Food Product Development Director, Culinary Innovation

Product Developer Director

The Product Developer Director is responsible for building and refining Innovation pipelines and MVPs based on chef-created gold standards. This role sits at the intersection of culinary vision and technical feasibility—translating ideas into tangible product forms that work in real-world prep systems and scale through external partners.

Working closely with Food Technologists and the Culinary team, the Product Developer Director brings agility, iteration, and a maker mindset to every phase of development—from concept to pilot.

Responsibilities

- MVP Prototyping: Lead the development of early product prototypes that translate gold standard culinary concepts into testable, scalable formats.

- Preparation System Integration: Design and test reconstitution methods (oven, microwave, sous-vide) and preparation flows to ensure a superior product experience usability and quality.

- Packaging Fit & Format Optimization: Collaborate with Food Experience and Design team to ensure MVPs work within packaging, assembly, and consumption contexts.

- Support Agile Sprints Prototyping: Participate in sprint cycles to test variations, respond to insights, and iterate quickly the product design with cross-functional teams.

- Partner with Co-Man & Supply Chain: Assist in transferring MVPs into early-stage pilot trials and adjust based on manufacturing or ingredient constraints.

- Document & Communicate: Maintain clear records of product builds, test outcomes, prep protocols, initial cost, and improvements for traceability, product safety and quality, and scale-up readiness.

Success in This Role Looks Like - MVPs that are production-aware, consumer-friendly, and ready for pilot trials. Fast, high-quality iteration cycles with documented learnings. Culinary integrity retained through prep system design and real-world testing.

Qualifications

- Degree in Food Science, Product Design, Culinary Innovation, or related fields - min 8-10 years in product development and innovation of culinary products including culinary prototyping.

- Self-starter with strong hands-on attitude and team player.

- Strong experience with consumer preparation systems, packaging integration, and cross-functional development.

- Understanding of basic quality aspects of culinary products.

- Comfortable in operating in ambiguous or high-speed environments.

- Familiarity with co-manufacturing and pilot production processes is a plus.