Founded by chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Row 7 is an organic food company built to reimagine food from seed to table.  Working in collaboration with chefs, farmers, and plant breeders, our mission is to introduce new plant varieties that bring unique culinary, nutritional, and ecological value to consumers.  Since its inception five years ago, Row 7 has collaborated with stakeholders across the food chain to make delicious ingredients—and the stories behind them—more accessible to all.  Through our online marketplace, Row 7 sells organic seeds to home gardeners and growers.  In the last year, Row 7 launched a line of branded organic vegetables for sale in grocery stores throughout the Northeast in 2023, and will expand to the West Coast in 2024.

Row 7 is eager to connect with a creative and resourceful culinary professional to join our dynamic team as Culinary R&D Manager. In this role, you will oversee our internal culinary evaluations of experimental vegetables and grains, engage with our chef and breeder community, and implement culinary production for Row 7’s marketing activations.  Exceptional culinary, collaboration, communication, and out-of-box thinking skills are essential, along with the ability to adapt to dynamic agricultural and market conditions. Join Row 7 in revolutionizing seed-to-retail foods, where innovation meets flavor.

LOCATION:  

• Hybrid Role
• Tarrytown, NY / 3 days per week
• Regular travel to East Coast farms, restaurants, breeders, and events

This role reports to:  Row 7 President

Responsibilities include:

CULINARY R&D

• Track and coordinate experimental produce as it flows from Row 7 Research Farm and other outlets (agricultural, plant breeding, and culinary partners)  
• Schedule and oversee internal culinary trials and tastings 
• Make regular visits to Row 7 Research Farm (weekly in peak season)
• Work closely with Row 7 R&D and Culinary teams to accomplish research goals
• Research and develop new culinary techniques/applications for breeding and catalog material 
• Oversee consistent and timely culinary data collection and communication throughout the season
• Share timely and valuable culinary feedback with breeders, including informal updates from external trials
• Support culinary QC on Row 7 branded vegetables 
• Support Row 7 Culinary team in advancing food product innovation pipeline 

TRIAL COMMUNITY 

• Build and maintain long-term relationships with Row 7 Trial Network chefs 
• Identify and engage prospective chef partners through regular outreach and visits
• Build awareness of the company and its products within the culinary community 
• Generate chef feedback/data gathering systems for various chef partners
• Manage, guide, and support culinary evaluations with partnering chefs
• Collect, analyze, and archive chef feedback and trial data and communicate to R&D team

MARKETING

• Oversee culinary production and quality for the East Coast demonstration program, including identifying and collaborating with co-packers 
• Support planning and execution of Row 7 activations and events 
• Manage ingredient sourcing for events and tastings 
• Represent Row 7 at outside events (conferences, meetings, etc.) 
• Assist in developing weekly culinary content (e.g., recipes, videos, tasting photos) for website, social media, newsletter, etc. 
• Support high-value strategic partnerships through tastings, CPG culinary R&D, etc.  
• Collaborate in planning and executing photo shoots for product launches 

Education and experience: 

• 6+ years of relevant experience 
• Experience in a test kitchen or research setting encouraged
• Knowledge of farming a plus 
• Ability to use MS Office/G-Suite software for data entry and tracking

The ideal candidate is:

• research-oriented with strong attention to detail 
• a skilled communicator, both written and verbal 
• proactive and can work independently with minimal guidance
• highly organized, able to meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects and priorities 
• eager to learn and grow with an expanding organization
• fluent in record keeping and use of spreadsheet applications, including Microsoft Office and Google Drive 
• Able to travel regularly to Row 7 office, trial farm, and external partners
• aligned with Row 7’s mission and values

Details:

• Annual salary from $90,000 commensurate with experience
• Benefits including
  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision insurance
  • Health Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
  • 401(k)
  • Employee Discount
  • Paid Time Off
  • Volunteer Time Off