Executive Research Chef

MINIAT HOLDINGS LLC • South Holland, IL

6h

About The Position

Serves as a senior, customer-facing culinary leader responsible for driving product innovation, culinary strategy, and customer engagement for Miniat. This role blends culinary creativity with product development rigor, representing Miniat externally and strengthening business relationships. The role will leverage industry networks, trade associations, and customer culinary partnerships to strengthen relationships, facilitate sales opportunities, and support commercial growth. Internally, the role leads culinary development efforts from concept through commercialization.

Requirements

• Culinary degree, certification, or equivalent professional experience
• 7 - 10 years of experience in culinary product development or corporate culinary roles
• Proven customer-facing experience in manufacturing, multi-unit foodservice, or commercial environments
• Strong industry network and experience collaborating with customer culinary teams
• Working knowledge of food safety regulations and product scale-up
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; formulation or recipe documentation experience preferred
• Travel approximately 10-30% of time
• Spend approximately 10% of time in the manufacturing plant
• Ability to stand for long periods of time in plant conditions/cold temperatures (40-50°F)
• Ability to lift 50 lbs.

Nice To Haves

• RCA certification (CRC or CCS)
• Meat processing and/or food science education or experience
• Knowledge of food processing technologies
• Knowledge of USDA and FDA regulations
• Bilingual, English/Spanish preferred

Responsibilities

• Culinary Innovation & Product Development
• Customer & Relationship Management
• Customer Engagement, Networking & Sales Enablement
• Leadership & Organizational Support
• Project & Workflow Management
• Brand Stewardship & Professionalism
• Operational & Food Safety Awareness

Benefits

• Medical
• vision
• dental
• discretionary bonus up to 30% (50% personal performance based & 50% company performance)
• profit sharing (which feeds retirement) at a minimum of 3% annually
• 120 hours PTO in the 1st 12 months

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees