Executive Chef: Culinary Innovation & Research

University of California, Santa Cruz; California (MO); On-site; USD 83,000 - 101,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance

UC Retirement Plans

Group Term Life Insurance

Legal Insurance

Pet Insurance

Paid Holidays plus accrued vacation &

Meal Allowance

Job summary

University of California, Santa Cruz is seeking an Executive Chef, Culinary Development & Research, to lead recipe development, concept testing, and program rollout across Residential Dining, Retail, and Catering. You will work with unit managers and culinary teams to implement new concepts, train staff, and drive operational improvements.

The role emphasizes culinary innovation, standardized menus, and effective training across multiple service lines, with a focus on quality, safety, and guest

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in related area and/or equivalent experience or training.
• Strong culinary experience in large-scale dining service or hospitality operations.
• Ability to initiate and implement new programs and menu concepts.
• Experience managing multiple implementation projects with competing deadlines.
• Proven leadership to support cross-functional teams through training and rollout of initiatives.
• Ability to develop, standardize, and maintain recipes for high-volume service.
• Experience creating training materials, SOPs, and operational resources.

Responsibilities

• Lead culinary development and rollout across multiple dining programs.
• Develop standardized recipes, scaling, and production documentation.
• Train production staff on recipes, equipment use, and food safety practices.
• Collaborate with procurement, nutrition, sustainability, and leadership.
• Monitor implementation outcomes and recommend improvements.
• Support program adoption with hands-on coaching and troubleshooting.
• Manage projects with timelines and stakeholder communications.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Menu development

Training and coaching

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Food safety & HACCP

Communication

Operational standardization

Education

Bachelor's Degree in related area

Tools

Food Management systems

FoodPro

POS systems

Excel/Spreadsheet tools

Job description

University of California, Santa Cruz is seeking an Executive Chef, Culinary Development & Research, to lead recipe development, concept testing, and program rollout across Residential Dining, Retail, and Catering. You will work with unit managers and culinary teams to implement new concepts, train staff, and drive operational improvements.

The role emphasizes culinary innovation, standardized menus, and effective training across multiple service lines, with a focus on quality, safety, and guest