New Product Development Coordinator

Job description

The New Product Development Coordinator supports the FIT Team (Food & Beverage) in the development, testing, and rollout of new and improved menu items across our 400+ restaurant locations. This role reports to the Culinary Innovation Manager and plays a key part in ensuring product quality, consistency, and operational success. - Independently conduct organoleptic evaluations (taste, texture, aroma, appearance) to ensure product quality and alignment with brand standards. - Perform shelf life, yield, and portion studies to validate product specifications and operational success. - Create, refine, and support development of training materials for new menu items, recipes, and procedures that will be used by the entire field team. - Organize and support live cooking demonstrations for cross-functional teams, providing hands-on culinary expertise and operational insights. - Support vendor relationships by coordinating ingredient sourcing, sampling, and specification alignment. - Responsible for maintaining a clean, safe, and organized test kitchen environment in compliance with food safety standards. - Travel locally and occasionally out-of-state for ingredient sourcing, supplier faci...