Senior Scientist, Quality Assurance (Food Scientist)

10 West Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91103

Based in Pasadena, California, Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN), through its subsidiaries and franchisees, supports and operates restaurants under the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar®, IHOP®, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop® brands. As of December 28, 2025, these three brands consisted of over 3,500 restaurants across 20 international markets. Dine Brands is one of the largest full-service restaurant companies in the world and in 2022 expanded into the Fast Casual segment. For more information on Dine Brands, visit the Company’s website located at www.dinebrands.com.
The Role:
The Senior Scientist, Product Quality Assurance (Food Scientist) is responsible for overseeing different food categories to ensure compliance to Dine QA standards, specification and food safety. This role collaborates cross functionally with Culinary Innovation, Brand Operation and Procurement and manages the commercialization process and ongoing monitoring of new and existing products.
This role works closely with Suppliers and Distributors to ensure compliance throughout the Dine food supply chain. The ideal candidate must have attention to detail, strong communication skills, the ability to multi-task and prioritize; using knowledge base from food science and manufacturing experience, the candidate develops and improves product specifications, product testing and troubleshooting.
Responsibilities:
Manage aspects of quality assurance in the assigned food categories including but not limited to supplier and product approval, commercialization, troubleshooting and specification development.
Work cross functionally with Culinary, Operations and Procurement to develop and approve new products while monitoring compliance of already existing food items, through product testing and analytical reporting.
Conduct cross-functional product showings, sensory testing, collect and analyze results, and provide solutions to correct out of specification product.
Investigate quality complaints and collaborate with Suppliers to troubleshoot cause, perform corrective action, and ongoing prevention.
Participate in alternate Supplier and product approval, product optimization projects, and other continuous product safety and quality improvement programs.
Provide technical support to cross-functional teams to ensure the success of new products from innovation to commercialization and restaurant operations.
Conduct routine and as-needed travel to supplier facilities to perform audits, oversee production runs, and troubleshoot food safety, quality and operational issues.
Skills & Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in food science, biology, microbiology, chemistry, or related field.
Preferred QA experience in food manufacturing or working for QA at a Casual Dining/Family Dining/Quick Serve restaurant concept.
Strong knowledge of HACCP, GFSI, USDA regulations, auditing principles, and process control.
Experience in specification development and commercialization.
Proficient in problem solving and troubleshooting skills; willingness to provide alternate ideas and solutions to problems.
Proficiency using Microsoft office applications including Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint.
Ability to lift and move heavy object (over 50 pounds), ability to stand for extended periods of time, and the ability to tolerate walk-in freezer and hot cooking equipment environments.
Ability to use scientific/lab equipment, handling sharp objects, handling dry ice, using cleaning chemicals, and other restaurant related tools and equipment.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Exceptional project management skills and able to work on multiple projects at the same time.
Target Salary $90k-$95k depending on experience
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Dine Brands Global strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
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