Research & Development Chef (Manager)

Orbital Kitchens; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Orbital Kitchens is seeking an hands-on Research & Development Manager to lead the culinary team across 20+ brands, driving development, testing and commercialization from concept to scale. You will ensure taste, margin targets and production readiness while mentoring a growing R&D team.

You will manage recipe creation, costings, shelf-life validation and SOP documentation, partnering with Operations, Procurement and Finance to deliver high-volume, quality products.

Qualifications

• Experience leading culinary R&D projects from concept to launch.
• Strong understanding of food science, recipe development, shelf life, yields, and food costing.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Experience with high-volume, multi-brand production is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on development of menu items, recipes, ingredients, and processes from concept through approval.
• Run concurrent R&D projects with clear priorities, timelines, and success criteria.
• Pitch new products and menu improvements using trends, data, and customer feedback.
• Lead, train, and develop the R&D kitchen team and establish a culture of disciplined experimentation and documentation.
• Turn concepts into production-ready products and resolve operations issues before launch.
• Build accurate costing and work with Procurement, Supply Chain, and Finance to hit margins.
• Write complete recipes, specs, yields, build sheets, and SOPs for approved products and support launches with cross-functional teams.
• Track KPIs and drive continuous improvement based on results and feedback.

Skills

Culinary R&D

Team leadership

Project management

Food cost & yields

SOP documentation

Education

Culinary or food science education

Job description

Position Overview

The Research & Development Manager is a hands-on culinary developer and team lead who runs day-to-day development, testing, and commercialization across Orbital Kitchens' 20+ brands. The Manager delivers products that taste great, hit margin targets, and run consistently at volume. The role is built to grow into Director of R&D as the function scales.

Key Responsibilities

• Product Development & Testing: Lead hands-on development of menu items, recipes, ingredients, and processes from concept through approval, including recipe testing, food costing, yield and shelf-life testing, stabilization, large-batch validation, and tastings.
• Pipeline & Project Management: Run concurrent R&D projects with clear priorities, timelines, testing requirements, and success criteria. Keep the pipeline moving, flag risks early, and help shape pipeline priorities.
• Ideation & Insights: Use food trends, competitor menus, sales data, and customer feedback to pitch new products and menu improvements.
• Team Leadership: Lead, train, and develop the R&D kitchen team. Set daily priorities and build a culture of creativity, disciplined experimentation, and clean documentation.
• Scaling & Operational Feasibility: Turn concepts into repeatable, production-ready products for a high-volume, multi-brand operation. Test in real production conditions and resolve labor, equipment, storage, capacity, workflow, and food safety issues before launch.
• Cost & Profitability: Build accurate costing for every product and work with Procurement, Supply Chain, and Finance to hit food cost, yield, waste, and margin targets.
• Documentation & Launch: Write complete recipes, specs, yields, build sheets, and SOPs for every approved product. Execute launches with Operations, Production, Training, and Marketing, including kitchen training and post-launch troubleshooting.
• Performance & Continuous Improvement: Track product and launch KPIs, including sales, margin, quality, and on-time launches, and turn results and operational feedback into product and process improvements.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• 3+ years in culinary R&D, product development, or senior culinary roles, including taking products from concept to launch.
• Experience leading small teams or projects, with the drive to grow into a Director role.
• Strong culinary foundation and working knowledge of food science, recipe development, scaling, shelf life, yields, and food costing.
• High-volume, multi-unit, commissary, or manufacturing experience is strongly preferred.
• Business sense to balance culinary quality with feasibility, cost, and margin.
• Strong project-management, documentation, and communication skills.
• Working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, QA, and HACCP, plus experience writing or supporting SOPs.
• Culinary or food science education and ServSafe certification preferred; PCQI or SQF a plus.