culinary Science)

Mahwah

Be the culinary voice behind smart cooking
If you love cooking, science, and getting the details right, this role is for you. As the culinary voice of CHEF iQ, you blend culinary expertise, culinary science, and project management to define how our smart kitchen products should perform, and you prove it through rigorous, repeatable testing. Your work shapes the food people cook at home and how safely they cook it. Quality is the heart of this job.

What you’ll do

Be the culinary voice

• Define and communicate culinary performance and experience standards for all CHEF iQ products
• Give culinary feedback on hardware, firmware, software, and UI/UX
• Challenge product decisions that compromise cooking performance or food safety, backed by testing data
• Maintain quality control for all CHEF iQ products and content

Test and validate

• Write, standardize, and maintain testing procedures so results are repeatable across testers, units, and SKUs
• Assess products at each development stage, with clear, concise feedback and recommendations
• Test and validate every firmware and app release, documenting bugs, features, and enhancements for the right team
• Oversee presets for all products, tested with real food

Know the market

• Develop product function charts and run market research, including competitive testing, to set quality benchmarks
• Track competitor launches and culinary features, and turn them into product and positioning recommendations

Manage and collaborate

• Manage culinary workstreams on new products, including timelines, deliverables, and milestones
• Be the main contact for product-related culinary questions across teams
• Partner with UI/UX, Software, Firmware, and Product Development on features and new products
• Present testing results to Product Development with clear recommendations
• Keep spreadsheets current and show where each product stands

Content, marketing, and sales

• Organize all Guided Cooking recipe content for development and release
• Support Marketing, Copywriting, photo, and video teams on content, functionality explanations, and packaging review
• Support Sales with product demonstrations, cooking demos, and product inquiries

What you bring

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Science, Culinary Arts, or a related field, or a culinary degree plus equivalent hands‑on experience
• 3+ years of culinary experience in product development or test kitchen work
• 2+ years of project management or coordination experience, ideally on cross‑functional product teams
• Hands‑on experience writing and running product or food testing procedures
• Experience with competitive testing, benchmarking, or market research for consumer products

Skills

• Extensive culinary expertise, including technique and validating standards, with a deep understanding of smart kitchen technologies. Recipe development is a plus.
• Culinary science knowledge applied to food testing
• Organized reports that combine culinary and technical results
• Planning, prioritizing, and tracking multiple projects and deadlines
• Exceptional communication across teams, translating technical and culinary information for non‑technical audiences
• Excel data analysis, such as averages, variance, and charts across test runs
• Strong organization, attention to detail, and critical thinking about how a product performs
• Collaborative, flexible, and respectful of others’ opinions

Preferred

• A culinary science or test kitchen background with sensory experience, such as Culinologist, Sensory Scientist, or R&D or test kitchen roles
• Experience testing small kitchen appliances or smart and connected consumer products
• Some familiarity with AI tools

Why you’ll love it
Your work helps people cook with confidence. You’ll join a close team that loves food, with a supportive manager who is there when you need her and trusts you to do the work.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

Salary Range (commensurate with experience)

$70,000 - $80,000 USD