Home Chef
Lead CI R&D Chef - RTH
The Lead CI R&D Chef will work in the R&D kitchen to conceive and create new recipes for the Ready to Heat (RTH) Home Chef offering that meet our nutritional, cost and ingredient specifications.
Detailed Responsibilities Compound Ingredient Development
Passionate culinarian with a great palette, sense of presentation, and the ability to innovate and efficiently experiment with culinary concepts
Conceive accessible, creative compound ingredient formulations in the test kitchen that apply to cost, ingredient pantry, caloric/nutritional, time, and operational constraints
Responsible for the creation and reformulation of about 60 CIs per quarter
Collaborate with other chefs to improve and test each CI, from benchtop to scaled samples
Utilize extensive and honest feedback every day on accessibility, flavors and operational viability and incorporate this data into best in class formulations
Collaborate closely with cross‑functional partners (production, fsqa, procurement, marketing, etc.) with a focus on customer satisfaction and operational complexity
Drive for higher customer ratings and satisfaction with Tempo
Respond to directives from Culinary, Marketing, NPD, and RTH teams to develop meals that will contribute to increased sales
Use feedback from production teams to increase efficiency and decrease operational complexity
Optimize your expertise to produce an end product that can be scaled with proper taste, texture, shelf life, appearance, and cost
Ability to innovate and implement ideas that can improve individual R&D, team workflows and Tempo as a brand
Innovate ideas and execute them
Work with menu strategy to ideate new CIs
Generate CI concepts based on menu needs and Tempo team strategy
Build out concepts in a way that they can be executed by members of the CI team
Build a pipeline of CIs to reformulate and complete CI concepts to be scheduled for R&D
Meet or exceed expectations of the quarterly CI roadmap
Manage work flow of direct report(s)
Provide CI formulations to direct report(s)
Offer guidance on execution CI R&D
Give feedback and direction on changes to make to next iteration of CIs
Take the lead in CI R&D through scheduling, training and offering direction to CI R&D team
Responsible for driving CI R&D team towards output and quality goals
Work with menu strategy and Tempo Ops teams to ensure that CI output is focused on the current needs of the menu and production
Coordinate with Culinary and Ops associates to ensure that ingredients needed for R&D are in-house
Evaluate Customer Feedback
Thoroughly understand how the average customer interacts with the product and strive to make CIs that facilitate the creation of accessible and delicious meals
Analyze customer comments on meals from menu runs and incorporate learnings into new recipes
Integrate learnings from various data sets to improve meal performance
Meeting Participation
Attend and participate in weekly Culinary and RTH team meetings including Performance Board, Team Check‑ins, RTH Draft, Weekly Culinary/Production Debrief, etc.
Visit production facilities as needed to train and to improve execution
New Meal R&D
R&D meals as needed to refine CIs or to meet menu strategy directives
This position requires about 25% travel.
Qualifications
Completion of a two‑year program such as an Associate degree: Culinary Arts or similar (Culinary degree preferred)
6+ years experience working in a kitchen or other professional cooking environment. Able to work in a clean and organized manner.
2+ years prior recipe development experience
2+ years prior experience with CPG and/or RTE foods
2+ years experience successfully managing, training and developing direct reports
Self‑starter and highly motivated to provide our customers with the best meals possible
ServSafe or food handling certification preferred
A team‑first collaborator who works well in group settings, is able to provide constructive feedback and actively supports the overall team workload
Forward thinking mindset that leads to incremental improvement
Quality‑focused mindset
Strong verbal communication skills
Willing and able to receive feedback and implement suggestions
Understanding of current nutrition, food and food industry trends
Must be able to taste and provide thorough feedback on every meal and ingredient sample test in the kitchen, including vegetarian, pork, chicken, steak, and seafood meals
Perks and Benefits
Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer – use promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order
Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
401(k) program
Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses
How We Work Together We are humble team players. We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves – and respectfully listen to and accept input.
We are pragmatic next‑level thinkers. We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.
We take ownership. We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results‑driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.
Be at Home at Home Chef. We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you'll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.
We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.
Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at
hr@homechef.com .
Home Chef offers the base salary range as posted below, with the exact offer depending on factors such as geographic location, experience, skills, and internal equity. While compensation is within the provided range, it is not typical for offers to be made at the upper end. In addition to base salary, Home Chef provides a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare coverage, 401(k) match, and paid time off.
Illinois Pay Range: $82,000–$100,000 USD
To view the California Applicant Notice
click here .
Seniority level Mid‑Senior level
Employment type Full‑time
Job function Research, Analyst, and Information Technology
Industries Food and Beverage Services
Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Home Chef by 2×.
