Culinary Innovation Manager (Sonic)

Sandy Springs, GA, USA|Onsite

Job Overview

Employment Type

Full-time

Work Schedule

Standard Hours

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Paid Time Off

401(k)

Employee Discounts

Professional development opportunities

Paid holidays

Job Description

SONIC is a leading fast-food restaurant brand known for its commitment to delivering unique and delightful food and beverage experiences to its guests. As part of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company that also includes renowned names like Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', and Jimmy John's, SONIC benefits from a rich heritage and a collaborative environment that drives innovation and excellence in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry. Inspire Brands encompasses over 33,000 restaurants worldwide and is dedicated to transforming the way people eat, drink, and gather by emphasizing memorable, flavorful experiences that go beyond traditional dining.

The Culina... Show More

Job Requirements

2 year degree preferred, especially a culinary or food related degree
3-5 years experience in a culinary or product development role
Experience in QSR culinary development highly preferred
Ability to think strategically and be detail oriented
Bring creativity to menu development and trend dives for the team
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Ability to collaborate and motivate across the operations, supply chain, field, and marketing teams
Self-starter with the ability to project manage and handle multiple assignments simultaneously and meet all desired deadlines
Strong leadership, sales support, project management and training skills
Understanding how to take products or programs through a development and testing process
Effective problem-solving skills and ability to listen and translate details accurately
Should possess an innate curiosity and growth mindset

Job Qualifications

2 year degree preferred, especially a culinary or food related degree
3-5 years experience in a culinary or product development role
Experience in QSR culinary development highly preferred
Ability to think strategically and be detail oriented
Creative mindset towards menu development and trend analysis
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Ability to explain difficult concepts in business terms
Ability to collaborate and motivate across various teams
Self-starter with project management skills
Strong leadership, sales support, project management and training abilities
Understanding of taking products through development and testing
Effective problem-solving skills
Possess innate curiosity and growth mindset

Job Duties

Support the Product Innovation team and Director of Culinary in delivering against organizational and personal goals, objectives, and strategies
Work independently on development projects, with check-ins and guidance from supervisor as needed
Participate in the creation of new product development objectives while collaborating with cross functional teams including Category Management, Brand Experience, Operations, Procurement, Commercialization, Quality Assurance, and others as appropriate
Independently work with vendor partners to develop new products from gold-standard products to initial benchtop samples and through commercialization process
Make recommendations for improvements to current prototypes
Collaborate with cross-functional teams in the development and creation of product specifications on commercialized products with vendor partners, Commercialization Quality Assurance, and other teams as necessary
Lead product taste tests and new product showings
Present product improvement/change recommendations based on taste test results and/or feedback to Culinary Innovation leadership
Partner with Procurement Team to develop accurate food and paper formulas
Plan and execute Product Showcase events to (and not limited to) SONIC Senior Management, Board of Directors, Franchise Community, Marketing Leadership, Shareholders & SONIC National Convention
Provide guidance and support to other product developers
Other duties assigned as needed

Job Qualifications

Experience

Mid Level (3-7 years)

Job Location

We didn't receive the exact location for this job posting,

please contact the employer.

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