Assistant Food Developer

Internally, the job title for this role will be known as Coordinator, Menu

McDonald’s is one of the most recognisable brands in the world. In the UK & Ireland alone, we serve over 4 million customers every single day across nearly 1,600 restaurants. Behind every great customer experience is a huge operational engine, and the equipment and services that keep our restaurants running smoothly are absolutely critical.

We’re looking for an Assistant Food Developer to join our Food & Drink Development team, with a dedicated focus on beverages, desserts and breakfast. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of some of our most loved menu categories, working at the intersection of food innovation, customer insight and brand strategy.

You’ll join a passionate team of food lovers who create and develop new menu items that are delicious, exciting and easy for our restaurants to deliver. If you’re energised by creativity, hands on development and bringing new ideas to life, this is a brilliant opportunity to make a real impact on what millions of people enjoy.

What You’ll Be Doing:

You’ll support the end‑to‑end development of new food and drink products - from initial concept through to launch - ensuring they meet consumer expectations, operational needs and brand standards.

You’ll take ownership of:

• Creating product and supplier briefs based on marketing promotional plans
• Developing products that meet consumer, operational, financial and nutritional requirements
• Supporting ideation, creation and optimisation sessions for research and testing
• Attending UK Chef Councils as part of the development process
• Partnering with Consumer Insight to design and execute research projects
• Analysing research results and optimising products accordingly
• Ensuring cross‑functional alignment across Supply Chain, Food Safety, Operations, Marketing and more
• Preparing product recommendations for Food Development Manager approval
• Managing projects through the Stage & Gate process to ensure timely delivery
• Building product pipelines for your categories
• Reviewing supplier capabilities and supporting first production runs
• Coordinating food showings and engagement sessions
• Supporting Operations Testing for new products
• Representing McDonald’s at media events as a brand ambassador when required