Warehouse/Inventory Manager Job Description
We're a fast-growing direct-to-consumer frozen-meal business, and the kitchen has outgrown a founder-built, mostly manual way of operating. We need an operations leader who builds systems. Someone who turns daily meal production and inventory into a predictable, measurable process, communicates proactively, and plans ahead so that what's ordered is what's made and shipped on time. Must be adept at providing consistent visibility to remote executive leadership. Strong hands-on production leadership is required, but the differentiator is systems thinking, planning, and communication, not just line speed.
Target start is as soon as we identify the right person (ideally within ~2–3 weeks)
Comp & Logistics
- Title: Kitchen Operations Manager
- Location: On-site, Logan, UT (we expect to move to an upgraded facility in Ogden or Salt Lake County within ~6-12 months)
- Schedule: Full-time, on-site; early mornings (production starts early; ~7-8 am) and occasional Fridays as volume requires
- Reports to: COO (currently fractional)
- Partners with: Director of Operations, R&D/Dietitian (menu & recipes), Customer Service, and outside vendors/carriers
- Leads: Kitchen shift leads, butcher, and production associates
The Role
You own the kitchen - and just as importantly, you own the system that makes it run. This hands-on leadership role is responsible for daily meal production at our Logan facility: the people, the plan, the inventory, the food cost, the quality, and the food safety. Your core job is to make sure the right meals get made, staged, and shipped on time, every day - and to build the repeatable processes, inventory discipline, and clear communication that let production scale without chaos. You'll turn a largely manual, in-someone's-head operation into a documented, measurable one.
What You'll Own
Production planning & inventory (the heart of the job)
- Plan daily and weekly production to actual demand - open orders, sales trends, and modifications - so we never make the wrong mix or run out of what's already been ordered
- Own inventory as a real discipline: raw goods, ingredients, packaging, and finished Ready-to-Ship (RTS) frozen meals - with accurate counts, par levels, and reorder triggers
- Stand up and run a dependable inventory/production system (we use Shopify today and are evaluating a dedicated tool such as Fishbowl); make the numbers trustworthy enough to plan and ship from directly
- Maintain freezer organization and staging so filling an order is "shop the shelf and ship," not a daily scavenger hunt
Fulfillment & shipping
- Own on-time fulfillment against our shipping SLA (currently 5–7 business days; the goal is pay-to-porch in 3 calendar days)
- Ensure orders ship complete and correct, including allergen-safe orders - no partial shipments slipping out without a plan and tight coordination
- Own shipping and packaging quality end-to-end: right box sizes, clean presentation, correct cold-chain (ice packs / dry ice), and inserts - the unboxing is a brand moment
Food cost, labor & throughput
- Manage food cost / COGS to target (goal: under 40-50%) and control waste
- Track and improve labor efficiency (cost per meal, meals per labor hour) and daily throughput as we scale toward higher daily volume
- Own vendor relationships, ordering cadence, and price negotiation on ingredients, proteins, and packaging
Facilities, fleet & building
- Keep the facility running: schedule and manage building maintenance and repair vendors (HVAC/AC, refrigeration & walk-in freezer, plumbing, electrical, waste/sanitation, pest control), track tickets to resolution, and keep the space clean, safe, and audit-ready
- Serve as the day-to-day point of contact with the landlord/property manager on building issues, shared-facility items, and repairs - coordinate access and follow through to closure
- Own upkeep of the company delivery van/vehicle(s): routine maintenance and service scheduling, registration/insurance current, cleanliness, and reliable availability for deliveries and supply runs
- Run a preventive-maintenance schedule with the kitchen crew - routine upkeep and checks on major equipment (walk-in/big freezer, refrigeration, ovens, and other kitchen equipment) so small issues get caught before they become failures
- Anticipate facility and equipment needs before they cause downtime - the freezer, the AC, and the van going down all stop production or shipping
Quality, allergen & food safety
- Implement and hold food-safety and sanitation standards (HACCP / ServSafe); keep the facility audit-ready
- Own the allergen-safe workflow and accurate labeling - precision here protects customers and the brand
- Hold recipe, portioning, and packaging standards across every shift
People leadership
- Schedule, hire, train, and lead the kitchen team and shift leads; build a dependable bench (including gig/temp staffing when needed)
- Set the daily plan and communicate priorities clearly to the floor, then make sure they're executed
- Delegate to Shift Leads to manage daily operations once systems are in place; enabling your consistent focus on managing COGS, reporting, strategic improvements and "working on the business," not just in the business
Systems, data & communication
- Provide reliable start-of-day and end-of-day visibility to remote leadership (production made, orders shipped, outstanding, out-of-SLA, inventory position)
- Document SOPs so the operation doesn't live in one person's head
- Communicate proactively and escalate early - flag problems and constraints before they become customer-facing failures, and coordinate across ops, R&D, and customer service
What Success Looks Like (first 90 days)
- 30 days: Inventory counts (raw + RTS) are accurate and trusted; a clear daily/weekly production plan exists tied to open orders; reliable start/end-of-day reporting is in place
- 60 days: Orders ship complete and on-time against SLA consistently; an inventory/production system is selected and running; food-safety and allergen SOPs are documented
- 90 days: Predictable, sustainable throughput at target food cost and labor efficiency; a trained, stable crew; the kitchen runs on process, not heroics
Who You Are
- A hands-on production or culinary operations leader from a high-volume kitchen, commissary, meal-prep, or food-manufacturing environment
- A systems and process builder - you've turned chaotic or manual operations into documented, measurable ones
- A proactive planner who anticipates demand and stages ahead so nothing critical runs out
- A clear, proactive communicator who follows through on written and verbal direction precisely, asks questions, thinks critically and pushes back appropriately, escalates early, and keeps manager and stakeholders in the loop
- Strong on inventory management and production planning, ideally with real inventory software experience
- Comfortable owning facilities and light fleet logistics - coordinating repair vendors, working with a landlord, and keeping a delivery vehicle serviced and road-ready
- Cost-conscious and fluent in food cost, labor efficiency, and waste
- Food-safety certified (ServSafe / HACCP) or ready to certify quickly
- A capable, dependable people leader who stays calm and decisive under pressure
Nice to Have
- Experience in direct-to-consumer / ecommerce food (frozen or fresh) and cold-chain shipping
- Familiarity with Shopify and inventory tools (Fishbowl or similar)
- Familiarity with AI tools like Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT and willingness to learn
- Experience standing up SOPs or opening/scaling a commercial kitchen / production facility
- Experience negotiating scope, price, delivery deadlines with vendors and managing them to contracts
- Allergen-program or dietary-modification experience preferred
What You Don't Need
- A fine-dining pedigree or culinary degree - consistency, throughput, and systems matter more here
- Enterprise-scale experience - we value adaptability and hands-on ownership in a lean, scrappy business