Get notified about new Research Development Lead jobs in
Chicago, IL .
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Detailed Responsibilities Compound Ingredient Development
Passionate culinarian with a great palette, sense of presentation, and the ability to innovate and efficiently experiment with culinary concepts
Conceive accessible, creative compound ingredient formulations in the test kitchen that apply to cost, ingredient pantry, caloric/nutritional, time, and operational constraints
Responsible for the creation and reformulation of about 60 CIs per quarter
Collaborate with other chefs to improve and test each CI, from benchtop to scaled samples
Utilize extensive and honest feedback every day on accessibility, flavors and operational viability and incorporate this data into best in class formulations
Collaborate closely with cross‑functional partners (production, fsqa, procurement, marketing, etc.) with a focus on customer satisfaction and operational complexity
Drive for higher customer ratings and satisfaction with Tempo
Respond to directives from Culinary, Marketing, NPD, and RTH teams to develop meals that will contribute to increased sales
Use feedback from production teams to increase efficiency and decrease operational complexity
Optimize your expertise to produce an end product that can be scaled with proper taste, texture, shelf life, appearance, and cost
Ability to innovate and implement ideas that can improve individual R&D, team workflows and Tempo as a brand
Innovate ideas and execute them
Work with menu strategy to ideate new CIs
Generate CI concepts based on menu needs and Tempo team strategy
Build out concepts in a way that they can be executed by members of the CI team
Build a pipeline of CIs to reformulate and complete CI concepts to be scheduled for R&D
Meet or exceed expectations of the quarterly CI roadmap
Manage work flow of direct report(s)
Provide CI formulations to direct report(s)
Offer guidance on execution CI R&D
Give feedback and direction on changes to make to next iteration of CIs
Take the lead in CI R&D through scheduling, training and offering direction to CI R&D team
Responsible for driving CI R&D team towards output and quality goals
Work with menu strategy and Tempo Ops teams to ensure that CI output is focused on the current needs of the menu and production
Coordinate with Culinary and Ops associates to ensure that ingredients needed for R&D are in-house
Evaluate Customer Feedback
Thoroughly understand how the average customer interacts with the product and strive to make CIs that facilitate the creation of accessible and delicious meals
Analyze customer comments on meals from menu runs and incorporate learnings into new recipes
Integrate learnings from various data sets to improve meal performance
Meeting Participation
Attend and participate in weekly Culinary and RTH team meetings including Performance Board, Team Check‑ins, RTH Draft, Weekly Culinary/Production Debrief, etc.
Visit production facilities as needed to train and to improve execution
New Meal R&D
R&D meals as needed to refine CIs or to meet menu strategy directives
This position requires about 25% travel.
Qualifications
Completion of a two‑year program such as an Associate degree: Culinary Arts or similar (Culinary degree preferred)
6+ years experience working in a kitchen or other professional cooking environment. Able to work in a clean and organized manner.
2+ years prior recipe development experience
2+ years prior experience with CPG and/or RTE foods
2+ years experience successfully managing, training and developing direct reports
Self‑starter and highly motivated to provide our customers with the best meals possible
ServSafe or food handling certification preferred
A team‑first collaborator who works well in group settings, is able to provide constructive feedback and actively supports the overall team workload
Forward thinking mindset that leads to incremental improvement
Quality‑focused mindset
Strong verbal communication skills
Willing and able to receive feedback and implement suggestions
Understanding of current nutrition, food and food industry trends
Must be able to taste and provide thorough feedback on every meal and ingredient sample test in the kitchen, including vegetarian, pork, chicken, steak, and seafood meals
Perks and Benefits
Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer – use promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order
Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
401(k) program
Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses
How We Work Together We are humble team players. We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves – and respectfully listen to and accept input.
We are pragmatic next‑level thinkers. We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.
We take ownership. We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results‑driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.
Be at Home at Home Chef. We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you'll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.
We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.
Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at
hr@homechef.com .
Home Chef offers the base salary range as posted below, with the exact offer depending on factors such as geographic location, experience, skills, and internal equity. While compensation is within the provided range, it is not typical for offers to be made at the upper end. In addition to base salary, Home Chef provides a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare coverage, 401(k) match, and paid time off.
Illinois Pay Range: $82,000–$100,000 USD
To view the California Applicant Notice
click here .
Seniority level Mid‑Senior level
Employment type Full‑time
Job function Research, Analyst, and Information Technology
Industries Food and Beverage Services
Referrals increase your chances of interviewing at Home Chef by 2×.
Get notified about new Research Development Lead jobs in
Chicago, IL .
#J-18808-Ljbffr