About the role:

As our first Culinary Operations Manager, you will be responsible for bridging the gap between recipe development and production launch. Working primarily in our production facility, you will finalize recipes/formulas, establish preparation procedures, train the team, and oversee quality for all new product launches, all while providing quality assurance support and optimization for existing menu items. You will bring test kitchen concepts to life for our customers by understanding how to balance quality, consistency, and the unique flavors / ingredients that our customers have come to expect from our brand.

What kind of person are we looking for?

• Efficiency minded, process driven and detail oriented - all i's dotted and t's crossed!
• Reliable and approachable - you love to support a team
• Strong organization and project management skills
• Openly collaborative (big egos need not apply!)
• Hands on - you love working with equipment in a manufacturing/kitchen environment to enhance and scale recipes to delight our customers

In a typical week, you will...

• Work closely with our Recipe Development team to learn new recipes and provide insights, and technical/testing support
• Scale recipes to production formulas, and define and create needed documentation to ensure seamless execution (including finalizing production formula/procedures/tools, yields, nutrition documentation, final product spec sheets, etc.)
• Work with our Sourcing team to identify and evaluate ingredients that meet recipe specifications and gold standard targets
• Train our production team to prepare for launch
• Evaluate product quality during production and partner with our FSQA team to establish QA checkpoints and hold and/or correct any product that does not meet recipe specifications
• Oversee all sample preparation and pilot runs/scale-up production
• Run shelf life studies and sensory tests
• Troubleshoot existing products based on feedback (consumer or operations) in partnership with operations and recipe development teams to improve quality or efficiency

Minimum requirements:

• An insatiable passion for food and the Farmer's Fridge mission to improve people's lives through 24/7 access to fresh food
• A Culinology, and/or Food Science Degree, or equivalent background and experience
• 3-5 years experience in food production, commercialization, R&D, product development, and/or quality assurance for manufacturing or food service/retail
• Experience working under regulatory requirements (USDA and/or FDA) with food safety principles (ie. GMP, HACCP, SQF)
• The demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with people of all backgrounds, cultures, and levels of experience
• A pulse on food industry trends especially related to product development, functional ingredients, equipment technology and regulatory requirements
• The ability to operate in ambiguous situations and be flexible as the organization changes and grows - we are a new place every quarter!
• Ability to lift 40 lbs
• Ability to work in a climate-controlled environment (40 degrees Fahrenheit on production floor)

Benefits:

• Traditional Benefits -- Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Short Term Disability, LTD
• 10 paid holidays
• Generous PTO policy
• Daily Fridge Credits
• Monthly cell phone credit
• Spontaneous company events and community service activities
• Work with a phenomenal team of individuals that are constantly pushing the market boundaries to offer healthy food at the utmost convenience.

About Farmer's Fridge:

At Farmer's Fridge, we're committed to making wholesome, delicious food simply accessible, so people can live a little happier. We aim to remove the roadblocks to eating well on the go. That means sourcing top-notch ingredients, handcrafting meals in our kitchen, packing & delivering fresh to our network of Fridges and ensuring the best possible customer experience. Unpurchased items are regularly donated to local food depositories, providing responsibly sourced nutrition to community members in need. If you're passionate about our mission to change the food system for the better, our team just may be the right fit for you.

View our disclosures related to External Agencies and Applicants below.
https://www.farmersfridge.com/careerdisclosures