Kitchen Manager

Kitchen ManagerLocation: Chicago, IL (Fulton Market)Employment Type: Full-Time (30-40 hours)About OMAKAIOMAKAI is a traditional sushi restaurant with one aim: to be known for blowing people's minds. Everything we do rests on three guarantees: warm rice for contrast, crispy nori for texture, and kind service. Every guest, every visit.
We serve high-quality traditional sushi at an accessible price, and we are growing across South Florida and expanding to other cities nationally with our full-service restaurants and hand roll bars. We aim to hold ourselves to a five-star hotel standard in a casual dining room, which means the details matter here more than they do in most restaurants.
We treat every guest with genuine kindness and focus heavily on execution. Our team runs on accountability, reliability, and doing what we say we will do.
Position OverviewWe are seeking an exceptional Kitchen Manager with at least three years of sushi or Japanese kitchen experience, including at least one year leading a back-of-house team. Strong knife skills and working knowledge of prep, slicing, nigiri, and hand roll stations are required.
The Kitchen Manager runs the kitchen and is accountable for its people, its numbers, and its standards. You will lead, manage, and hold the entire back-of-house team and the Assistant Kitchen Manager accountable, set the tone for performance and culture on every shift, own training and development for all back-of-house staff, drive the kitchen's key metrics including food cost, labor, and waste, oversee inventory, safety, and sanitation compliance, and step into Assistant Kitchen Manager duties whenever the kitchen needs it. We are looking for a skilled sushi chef who leads by example, pulls up the recipe to coach rather than to shame, spots operational problems early, and knows what excellence looks like on a busy line.
ResponsibilitiesLeadership and Team AccountabilityLead, manage, and hold the entire back-of-house team and the Assistant Kitchen Manager accountable every shift, setting the tone for performance, culture, and standardsLead by example on the line, stepping onto a station when the kitchen needs itCoach in the moment by pulling up the recipe and showing a chef rather than shaming themProtect team morale and motivation, and surface operational issues to upper management earlyKitchen Operations and Station OversightPerform every Assistant Kitchen Manager responsibility when needed, running back-of-house in their absenceOversee kitchen operations across prep, service, and breakdown, with every station set up correctly before service, running smoothly during, and cleaned and restocked afterwardEnforce recipe adherence to OMAKAI standards, correcting a deviation in technique, portioning, or presentation before it reaches the pass, and re-sequencing the line when a station falls behind or an ingredient runs shortTraining and DevelopmentLead onboarding and ongoing development for all back-of-house staff, assigning shadow shifts and tracking checklist completionOwn training standards and sign off on staff readiness before a chef works a station aloneTrain the team on recipes and standard operating procedures, and identify growth opportunities for high performersPerformance and Scorecard ResultsTrack and drive kitchen performance against key metrics, including food cost, labor, waste, and operational targetsReview results with the team regularly and course correct when the numbers are off trackOwn the food cost and waste numbers, and report results and operational risks to upper management early with practical solutions ready to executeOperational Standards and ComplianceOversee inventory counts, tracking, and reporting, and flag discrepancies or shortages promptlyReceive deliveries, verify orders against invoices, and place vendor orders on assigned daysEnforce safety protocols and sanitation compliance so health, safety, and operational standards are met consistently, with violations addressed immediatelyQualificationsThree years of sushi or Japanese kitchen experience required, including at least one year in a back-of-house management or lead roleExperience leading, coaching, and holding a kitchen team accountable during peak volumeKnife skills and station knowledge across prep, slicing, nigiri, and hand rollsFood manager and sexual harassment prevention certifications required, and all can be obtained during training. We cover the cost of both certificates once you pass the 90-day probation markFull open availability, including nights, weekends, and holidaysAble to learn and memorize every recipe and standard operating procedure in detail, including ingredients, cuts, portioning, and platingComfortable with scheduling, labor and inventory tracking, ordering, and reporting, including basic math under pressureCommunicates clearly and calmly with the team and upper management, even during a rushHigh school diploma or equivalent preferred but not requiredReliable transportation to and from t