R&D Development Chef (Pasta, Pizza, Dough)

About the role

This role drives pizza, pasta and dough culinary mastership at the Nestlé Development Center (NDC Solon, OH) and contributes to the Nestlé Global Chef Network. The position is eligible for visa sponsorship.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and drive culinary‑inspired ideas, concepts and prototypes based on consumer and marketplace trends, needs and business opportunities.
• Develop and drive gold‑standard and reference targets for projects, from idea inception to commercialization/scale‑up.
• Develop, maintain and leverage external networks in the culinary community.
• Identify, own, and activate a Culinary Excellence/Culinary Education workstream within and across the broader Nestlé Chef Network and the R&D community.
• Maintain and continue to develop culinary skills by initiating, planning and executing inspirational activities and events in the development center.
• Inspire and support opportunities with the Nestlé Chef Network in creativity, problem‑solving, information sharing, common challenges or internal/external events and publicity.
• Own best practice in kitchen and product safety, organization and work planning.

Required profile

• 5+ years of professional kitchen experience including Michelin‑rated (or equivalent award‑winning) high‑end fine dining restaurants.
• Demonstrated craftsmanship and expertise in pizza, pasta and dough recipe design and scaling for consistency, including ingredient selection, dough fermentation techniques and preparation methods.
• Professional culinary technique (recipe planning, preparation, and presentation) guided by global high‑end fine‑dining gastronomy standards such as Michelin (or similar equivalent).
• Excellent communication skills (oral, written, and presentation) with clear explanations of product culinary characteristics and marketplace trends.
• Excellent organizational and planning skills; ability to independently prioritize and manage multiple projects.
• Strong self‑directed curiosity, creativity, prototyping and “idea pitch” skill.
• Strong collaboration, networking and information‑gathering skills; ability to leverage relationship networks.
• English fluency required.
• Ability to travel 10‑15%.