Executive Chef, Culinary Innovation & Research

University of California - Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 78,200 - 106,000; Full time

Job summary

UC Santa Cruz Dining seeks an Executive Chef, Culinary Development & Research to drive culinary initiatives across Residential Dining, Retail, Catering, and Commissary. You will lead recipe development, product testing, program rollout, and staff training, partnering with dining leadership to elevate service quality and student engagement.

You will guide cross-functional teams, standardize procedures, ensure HACCP and safety compliance, and contribute to scalable culinary programs campus-wide.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in related area or equivalent experience/training.
• Strong culinary experience in large-scale dining service or hospitality operations.
• Ability to initiate and innovate programs, including menu development and change.
• Proven ability to manage multiple implementation projects with competing deadlines.
• Demonstrated leadership to train, collaborate, and rollout new initiatives.
• Ability to standardize recipes and production methods across multiple locations.
• Experience creating training materials, SOPs, and operational resources.

Responsibilities

• Lead culinary development research and program implementation across dining operations.
• Develop standardized recipes and oversee scaling, validation, and staff training.
• Support launch of new programs and concepts with execution and evaluation.
• Collaborate with vendors and procurement for product testing and tastings.
• Maintain awareness of industry trends and consumer needs to drive quality and sustainability.
• Develop and maintain menu management systems, forecasting, and documentation.
• Provide training and coaching to staff; ensure compliance with safety and quality standards.
• Lead cross-functional teams to implement culinary priorities and programs.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Menu development

Food safety

Training & mentoring

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Culinary operations

Education

Bachelor's Degree in related field

Tools

Food Management systems

Recipe software

POS systems

Job description

UC Santa Cruz Dining seeks an Executive Chef, Culinary Development & Research to drive culinary initiatives across Residential Dining, Retail, Catering, and Commissary. You will lead recipe development, product testing, program rollout, and staff training, partnering with dining leadership to elevate service quality and student engagement.

You will guide cross-functional teams, standardize procedures, ensure HACCP and safety compliance, and contribute to scalable culinary programs campus-wide.