Director, Menu Strategy and Culinary Brand Innovation

Shake Shack•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

Shake Shack is entering a new era of growth: accelerating Shack openings, expanding our footprint, and reimagining what culinary innovation can be. As we scale with ambitious growth targets, we need a visionary leader to help shape our calendar and innovation pipeline. The Director, Menu Strategy & Calendar Innovation oversees Shake Shack’s systemwide menu strategy and culinary innovation pipeline, leading a team of Brand Managers and serving as a strategic thought partner to executive leadership. This leader owns the integrated marketing and menu calendar across all core menu and LTO categories, with a focus on driving incremental sales and guest frequency, while reinforcing our culinary excellence. This candidate will define and drive the long-term menu roadmap for Shake Shack, bringing together consumer insights, culinary development, operations, and marketing to launch craveable, scalable menu platforms that differentiate Shake Shack in a highly competitive landscape. This role offers a rare opportunity to shape and scale a national brand during one of its strongest growth phases, while protecting the quality, identity, and soul that define the Shake Shack brand.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Product Development, or related field.
6-8 years of experience in product development, innovation, or brand management, preferably in restaurant/hospitality or CPG businesses.
4-6 years of people leadership, including managing cross-functional projects and direct reports in a fast-paged, growth oriented environment.
Demonstrated experience owning a marketing or promotional calendar, including LTOs, from concept through launch.
Strong analytical skills and comfort with sales, margin, and forecast data; able to translate numbers into strategic decisions.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree in Marketing, Strategy, or related field.
8-10 years of experience in restaurant/hospitality or consumer-packaged food/beverage; multi-brand or multi-market experience a plus.
7-9 years of leadership experience with a track record of building, coaching, and elevating high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

Menu & Calendar Strategy: Own the integrated menu and marketing calendar, including LTOs, seasonal items, core menu priorities, market tests, business targets, and promotions that deliver comp sales growth and guest excitement throughout the year. Balance traffic, check, and profit objectives across windows while managing innovation risk and complexity.
Culinary Innovation & Concept Development: Lead the strategic direction, concept ideation, and development of new menu items and platforms that ladder up to brand and business goals. Champion elevated ingredients, flavor-forward builds, and premium experiences that reinforce Shake Shack’s fine casual positioning and quality standards.
Cross-Functional Calendar Integration: Ensure the calendar is executable by partnering closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Digital, and Marketing to align on timelines, capacity, and guardrails. Proactively identify operational and supply chain risks and adjust scope, staging, or phasing accordingly.
Performance Management & Analytics: Define, track, and socialize success metrics (e.g., sales lift, incrementality, guest satisfaction, profitability, and operational execution) for all tests and systemwide launches. Partner with FP&A to support forecasting, scenario planning, pricing, and post-launch performance read-outs.
Insights & Testing: Guide consumer insights and testing protocols (centralized tastings, ops feasibility tests, market tests) to ensure concepts and commercialized products are validated with both guests and operations teams. Translate insights into clear go/no-go decisions, optimization recommendations, and future platform roadmaps.

Benefits

Weekly Pay and Performance bonuses
Shake Shack Meal Discounts
Exclusive corporate discounts for travel, electronics, wellness, leisure activities and more
Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
Employer Paid Life and Disability Insurance
401k Plan with Company Match
Paid Time Off
Paid Parental Leave
Access to Employee Assistance Program on Day 1
Pre-Tax Commuter and Parking Benefits
Flexible Spending and Dependent Care Accounts
Development and Growth Opportunities