Overall Role

The Jr. R&D Chef drives the development and refinement of new product ideas for the Sweetgreen Menu, leveraging culinary expertise and innovative thinking. This role takes ownership of complex culinary projects, develops concepts and techniques, and acts independently to execute assignments. They also maintain the test kitchen standards and help to support other members of the culinary team in their function such as operational training and testing, product receiving, supplier conversations. 

Responsibilities 

• Culinary Innovation
• Drive the ideation, development, and execution of new food products, flavors, and recipes that align with the company’s mission, contributing to the development of concepts and techniques 
• Develop, refine and document precise recipes, including ingredient specifications, cooking techniques and portion guidelines for both new and existing products
• Cook, Cut, and Prep food products as needed for recipe testing, equipment testing and the assistance of other team members
• Organize, conduct, and manage tasting sessions and product showcases to gather feedback from cross-functional teams and make recommendations and implement appropriate changes 
• Maintain accurate and organized records of all recipes and formulas 
• Collaborate with Food Safety to identify how the operational processes created in the ideation and development phases are transferable to the store level in order to maintain food safety and quality at the highest standards
• Stay informed about industry trends, consumer preferences and competitive products to guide R&D efforts
• Engage with, and at times, lead cross-functional teams (Supply Chain, Food Safety, Finance, Marketing, Operations, and QA) to determine how to execute all menu implementation steps from development to launch 
• Menu Testing 
• Create and test various recipes and variations of recipes including  prep, cook, and service procedures to clearly communicate new menu items to test stores, iterating as necessary from in-store feedback to facilitate fleet-wide launch
• Communicates feedback and findings cross-functionally to facilitate and resolve issues before and during test phase
• Documents and shares test results with appropriate stakeholders
• Collaborate on the testing of new and existing kitchen equipment
• Kitchen & Process Management
• Maintain kitchen standards, including organization, cleanliness, and inventory management of key ingredients and supplies.
• Oversee receiving and shipping related to team projects.
• Make recommendations for new procedures or process improvements within the team.
• Receive, open, and store packages
• Ship out samples as needed
• Help to keep kitchen, walk-in,freezers,  and dry storage areas clean and tidy
• Manage food donation items
• Maintain par stocks of key Sweetgreen items in the kitchen
• Assist with breaking down, cleaning, and reassembling various pieces of kitchen equipment

What you'll get:

• Highly competitive pay + bonus plan
• Three different medical plans to suit your and your family's needs
• Dental and Vision insurance
• Flexible PTO plan
• 401k program
• Employee HSA and FSA
• Complimentary greens
• An opportunity to make a real impact on the people around you, both by growing them and by connecting them to real food
• To live the sweetlife and celebrate your passion + purpose
• A collaborative team of people who live our core values and have your back
• A clear career path with opportunities for development, both personally and professionally
• Free sweetgreen swag

Come join the sweetlife!

About sweetgreen

sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. We passionately believe that real food should be convenient and accessible to everyone. Every day in each sweetgreen, our 3,500 team members make food from scratch, using fresh ingredients and produce delivered that morning. And in our local communities, we’re committed to leaving people better than we found them. We’re in the business of feeding people, and we’re out to change what that means.

sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.

sweetgreen participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.