Director of Research, Development & Commercialization

Village Super Markets is hiring - Director of Research, Development & Commercialization role available

Innovation is at the heart of great food experiences. We’re looking for a visionary culinary leader who can transform ideas into scalable products, bring emerging food trends to life, and help shape the future of prepared foods across our growing portfolio of brands.

Village Super Market is seeking a strategic and creative Director of Research, Development & Commercialization to lead the end-to-end innovation pipeline for products developed through our Central Kitchen. This is an exciting opportunity for a food innovation leader who thrives at the intersection of culinary creativity, product development, operational execution, and business strategy.

About Us:

For more than 80 years, Village Super Market has proudly served communities across the tri-state area through our family of brands, including ShopRite, Fairway Market, and Gourmet Garage.

We are a family-led, growth-focused organization built on quality, service, innovation, and community — with fresh foods at the heart of the customer experience.

About the Role:

The Director of Research, Development & Commercialization is responsible for leading product innovation, culinary development, testing, and commercialization for prepared foods and retail-ready products produced through our Central Kitchen. This role partners closely with Operations, Merchandising, Marketing, Procurement, Food Safety, and Store Leadership teams to bring differentiated products to market while ensuring scalability, quality, profitability, and operational excellence.

This position plays a critical role in building and managing a repeatable innovation process that supports growth, strengthens brand differentiation, and delivers exceptional food experiences for our customers.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the research, development, and commercialization pipeline for prepared foods, meal solutions, and retail-ready products
• Identify emerging food trends, customer preferences, and competitive opportunities to drive product innovation
• Develop, test, refine, and scale recipes and product concepts for large-scale Central Kitchen production
• Partner with Operations to ensure new products can be consistently produced and executed across multiple locations
• Oversee product commercialization from concept through pilot testing, launch, and operational rollout
• Collaborate with Merchandising, Marketing, and Procurement teams to align product launches with business objectives and customer demand
• Establish production standards, yield expectations, packaging requirements, shelf-life specifications, and quality standards
• Manage product costs, ingredient sourcing strategies, and margin expectations while maintaining exceptional product quality
• Build and maintain a structured innovation pipeline with clear timelines, priorities, and commercialization milestones
• Monitor industry trends, consumer behavior, ingredient innovations, and competitive activity to identify future growth opportunities

What We’re Looking For:

• Extensive experience in culinary innovation, food product development, prepared foods, or food commercialization
• Experience working within Central Kitchen, commissary, food manufacturing, or large-scale production environments
• Proven success bringing food products from concept through commercialization and large-scale production
• Strong knowledge of recipe development, recipe scaling, batch production, yield management, and food cost control
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives involving Operations, Merchandising, Marketing, Procurement, and Food Safety teams
• Strong project management, analytical, and organizational skills
• Knowledge of food safety regulations, quality standards, packaging requirements, and commercialization best practices
• Experience with ERP systems; SAP experience preferred

Ideal Background:

• Experience in prepared foods, food manufacturing, commissary operations, culinary innovation, foodservice, grocery retail, or consumer packaged goods environments is highly valued.
• Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, Food Innovation, Hospitality Management, or a related field preferred.
• Professional culinary training or certification is strongly preferred.

Why Join Village Super Market?

• Family-led culture focused on people, growth, and development
• Opportunity to build and lead the innovation engine behind one of the region’s most exciting prepared foods programs
• Entrepreneurial environment that values creativity, innovation, and operational excellence
• Career growth opportunities across multiple banners and business functions
• Competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and professional development

If you’re passionate about culinary innovation, product development, and bringing great food ideas to life at scale, we’d love to connect.

Base Salary: $204,000 - $227,000