Director of Culinary Development (Onsite)

OSI Group•Aurora, IL

56d•$137,608 - $206,412•Onsite

About The Position

The Culinary Development Director provides strategic culinary leadership for the organization, driving innovation, creativity, and excellence in product development specifically in retail/private label. This role oversees the retail culinary channel within the corporate R&D and Culinary team, ensuring that all new products and menu concepts align with company capabilities, operational efficiency, and customer needs. This role acts as a key liaison between culinary, operations, R&D, marketing, and sales — transforming consumer insights and food trends into commercially viable, scalable solutions that strengthen the company’s position as a leader in food manufacturing innovation.

Requirements

10+ years progressive experience in culinary innovation and/or food R&D in retail consumer packaged goods, retail meals, or large-scale food manufacturing/foodservice organization preferred
Proven track record of leading culinary teams and delivering concept-to-commercialization success across the retail product categories.
Strong understanding of industrial food production processes, ingredient functionality, and cost optimization.
Excellent communication and presentation skills; ability to interact with executive leadership, key customers, and cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects and drive innovation within structured manufacturing environments.

Nice To Haves

Strong culinary foundation: able to talk flavor profiles, balance, and finishing notes (e.g., Asian sauces, pesto/Italian, mac & cheese, proteins, sauces, vegetables, starches) with confidence.
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and build cross-functional alignment across Sales, Culinary, R&D, Operations, Packaging, and Supply Chain.
Track record of building or mentoring teams, especially in emerging or “startup-like” business areas.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the company’s culinary vision in alignment with corporate strategy and business growth objectives.
Lead the ideation, creation, and commercialization of new food concepts, ensuring alignment with market trends, customer expectations, and manufacturing feasibility.
Represent the company’s culinary capabilities in customer presentations, ideation sessions, and business reviews. Partner closely with Sales and Marketing to deliver compelling, insight-driven culinary solutions.
Collaborate with R&D, Operations, Quality Assurance, and Supply Chain to ensure smooth product transition from concept through commercialization.
Mentor and guide culinary professionals and product development chefs, fostering a high-performing, creative, and collaborative culture.
Continuously monitor culinary, ingredient, and consumer trends to identify future innovation opportunities and support strategic planning.
Champion efficiency and consistency in product development processes, recipe management, and documentation.
Serve as a culinary ambassador for the organization, promoting its innovation capabilities and product excellence within the industry.
Oversee culinary budget, equipment, and resources to ensure optimal support for business objectives.
Ensure adherence to company safety, sanitation, and regulatory standards in all culinary and product development activities.
This role has the responsibility to understand and places in practice appropriate safety procedures. This responsibility is achieved through education, training, use of protective equipment (as applicable) and by following safety policies, regulations, standards, and laws.
Perform other duties as assigned.