CULINARY SYSTEMS SPECIALIST – CORPORATE

Job Type: Location Type: On-site

 

Job Details

Job Location
Corporate Headquarters – Seattle, WA

Position Type
Full Time

Salary Range
$33.65 – $38.46 Hourly

Job Shift
Morning

Description

About Us: Uwajimaya, a family-owned business, and a cornerstone of Asian grocery retailing since 1928, is seeking dedicated individuals to join our dynamic team. With a legacy of excellence and a commitment to providing exceptional customer experiences, Uwajimaya has grown to become the premier destination for Asian food culture in the Pacific Northwest.

Who We’re Looking For: We are seeking individuals who are passionate about delivering excellent customer service, driven to excel in their roles, and motivated to contribute to our vibrant team. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or eager to start your career, we welcome candidates from all backgrounds who share our enthusiasm for food, customer service, and Asian culture.

About the Role:

Uwajimaya is seeking a detail-oriented and systems-savvy Culinary Systems Specialist to support our Central Kitchen and retail deli and bakery departments. This role is critical in helping us standardize, document, and manage culinary and production data that powers our food operations. From establishing recipe documentation to maintaining nutritional data and ensuring labeling compliance, this position plays a vital role in building out the infrastructure for culinary consistency and excellence across our operations.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, comfortable working with data and cross-functional teams, and motivated by building systems that support operational efficiency and cultural authenticity. If you have experience with culinary data systems or MRP platforms and are excited to contribute to a team passionate about food and innovation, we encourage you to apply.

To thrive at Uwajimaya, you should embody our core competencies:

• Functional/Technical Skills: You possess the necessary functional and technical knowledge to perform your job at a high level.
• Customer Focus: You are dedicated to meeting customer expectations and requirements, using feedback for improvements, and building effective relationships based on trust and respect.
• Action Oriented: You enjoy working hard, are full of energy for challenging tasks, and seize opportunities with minimal planning.
• Peer Relationships: You can find common ground with peers, solve problems collaboratively, and are seen as a cooperative team player who encourages collaboration.
• Self-Development: You are committed to continuous self-improvement, adapt to different situations, and work to develop your strengths while addressing weaknesses.

We offer:

• A flexible, friendly, and diverse work environment
• Competitive starting wages
• Employee discounts on food and gift items
• Paid holidays from day one
• Excellent health benefits
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off
• Long term disability
• Life insurance
• Opportunities for growth and advancement
• Supplemental insurance options available

Position Summary:

The Culinary Systems Specialist plays a key role in supporting culinary excellence at Uwajimaya by leading the design and maintenance of all culinary data and production systems for the central production kitchen as well as the retail deli and bakery departments. This position will be responsible for coordinating and establishing the baseline structure of a new recipe, nutrition and production system as well as populating all the content into an MRP system. The Culinary Systems Specialist will work closely with the Director of Deli, Bakery, Food Service to design the system as well as coordinate content creation with buyers, vendors, category management, department managers and the central kitchen production team.

Position’s Key Responsibilities:

• Create baseline structure and system for documenting recipes including BOMs and cooking instructions.
• Create baseline system for central kitchen item master.
• Collaborate with suppliers, kitchen staff, and category managers to gather, confirm, or update data.
• Design and maintain nutritional data system
• Support integration of existing company data systems with new productions systems, including labeling and retail business systems.
• Prepare internal documentation and reports for cross-functional teams.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, labeling, and cultural authenticity standards.
• Lead data accuracy and operational efficiency initiatives.
• Attend team meetings, offer feedback and assist with additional projects as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

Starting at $33.65/hr., Depending on Experience

Uwajimaya participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. Please review the E-Verify Participation Poster and Right to Work Poster before proceeding with your application

IER Right to Work Poster (English/Spanish) (PDF, 322.73 KB)

E-Verify Participation Poster (English/Spanish) (PDF, 259.92 KB)

Uwajimaya is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Qualifications

Position Requirements:

• Minimum 2 years of Culinary data system administration, recipe management or MRP, experience required.
• High attention to detail with experience handling food specifications and data.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel design and management.
• Minimum 5 years demonstrated ability to lead projects independently and manage business operations involving multiple stakeholders.
• High level of understanding of nutritional and food labeling requirements.
• Strong communication and time management skills.
• Ability to take and implement feedback quickly and clearly.
• Comfortable with repetitive data entry tasks requiring precision.
• Interest in food, particularly Japanese and other Asian and SE Asian cuisines, very desirable.