Director of New Product Development & Commercialization

Our opportunity:

Restaurant Brands International “RBI” is seeking a Director of New Product Development & Commercialization to support culinary innovation, product localization and product scalability through commercialization initiatives with suppliers across all international regions.
This role shall provide technical support and expertise to the global Culinary, Quality and Procurement teams assisting in the execution of global culinary and procurement strategies across RBI’s brands which include Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs.

The person that occupies this role shall work closely with cross-functional teams including Innovation, Marketing, Quality Assurance, Procurement, Operations, and Suppliers. This role translates culinary benchtop product(s) into commercially viable, high quality brand menu items which can be successfully executed and replicated across multiple markets.

The desired candidate for the role of commercialization must have a strong technical foundation (scientific education and/or discipline knowledge) and experience in commercializing manufactured products for key QSR (quick service restaurant) product categories like chicken, beef or baked goods. The ideal candidate combines deep technical commercialization expertise with a passion for culinary innovation, food science and continuous improvement within a global QSR environment.

Your roles & responsibilities:

Product Commercialization
•Commercialize culinary products for new country entries (NCE’s), new product innovations and core product improvements.
•Demonstrate expertise in ingredient functionality and application to support product quality, consistency and operational efficiency.
•Attend trial production runs and assist suppliers in scale up decision making of RBI branded products.
•Assess supplier manufacturing readiness, process capability and scale up risks to ensure successful commercialization and launch execution.
•Complete statistical process control assessments and data analytic interpretation to support technical development of processing specifications.
•Identify process optimization opportunities to improve consistency, yield, quality and cost performance.

Product Launch Execution
•Assist in executing launch of new and existing menu items from concept through rollout (all applicable regions).
•Work with suppliers and internal teams to evaluate ingredient functionality, formulation adjustments, and manufacturing capabilities.
•Ensure products meet brand culinary expectations while remaining operationally executable in restaurant environments.
Supplier Collaboration & Culinary Insights
•Lead technical discussions with supplier leadership teams to drive continuous improvement in product quality, manufacturing capability, innovation, operational and cost efficiency.
•Collaborate with supplier culinary and R&D teams to explore new or alternative ingredients, processes, and product taste improvements.
•Lead specification development activities alongside QA and Procurement.

Cross-Functional Support
•Partner with Regional (EMEA, LAC, APAC) Innovation and Marketing teams to translate consumer insights into product development opportunities.
•Support Operations teams in validating preparation methods, equipment settings, and holding procedures.
•Partner with Procurement to evaluate sourcing options, supplier capabilities, ingredient substitutions and specification impacts associated with commercialization projects
•Support development and refinement of ingredient specifications with Quality Assurance.
•Partner with Procurement and Quality Assurance to ensure commercialization decisions support continuity of supply, cost objectives and quality standards.

Project & Test Kitchen Support
•Assist in coordinating culinary testing, supplier engagement, and product validation.
•Support internal culinary demonstrations, product testing sessions, and innovation workshops.
•Help track innovation and commercialization projects across multiple markets and brands.

Commercialization & Risk Management
•Identify technical, manufacturing and supply chain risks associated with new product launches and develop mitigation plans.
•Support supplier validation and approval activities for new products and ingredients.
•Support dual sourcing and contingency planning initiatives where appropriate.

Your skills & experience:

•Education in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or related fields.
•10+ years of experience in food commercialization, food manufacturing or QSR innovation, including demonstrated success leading commercialization projects from concept through launch.
•Culinary foundation with interest in food science, ingredient functionality and product development. Experience working in a commercial kitchen, culinary lab, or food innovation environment.
•Proven ability to influence and align diverse stakeholders across internal functions, franchise organizations and supplier partners to achieve commercialization objectives.
•Familiarity with recipe development, product prototyping, and culinary testing methods.
•Understanding of [JP1.1]food manufacturing or large-scale foodservice operations
•Experience working directly with food manufacturers, co-packers and ingredient suppliers to commercialize products at scale.
•Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
•Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
•Strong written and verbal communication skills.
•Passion for global cuisines and emerging food trends.
•Fluent in English language written and spoken + Spanish, French, German or Portuguese language skills are a plus.
•Willingness to travel up to 40% of time in some periods.