Director of Product Development & Commercialization

Director of New Product Development & Commercialization

Restaurant Brands International “RBI” is seeking a Director of New Product Development & Commercialization to support culinary innovation, product localization and product scalability through commercialization initiatives with suppliers across all international regions. This role will provide technical support and expertise to the global Culinary, Quality and Procurement teams, assisting in the execution of global culinary and procurement strategies across RBI’s brands which include Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs.

The person in this role works closely with cross‑functional teams including Innovation, Marketing, Quality Assurance, Procurement, Operations, and Suppliers. The role translates culinary benchtop products into commercially viable, high‑quality brand menu items successfully executed and replicated across multiple markets.

• Commercialize culinary products for new country entries, new product innovations and core product improvements.
• Demonstrate expertise in ingredient functionality and application to support product quality, consistency and operational efficiency.
• Attend trial production runs and assist suppliers in scale‑up decision making of RBI branded products.
• Assess supplier manufacturing readiness, process capability and scale‑up risks to ensure successful commercialization and launch execution.
• Complete statistical process control assessments and data analytic interpretation to support technical development of processing specifications.
• Identify process optimization opportunities to improve consistency, yield, quality and cost performance.

• Assist in executing launch of new and existing menu items from concept through rollout in all applicable regions.
• Work with suppliers and internal teams to evaluate ingredient functionality, formulation adjustments, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Ensure products meet brand culinary expectations while remaining operationally executable in restaurant environments.

• Lead technical discussions with supplier leadership teams to drive continuous improvement in product quality, manufacturing capability, innovation, operational and cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with supplier culinary and R&D teams to explore new or alternative ingredients, processes, and product taste improvements.
• Lead specification development activities alongside QA and Procurement.

• Partner with Regional (EMEA, LAC, APAC) Innovation and Marketing teams to translate consumer insights into product development opportunities.
• Support Operations teams in validating preparation methods, equipment settings, and holding procedures.
• Partner with Procurement to evaluate sourcing options, supplier capabilities, ingredient substitutions and specification impacts associated with commercialization projects.
• Support development and refinement of ingredient specifications with Quality Assurance.
• Partner with Procurement and Quality Assurance to ensure commercialization decisions support continuity of supply, cost objectives and quality standards.

• Assist in coordinating culinary testing, supplier engagement, and product validation.
• Support internal culinary demonstrations, product testing sessions, and innovation workshops.
• Help track innovation and commercialization projects across multiple markets and brands.

• Identify technical, manufacturing and supply‑chain risks associated with new product launches and develop mitigation plans.
• Support supplier validation and approval activities for new products and ingredients.
• Support dual sourcing and contingency planning initiatives where appropriate.

• Education in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or related fields.
• 10+ years of experience in food commercialization, food manufacturing or QSR innovation, including demonstrated success leading commercialization projects from concept through launch.
• Culinary foundation with interest in food science, ingredient functionality and…