Innovation Lead

Culinary Innovation and Design Lead

POSITION SPECIFICS

Reports To: Sr Director of Marketing

FLSA Status: Exempt

Date: 12.11.2023

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Over thirty years ago, Ray and Bernie envisioned sharing their love of New York-style deli sandwiches with the world. It took years to fully develop the Raybern’s bread recipe that cooks up “Bakery Soft” right from the microwave – as well as the signature Philly Cheesesteak. Raybern’s is a nationally recognized brand with distribution in the top retailers in the US and Mexico. Raybern’s is America’s #1 selling Philly Cheesesteak known for “bakery soft bread” right out of the microwave. In 2017, Raybern’s joined the Premium Brands Family and is part of the North American Sandwich Division.

Our Mission

To feed people with busy lifestyles

Raybern’s Kitchen Core Values

• Respect
• Own It
• Trusted To Deliver
• Better Together
• Whatever It Takes

ROLE

SUMMARY

Are you passionate about food? Are you always restless to discover the next great thing? Do you love collaborating on new product ideas in a fast-paced environment? Are you constantly striving to ‘beat yesterday’ and raise the bar? Do you thrive on no two days ever being the same? Raybern’s is looking for an Innovation and Design Lead to join our all-star team. Our I&D Lead works end-to-end on every project, from customer-facing sales presentations to commercialization on the plant floor. As a branded company, we work with class-leading customers to drive new distribution of Consumer insight based Raybern’s innovation. We are not simply a manufacturing company that makes food: We are a food company that manufactures, and it all starts with a visionary I&D team that knows how to bring on trend innovation to life.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

• Partner with sales leadership to plan and execute customer innovation workshops both on and off site.
• Participate in the development of prototypes, including but not limited to, developing assembly instructions, creating prototypes, implementing revisions, creating sales samples, and facilitating presentations to customer groups.

• Partner with the Product Development & Sourcing Manager to identify new components, develop initial specifications and define shelf life.
• Work with Commercialization, Procurement, Operations, Sales and Quality Assurance teams to ensure all product and component specifications are met for commercialization success.
• Work with cross-functional teams to support all aspects of projects from concept ideation, sourcing, regulatory and through commercialization and production as needed.
• Regular and reliable attendance.
• Other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Science, Food Science or related field, or AOS in culinary arts from an accredited institution.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered in lieu of formal degree.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES AND REGISTRATIONS: None required; CEC, CRC, or CCS is a plus.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

• Possess a working knowledge of frozen food industry and demonstrate comfort in both a test kitchen and a manufacturing plant environment.
• Possess an understanding of food processing, nutritional and labeling requirements.
• Ability to understand and read formulas.
• Cooking skills to include ability to weigh out ingredients accurately with general knowledge of product formulations. Possess a good understanding of basic food components, cooking techniques and food trends. Basic knife skills and working knowledge of cooking and baking techniques as applicable in a manufacturing context. Restaurant or hotel experience is preferred.
• Ability to read and write correspondence in English using basic technical terminology.
• Ability to read and interpret documents in English such as spec sheets, nutritional documents, instruction and procedure manuals, recipes.
• Teamwork, strong organizational skills and excellent communication skills (written and verbal) are a must.
• Possess the ability to work efficiently in an open office space and have experience working on multiple projects concurrently with often-changing goals or deliverables.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) required.
• Must be able to learn new programs as needed.
• Must be available to travel in the US and Canada up to 15% of time, sometimes on short notice.

WORKING CONDITIONS

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. The associate is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The associate is frequently required to stand, walk, climb, stoop, and/or kneel. The associate must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an associate may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the associate is occasionally exposed to extreme cold (non-weather). The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

REQUIRED TRAINING

This position requires training in Good Manufacturing Practices critical to the effective implementation of the Food Safety Plan and the maintenance of food safety, quality, and process efficiency. Training is required on how to identify food safety issues such as temperature control, cross-contamination, sanitation, and cleanliness of the lines, etc., critical to the effective implementation of the Food Safety Plan and the maintenance of food safety, quality, and process efficiency.

Benefits:

• 401(K)
• 401(K) matching
• Dental Insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health Insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off.
• Parental leave
• Referral program
• Vision insurance

Schedule: Monday – Friday