Research & Development Chef

Village Super Markets is hiring Research & Development Chef role available

About Us:

For more than 80 years, Village Super Market has proudly served communities across the tri-state area through our family of brands, including Shop Rite, Fairway Market, and Gourmet Garage.

We are a family-led, growth-focused organization built on quality, service, innovation, and community — with fresh foods at the heart of the customer experience.

The Research & Development Chef is responsible for developing, testing, and improving fresh food products. This role combines culinary expertise and food product development knowledge to transform concepts and recipes into high-quality, scalable products while meeting customer, food safety, operational, and financial expectations.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in fresh food manufacturing, commissary operations, product development, scaling recipes for production, and commercialization. The incumbent is highly creative, detail-oriented, knowledgeable in food regulations and nutrition, and passionate about bringing innovative, high-quality food products to market.

• Develop and test new recipes and fresh food product concepts
• Scale recipes for high-volume production and commercialization
• Conduct product testing, tastings, pilot runs, and line trials
• Improve product quality, consistency, yield, shelf life, and cost
• Evaluate ingredients, packaging, and production processes
• Partner with Procurement, Operations, Production, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Sales, and Finance
• Troubleshoot product and production issues and implement improvements
• Maintain accurate product specifications, formulations, and technical documentation
• Utilize ERP and SAP systems to maintain product and production information
• Monitor culinary trends, consumer preferences, and competitive products
• Support Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, and food safety initiatives

• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or related field
• 5–8+ years of food product development, fresh food manufacturing, or related experience
• Experience scaling recipes from culinary development to commercial production
• Strong knowledge of food science, ingredients, nutrition, and shelf-life management
• Working knowledge of USDA, FDA, SQF, HACCP, GMP, and food labeling requirements
• Experience with sensory testing and product commercialization
• Strong project management, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills
• ERP/SAP experience preferred
• Experience in fresh prepared foods, ready-to-eat meals, commissary operations, or retail food production.
• Culinary certification or equivalent credentials preferred

• Family-led culture focused on people, growth, and development
• Opportunity to build and lead the innovation engine behind one of the region’s most exciting prepared foods programs
• Entrepreneurial environment that values creativity, innovation, and operational excellence
• Career growth opportunities across multiple banners and business functions
• Competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and professional development

You’ll have the opportunity to combine culinary creativity, food innovation, and product development while seeing your ideas move from concept to production.

Bring your culinary expertise to Village Super Market and help us create products that help families eat well and be happy.