Culinary Innovation Manager: Ready-to-Eat

Purple Carrot•Chicago, IL

2d•$85,000 - $105,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Purple Carrot is seeking a Culinary Innovation Manager, Ready-to-Eat to join their mission-driven team. This role is integral to the Culinary department and will partner with the Director of Culinary to inspire more plant-based eating. The position will own the Ready-to-Eat (RTE) portfolio, acting as the primary culinary partner to co-manufacturers and driving the strategy and execution for this category. Key responsibilities include product commercialization, menu planning, portfolio management, and cross-functional execution with departments like Operations, Procurement, Marketing, Creative, QA, and Fulfillment to ensure meals are operationally sound, financially successful, and aligned with the Purple Carrot brand.

Requirements

Culinary degree or equivalent professional culinary experience.
5+ years of experience in recipe development, product development, or culinary innovation.
Strong understanding of product commercialization, from concept through launch.
Working knowledge of recipe costing, ingredient specifications, nutrition labeling, and food manufacturing processes.
Comfortable working in both a test kitchen and at manufacturing facilities.
Proficient in Google Workspace.
Able to quickly learn recipe management, project management, and product lifecycle software.
Able to commute regularly to Chicago-area sites (test kitchen, office, co-manufacturer).

Nice To Haves

Leadership experience, including managing direct reports and leading cross-functional initiatives.
Experience working with co-manufacturers, commissaries, meal kits, or large-scale food production.
Demonstrated experience managing multiple projects, priorities, timelines, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
Strong analytical skills — comfortable using customer insights, product performance, and business metrics to drive decisions.
Experience collaborating cross-functionally across Culinary, Procurement, Operations, QA, Marketing, Creative, Product, and Fulfillment.
Exceptional organizational skills with strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.

Responsibilities

Own the Ready-to-Eat portfolio end-to-end, ensuring products align with culinary standards, operational capabilities, financial targets, and customer expectations.
Lead RTE commercialization with co-manufacturing partners, managing the process from product handoff through testing, scale-up, launch, and post-launch optimization.
Serve as the primary culinary contact for co-manufacturing and production partners, fostering relationships for consistent product quality and operational excellence.
Partner with vendors to resolve product, quality, and commercialization challenges, and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Drive cross-functional execution with Procurement, Operations, QA, Marketing, Creative, and Fulfillment to launch new products and execute weekly menus.
Manage commercialization timelines, workbacks, and milestones to ensure launches remain on schedule.
Be present at production facilities during key launches to troubleshoot issues in real time.
Manage RTE merchandising, including menu rankings and web display.
Maintain accurate product documentation, including pricing, specifications, shelf life, and launch dates.
Assist with ad-hoc projects and tasks as necessary.