Warehouse/Inventory Manager

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 ~23 weeks)

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 57 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,"