Food R&D Technician /

Culinary Assistant Location:

Burr Ridge, IL Pay:

$21.00-$23.00/hour

Schedule:

Monday-Friday | 1st

Shift Position Type:

Full-Time Position Summary Summit Staffing is seeking a Food R&D Technician / Culinary Assistant to join a food ingredient manufacturer in Burr Ridge, IL. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with a culinary, professional kitchen, food production, or food product development background who is interested in taking their experience into the Research & Development side of the food industry. The position supports the development of custom seasonings and flavor solutions for food manufacturers . Each project begins with a customer need or desired flavor profile, and the R&D team develops samples specifically for that application. This is a hands-on role involving daily cooking and sample preparation, tasting and evaluation, precise measurements, detailed documentation, and maintaining an organized R&D kitchen/lab. We're looking for someone who genuinely enjoys working with food, understands the importance of following recipes and processes accurately, and has the patience to experiment. Product development involves trial and error — the right person will be comfortable receiving feedback, adjusting a sample, and repeating the process until it's right. What You'll Do Prepare and cook food samples daily for research, development, and customer evaluation. Follow recipes, formulas, and R&D instructions to accurately reproduce samples. Weigh and measure ingredients with a high degree of precision, understanding that very small ingredient adjustments can significantly change the finished product. Assist the R&D team in developing and evaluating new seasoning blends and flavor profiles. Participate in tasting and evaluating food samples and seasoning blends. Prepare samples for internal testing, customer evaluation, and external laboratory analysis. Perform taste and visual quality checks on finished products. Perform quality checks on incoming raw materials. Taste and evaluate seasoning blends produced by the manufacturing floor. Accurately document formulas, observations, adjustments, test results, and product-development information. Maintain product specifications and supporting documentation. Maintain an organized inventory of ingredients and laboratory supplies. Keep kitchen/laboratory workspaces clean, sanitary, organized, and ready for product-development work. Assist with customer quality documentation and information requests. Support preparation for customer and quality audits. Use Microsoft Excel, Word, and other basic computer programs for documentation and recordkeeping. Work closely with R&D, Quality, Production, and other team members throughout the development process. What We're Looking For The ideal candidate has an established foundation working with food and is interested in developing a career within culinary R&D, food product development, or food science . Qualifications High school diploma or GED required. Approximately 1+ year of professional culinary, kitchen, food preparation, food production, food manufacturing, test kitchen, or similar hands-on food experience preferred. Demonstrated comfort preparing and cooking food in a professional or structured environment. Strong ability to follow recipes, formulas, measurements, and detailed instructions. Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills. Ability to accurately document work and maintain detailed notes. Patience and persistence when a recipe or sample requires multiple adjustments or trials. Ability to take instruction, retain new information, and apply what has been learned to future sample preparation. Comfortable working independently and as part of a small collaborative team. Basic computer proficiency, including Microsoft Excel and Word. Ability to spend much of the workday on your feet in a kitchen/laboratory environment. Willingness to prepare and taste a wide variety of food products and seasoning blends, including meat-based products and ingredients such as garlic and onion. Backgrounds We're Especially Interested In Culinary Arts Restaurant or Professional Kitchen Catering or Banquet Kitchen Test Kitchen Food R&D / Product Development Food Manufacturing Food Production Bakery or Prepared Foods Food Quality / QA Culinary or Food Science Laboratory A culinary degree or certificate is a plus but not required . Previous food R&D experience is also a plus, but candidates with a strong professional culinary foundation who are interested in moving into product development are encouraged to apply. Work Environment This position works primarily within three industrial R&D kitchen/laboratory spaces using equipment similar in size and function to standard home cooking equipment. This is more of a hands-on kitchen/lab position than a desk job . Much of the day involves preparing, cooking, weighing, tasting, cleaning, organizing, and documenting samples. The position also has a dedicated desk/work area and laptop for documentation and administrative responsibilities. The company offers a clean, collaborative, family-oriented work environment and the opportunity to learn directly from highly experienced food-development professionals.

Pay:

$21.00 - $23.00 per hour Expected hours: No less than 40.0 per week

Benefits:

401(k) Dental insurance Health insurance Paid time off Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person