Senior Chef – Culinary Innovation

About the role

Join Nestlé Health Science to lead culinary innovation for nutrition and health products. Based at the Nestlé Development Center in Bridgewater, NJ, you will transform emerging ideas into functional, tasty prototypes that support R&D and brand teams.

Key responsibilities

• Lead culinary mastership within front‑end innovation, turning emerging ideas into prototypes that meet consumer needs and business opportunities.
• Apply culinary and food‑science principles to develop functional, nutritious, great‑tasting prototypes across formats such as drinks, shakes, purees, gummies, puddings and tablets.
• Partner with Sensory & Product Experience teams to ensure product superiority during pre‑development.
• Track functional ingredient, flavor and supplement trends and present insights to senior leaders.
• Facilitate cross‑functional ideation workshops and rapid prototyping to support Innovation & Renovation pipelines.

Required profile

• Culinary Arts degree or certifications preferred; strong science foundation a plus.
• 5+ years as a chef in high‑end restaurants (Michelin, James Beard) or as an innovation chef in R&D.
• Mastery of multiple culinary backgrounds (food, confectionary) and ability to learn new techniques such as tableting, soft chews and melts.
• Proficient with functional ingredients, especially hydrocolloids and starches, for prototype development.

Required skills

• Excellent communication of culinary characteristics and market trends.
• Strong organizational and project‑management abilities.
• Ability to coach and mentor product developers and scientists in culinary methods.
• Curiosity, creativity and prototyping pitch skills.

What we offer

• Base salary $110 K–$140 K with performance‑based incentives.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Comprehensive healthcare coverage.
• Opportunities for professional growth, global collaboration and learning.