Principal Chef Culinary Innovation

Foods you love. Brands you trust. And a career that empowers you to grow.


At Nestlé USA, we’re all working towards the same goal – to delight and deliver for our consumers. With a rich portfolio of beloved brands, including DiGiorno, Toll House, and Coffee mate, in 97% of U.S. households, we have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to be there for every moment in our consumers’ lives.

Joining Nestlé means becoming part of an inclusive workplace that inspires innovation, encourages strategic thinking and creativity, and celebrates your achievements. No matter where you work within the organization, you are empowered to challenge the status quo, embrace risk-taking, and pioneer new ideas. Our supportive and collaborative environment encourages bold ambitions and continuous learning so that everyone can grow and thrive.


This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

Position Summary

The Principal Culinary Innovation Chef plays a critical leadership role in shaping the culinary vision, innovation pipeline, and brand experience for the Global Culinary Kitchen (GCK) division. With a diverse portfolio spanning more than a dozen iconic brands across sweet, savory, seasonal, and global culinary categories, GCK brings together everything from Toll House and Morsels to Maggi, Libby’s, cooking milks, and emerging ambient and confectionary platforms—offering something for every food moment. This role blends deep culinary expertise with strategic cross-functional partnership to develop recipes, inspire product innovation, strengthen brand equity, and champion the voice of the consumer. They drive the creation of trend-forward, consumer-centric recipes; guide product development; bring culinary credibility to customer engagements; and serve as a cultural ambassador for food excellence across GCK and broader Nestlé USA.

Key Responsibilities

Culinary Innovation & Recipe Development 

• Develop a robust portfolio of new, consumer-led recipes across GCK brands.
• Translate trends, insights, and NCompass personas into fresh usage occasions, versatile applications, and compelling content that drives household penetration and engagement.

Product Innovation, Renovation & Gold Standard Work 

• Serve as the culinary lead for new product development, bringing elevated culinary expertise to innovation and renovation projects.
• Develop and validate Gold Standard recipes for I2L product development and long-lead customer meetings.
• Deliver insights and prototypes that reflect consumer needs, category trends, and brand ambitions.

Consumer Insights, Trends & Culinary Research 

• Conduct ongoing culinary, baking, and flavor trend research to inform brand strategy, innovation sprints, and marketing activation.
• Lead field immersions, offsite tours, and scouting visits to surface actionable insights for cross-functional partners.

Brand Storytelling & Content Development (10%)

• Create compelling culinary content that showcases product versatility, technique, and consumer relevance.
• Collaborate with brand teams to bring the culinary voice into campaigns, social content, and experiential events.

Culinary Immersions, Education & Training 

• Host hands-on culinary immersion sessions for cross-functional teams to build product knowledge, flavor literacy, empathy, and alignment with consumer experiences.
• Lead culinary language training, tasting etiquette sessions (in partnership with TAG), and onboarding culinary education.
• Support broader Nestlé culinary activations, customer meetings, ELT meetings, Division and Zone events as a culinary ambassador.

• Act as a strategic thought partner across teams, helping shape brand narratives, innovation priorities, and activation strategies.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• 7+ years professional culinary experience in restaurant, bakery, culinary R&D, or multi-unit food environments.
• Culinary degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong foundation in recipe development and writing with a consumer lens, food science basics, and recipe commercialization practices.
• Experience leveraging consumer insights, trends, and data to inform menu or recipe development.
• Strong presentation skills—comfortable showcasing recipes, leading demos, and representing brands to internal and external audiences.
• Excellent communication, cross-functional collaboration, and project leadership skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, agile environment.
• Willingness to travel up to 20-25%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting CPG product development or working in innovation environments that require significant cross-functional collaboration with teams including TAG and Marketing.
• Strong understanding of global cuisines and flavor profiles.
• Demonstrated expertise in baking, pastry, or specialty categories
• Experience organizing and facilitating culinary immersions, workshops, or training sessions.
• Familiarity with I2L or similar product development processes.

Success Attributes

• Consumer-obsessed with an ability to translate insights into irresistible culinary experiences.
• Creative and trend-forward , constantly scouting flavors, formats, and techniques.
• Collaborative influencer who elevates cross-functional work through food.
• Operationally excellent , balancing creativity with precision and discipline.
• Agile problem solver with strong initiative and comfort in ambiguity.
• Brand ambassador with passion, warmth, and storytelling ability.

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It is our business imperative to remain a very inclusive workplace.


To our veterans and separated service members, you're at the forefront of our minds as we recruit top talent to join Nestlé. The skills you've gained while serving our country, such as flexibility, agility, and leadership, are much like the skills that will make you successful in this role. In addition, with our commitment to an inclusive work environment, we recognize the exceptional engagement and innovation displayed by individuals with disabilities. Nestlé seeks such skilled and qualified individuals to share our mission where you’ll join a cohort of others who have chosen to call Nestlé home.

The Nestlé Companies are equal employment opportunity employers. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Prior to the next step in the recruiting process, we welcome you to inform us confidentially if you may require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment experience. Contact us at [email protected] or please dial 711 and provide this number to the operator: 1-800-321-6467.

This position is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship. 

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Job Requisition: 395374