R&D Chef, Innovation - Farmer's Fridge Careers : Job Details

Farmer's Fridge makes fruits and vegetables accessible and approachable for everyone. We offer a variety of fresh, healthy, ready-to-eat meals and snacks through our fresh food vending machines, wholesale partners, and our office pantry solution — providing chef-curated meals to customers within seconds. Today, we operate a network of Fridges and partner with clients nationwide in high-foot-traffic areas, such as airports, hospitals, universities, and large office buildings — where there is limited accessibility to fresh, healthy,grab-n-go options.

We care deeply about what we're creating and aspire to make sure our customers feel that through every touchpoint. This shows up in many ways across the business. We are committed to prioritizing food safety, we are passionate about product quality, we valueour employees, we champion the best idea no matter where it comes from, and we're committed to making an overall positive impact as we scale.

About this Role:

As the R&D Chef at Farmer's Fridge, you will be responsible for bringing new products to life for our customers by developing recipes that meet cost, brand, operations, and strategy goals.

Working out of our corporate test kitchen, you will create new menu items on our innovation timelines that meet the quality standards that our customers know and love. You are creative, strategic, and data-driven. You will work collaboratively with our R&D Engineering, Merchandising, Marketing, and Procurement teams to develop recipes that meet the constraints and capabilities of our business.

Reporting to the VP of Menu & Marketing, you will be at the center of some of the most significant decisions we make for our menu. You are creative, detail-oriented, highly organized, dependable, and enjoy rolling up your sleeves to do whatever it takes to get things done. You take the initiative to drive results with limited direction. Once ramped, this role will have a high level of autonomy to deliver on recipe development goals that achieve measurable results.

What You'll Do:

New Product Development

• Oversees all aspects of new product innovation from initial ideation through viability:
  • Develop benchtop recipes that meet the cost, nutrition, shelf life, food safety and other company goals.
  • Execute tasting and customer panels to ensure recipes meet purchase intent and sensory targets.
  • Guide R&D process engineer and production teams during R&D scale-up testing and pilot runs.
• Works cross-functionally with merchandising, marketing, procurement, and R&D engineer teams to create dishes aligned with company goals, guardrails, and capabilities.
• Stay current with trending ingredients and flavors to include in future recipe development
• Partner with the Procurement team to identify new ingredients and suppliers to support innovation or continuous improvement work streams.
• Active thought partners with internal stakeholders to define and refine our forward-looking brand and sustainability roadmaps.

Continuous Improvement

• Capture and utilize data (from internal stakeholders and customers) to ensure we're meeting the quality standards our customers expect.
• Analyze customer feedback and sales trends to set renovation priorities and incorporate learnings into new recipes. Quickly iterate on recipes based on customer feedback.
• Assists in solving recipe issues that arise at scale.

Culinary & Test Kitchen Management

• Champion a culture of passion for the food we produce.
• Support all culinary-related marketing & menu initiatives & events (i.e. our company “Chopped” competition, supplier cuttings, PR events, etc.).
• Oversee test kitchen maintenance to ensure our space is adequately maintained and stocked.

Who You Are…

• 5+ years of experience relevant to the above.
• A Culinary Degree, Culinology Degree, or equivalent background and experience.
• A proven track record of successful recipe development and a passion for perfecting and continually iterating on them.
• Familiarity with an established product development and/or stage gate process.
• A love for creative problem solving and comfortable operating within set guardrails.
• You are detail-oriented, but you can also see the big picture and how your work fits in to achieve larger team and company goals.
• You have an obsession with perfection, and you're open to constructive feedback.
• A deep understanding of mass market trends and flavors. You have a pulse on food industry trends and a demonstrated track record of leveraging insights to inform new products.
• Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple work streams and priorities.
• Experience in a high-growth, rapid-change environment. You have the ability to operate in ambiguous situations and be flexible as the organization changes and grows - we are a new place every quarter!
• An insane passion for the Farmer's Fridge's mission to improve people's lives through 24/7 access to fresh food.

Benefits at Farmer's Fridge:

In This Together - We stay connected, whether in person or virtually. We encourage business transparency through monthly town hall meetings and weekly financial updates. We set out to make the best product on the market, and we believe we've done it. We value your input in the new menu creation process. From regular tasting panels, where employees provide new menu menu feedback.

Happier Workdays - Each day at work should fill you with joy. We're a fun and passionate group, and we don't take ourselves too seriously. Bring your unique self to work, dress comfortably, and always feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. We encourage curiosity; there's no hierarchy here when we're all swapping ideas.

Never run on empty - Daily Farmer's Fridge meal, draft cold brew and beer, and office snacks are just some of the offerings to make sure you aren't distracted by a growling stomach. Recharge with our paid sabbatical program after four years of service.

Innovate & Elevate - We're all teachers and learners. You'll grow, and help grow the company through cross-functional collaboration, open access to leadership, and regular business updates. You have a direct impact on the company's bottom line. You can also impact your personal bottom line by participating in our 401(k) plan that includes a company match with immediate vesting.

Farmer's Fridge Diversity Statement:

Don't meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Farmer's Fridge, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.”Farmer's Fridge is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all employment practices, including hiring, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. View our disclosures related to External Agencies and Applicants below:

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