Culinary R&D & Innovation Director

Orbital Kitchens; City of Niagara Falls (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Orbital Kitchens in the United States seeks a Director of Research & Development to lead the culinary R&D function across 20+ brands and production kitchens, owning product development from concept to commercialization. You will set the strategy, guide recipes, costs, and scale, build a high-performing team, and ensure quality, margin targets, and repeatability for high-volume operations.

The role requires strong leadership, cross-functional collaboration, food safety knowledge, and a proven

Qualifications

• 5+ years in culinary R&D, product development, or related food-industry leadership.
• Strong culinary foundation with knowledge of food science, recipes, scaling, shelf life, yields, food costing, and quality control.
• Experience leading teams and taking products from concept through commercialization.
• Excellent project-management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, QA, and regulatory requirements (FDA/USDA/state/local).

Responsibilities

• Set the culinary R&D strategy based on growth objectives and brand priorities.
• Lead development and improvement of menu items, recipes, ingredients, concepts, processes, and technologies.
• Own the full product lifecycle from concept development to launch and post-launch review.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing R&D team.
• Validate concepts for production feasibility, labor, equipment, and margin.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Culinary acumen

Food science knowledge

Education

Culinary or food science education

Job description

Orbital Kitchens in the United States seeks a Director of Research & Development to lead the culinary R&D function across 20+ brands and production kitchens, owning product development from concept to commercialization. You will set the strategy, guide recipes, costs, and scale, build a high-performing team, and ensure quality, margin targets, and repeatability for high-volume operations.

The role requires strong leadership, cross-functional collaboration, food safety knowledge, and a proven