Commercialization Manager - Home Chef
Chicago, IL 60607
About the Job
Founded in 2013, Home Chef is the leading meal solutions company with both a retail and online presence. Available online at homechef.com and in retail at more than 2,100 Kroger grocery stores, Home Chef is committed to inspiring and enabling more people to cook simple, delicious meals, no matter how busy they are.
Similar to our recipes, we recognize that variety is the spice of life, and therefore, our employees also bring their uniqueness and color to our fantastic team. We’re eager to work with humble team players and pragmatic next-level thinkers to innovate on Home Chef’s offerings.
Join the Scaling Team at Home Chef, a leading meal kit company dedicated to making home cooking convenient and delicious. We are seeking a talented Commercialization Manager to join our Scaling Team within the Operations Group. This individual will play a crucial role in translating recipe concepts from our R&D chefs into scalable, high-quality products for mass production. If you're passionate about culinary innovation and thrive in a fast-paced environment, we want you on our team.
Responsibilities:- Collaborate closely with R&D chefs to understand recipe concepts and requirements for scaling while maintaining taste, quality, and consistency.
- Conduct comprehensive recipe analysis to identify potential challenges and opportunities for optimization in mass production.
- Develop scaled-up versions of recipes suitable for mass production, ensuring compliance with food safety, regulatory, and quality standards.
- Coordinate product trials with cross-functional teams, including production, procurement, and quality assurance, to refine processes and ensure successful implementation.
- Work closely with cooks in the production kitchens to provide hands-on training and support, ensuring they understand and can execute scaled recipes effectively.
- Conduct sensory evaluations of scaled recipes to assess taste, texture, appearance, and overall quality, making necessary adjustments as needed.
- Develop and document standardized procedures, specifications, and best practices for production processes to ensure consistency and efficiency.
- Collaborate with suppliers to source high-quality ingredients and packaging materials that meet cost, quality, and sustainability requirements.
- Provide ongoing support and guidance to production teams to facilitate continuous improvement in recipe execution and process efficiency.
- Stay informed about industry trends, technological advancements, and culinary innovations to drive continuous improvement in products and processes.
- Proactively identify opportunities for innovation and optimization to enhance product quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
Travel Required: Up to 30%
Qualifications:- Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
- Proven experience as a chef in a commercial kitchen or food manufacturing environment, with a focus on recipe development and scaling.
- Strong understanding of food science principles, culinary techniques, and ingredient functionality.
- Knowledge of food safety regulations, quality assurance standards, and HACCP principles.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional team environment and adapt to changing priorities.
- Detail-oriented with a passion for excellence and continuous improvement.
- Experience with recipe management software and Microsoft Office Suite.
- ServSafe certification or equivalent preferred.
More About Us
Perks and benefits:
- Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer - enter promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order!
- Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
- Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
- 401k program
- Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses
How We Work Together
We are humble team players.
We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves - and respectfully listen to and accept input.
We are pragmatic next-level thinkers.
We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.
We take ownership.
We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results-driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.
Be at Home at Home Chef
We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you’ll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.
We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.
Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at hr@homechef.com.
Home Chef is an equal opportunity employer.