Operations Manager

Farmer's Fridge makes fruits and vegetables accessible and approachable for everyone. We offer a variety of fresh, healthy, ready-to-eat meals and snacks through our fresh food vending machines, wholesale partners, and our office pantry solution - providing chef-curated meals to customers within seconds. Today, we operate a network of Fridges and partner with clients nationwide in high-foot-traffic areas, such as airports, hospitals, universities, and large office buildings - where there is limited accessibility to fresh, healthy, grab-n-go options.

We care deeply about what we're creating and aspire to make sure our customers feel that through every touchpoint. This shows up in many ways across the business. We are committed to prioritizing food safety, we are passionate about product quality, we value our employees, we champion the best idea no matter where it comes from, and we're committed to making an overall positive impact as we scale.

About this Role:

As the Operations Manager at our fresh food production facility, you will play a critical leadership role in overseeing the daily execution of operations while driving long-term improvements across production, warehousing, quality assurance, and other plant functions. This role is at the heart of our facility's performance, ensuring that people, processes, and priorities are aligned to deliver safe, high-quality, and efficient food products every day.

You'll be responsible for leading and supporting a diverse team, fostering accountability, and enabling a culture of continuous improvement through Lean and operational excellence principles. In this hands-on leadership position, you'll work closely with department leads to coordinate activities, solve problems at the root cause, and optimize how teams work together-from receiving raw materials to delivering finished goods.

What You'll Do…

* Production Planning & Resource Optimization

* Collaborate with the Planning team to ensure production plans maximize the use of labor, materials, and equipment.

* Optimize production shift schedules to align with cost targets and capacity requirements.

* Evaluate and improve processing and assembly sequences to unlock additional throughput.

* Cross-Functional Alignment & Communication

* Design and implement systems that align interdepartmental operations around shared goals.

* Standardize key communication tools, including shift handoffs, escalation protocols, and information-sharing channels.

* Team Leadership & Labor Management

* Lead teams in applying best practices in labor planning, process execution, and team management.

* Drive adoption of Lean and Six Sigma principles through structured change management.

* Standardize hourly workforce practices across departments-including scheduling, timecard oversight, holiday coverage, and temporary staffing.

* Facility Growth & Capacity Planning

* Support plant growth through thoughtful shift planning, layout optimization, and scalable processes.

* Drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase facility efficiency and operational flexibility.

* Continuous Improvement & Cost Efficiency

* Identify and implement opportunities for cost reduction through Lean process improvements and capital investments.

* Partner with Procurement to realize plant-level ingredient savings and cost controls.

* Accountability & Performance Monitoring

* Establish systems of accountability to ensure execution of critical tasks related to quality, delivery, accuracy, and change control.

* Close operational gaps by reinforcing key control points that impact customer satisfaction and success.

Who You Are…

* Prior Ready-to-Eat Food Manufacturing experience preferred

* 5+ Years of experience managing production, warehouse, and other plant-related operations required

* Proven track record of managing teams

* Lean/ Six Sigma training preferred

* Demonstrated Continuous Improvement experience preferred

* Operations resource planning experience preferred (Labor, material, capacity etc)

The base salary range for this role is $115,000- $ 130,000. The base pay offered will be determined by factors such as experience, skills, training, certifications, education, and…