Farmer’s Fridge was founded in Chicago in 2013 with the mission of making wholesome, delicious food easily accessible, so people can live a little happier and healthier. Our network of 300+ software-enabled smart Fridges vend handcrafted salads, grain bowls, sandwiches, and more. We are striving to change the food system from the ground up – one Fridge at a time. 
At our core, we are a team that cares – about the business, the impact our product makes, and about each other. We are data-driven, innovative, and quick to move on a good idea. Transparency and collaboration are key to our process, as Farmer’s Fridge is a fast-paced work environment where things are always evolving. We’re proud to have a tight-knit team where people bring their A game every day. 

Various team and company social events and town halls keep us connected to each other as well as aligned and focused on our short and long term goals. We’re opening Fridges weekly across the country and are looking for people with passion, ingenuity, and moxie to join our team and help us fulfill our mission of making healthy food as accessible as a candy bar!

We are looking for a Vice President of Production Operations to rapidly scale the fresh food manufacturing portion of our business. When we say fresh we mean it - two-day shelf life products, inventory that turns daily, every SKU produced every day with quantities that change day to day, and week to week, all while maintaining our best in class food safety programs. Oh, and we also rapidly innovate on our menu items as we attempt to create even more value for our customers.

We are proving that you can efficiently and safely produce high quality, super fresh food, at scale to drive change in the food system and empower people to eat happier and healthier.

This role will be the critical bridge between running day-to-day operations across multiple facilities, and building the processes and systems necessary to support our operations as we grow; all while building a strong team culture centered around collaboration, transparency, and humility.

What we're looking for in a VP of Production Operations

• Passionate about changing the food system for the better, and empowering people to make positive choices about their food. 
• A creative thinker with a growth mindset and beginner approach who thrives on hard problems that have never been solved before. Our play book doesn't exist, we need someone who can help write it, and not rely on running a past system.
• A strategic communicator, able to connect all members of the team to the company’s vision and short/long term goals. 
• Empathetic, fair, and consistent - morale of the team is just as important as the numbers the team can hit.
• Forward thinking - able to anticipate, identify, and remove sources of friction to empower their team during a time of rapid growth and constant change.

As a VP of Production Operations, you will...

• Scale fresh food production 10x or more within 2-3 years while maintaining or exceeding food safety/quality standards, cost (food/packaging/labor), and employee engagement targets.
• Open 1-2 new food production facilities within two years and introduce automation where appropriate while balancing the culinary integrity of our products.
• Establish, track, communicate, and improve on metrics related to safety, production, quality, and supply chain - every person on the team should own a number and know how they are performing toward it daily.
• Work closely with information systems and technology teams to implement and improve Ops/Tech systems to support growth, measure performance, and report progress.
• Design and build organizational structures within operations, which provide growth opportunities, cross-training, and avenues of succession at all levels of the team.
• Ensure daily production order fulfilled to within 0.05% with 100% of produced product allocated.
• Ensure food quality supports maintaining our best in class NPS score, and close feedback loops on QA and customer feedback.
• Project manage critical initiatives impacting production operations.
• Build flexible, scalable, systems and processes to support growth across production, supply chain, facility, and retail.
• Work with HR/employee engagement to build policies and programs for a rapidly growing hourly workforce.
• Ensure production facilities are well maintained, operating smoothly, and within budget.

What we're looking for in a VP of Production Operations:

• 15+ years of Operations experience, a portion of which spent in a leadership role in a manufacturing environment
• A degree in engineering, business, and/or operations management, and an MBA or graduate degree in related field
• Experience in a high-growth environment required, preferably in the food space
• Experience with managing both an exempt and non-exempt workforce
• The ability to operate in ambiguous situations and be flexible and nimble as the organization changes and grows - we are a new place every quarter!
• Very strong verbal and written communication skills

Benefits at Farmer's Fridge: 

• Traditional Benefits. Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability
• 10 paid floating holidays
• Generous paid time off policy
• Daily Fridge Credits. You can enjoy these flat rate credits at any Fridge.
• Monthly cell phone credit
• 401(k) + Company Match 
• Volunteer Opportunities. We love to engage with our community and participate in events that are aligned with our mission
• Regular team celebrations for company milestones and other special events

Farmer’s Fridge is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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