Chief Operating Officer

Industry: Food Manufacturing & Food Distribution Position Overview We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Chief Operating Officer to lead and scale our food manufacturing and distribution operations from Long Island City, NY. The COO will own day-to-day operational performance across production, warehousing, logistics, quality assurance, food safety, procurement, and fulfillment. This executive will translate company strategy into disciplined execution—improving margins, ensuring reliable customer service, developing high-performing teams, and maintaining rigorous regulatory and food-safety standards in a fast-paced environment. Key Responsibilities Lead all operational functions, including food production, packaging, warehouse operations, inventory, transportation, procurement, maintenance, quality assurance, and customer fulfillment. Develop and execute operating plans that support growth, profitability, capacity expansion, and service-level objectives. Establish and monitor KPIs for productivity, yield, labor efficiency, waste, on-time/in-full delivery, inventory accuracy, order accuracy, food safety, and operating costs. Ensure compliance with applicable food-safety, sanitation, quality, labeling, employee-safety, and regulatory requirements. Partner with the Quality Assurance and Food Safety teams to strengthen preventive controls, audit readiness, traceability, recall preparedness, and continuous-improvement programs. Optimize manufacturing schedules, production capacity, inventory levels, warehouse layout, and distribution routes. Lead supplier, co-packer, freight, packaging, and equipment relationships; negotiate operational terms and improve supply continuity. Build scalable SOPs, systems, and controls across production and distribution operations. Work closely with Sales, Finance, Product Development, and executive leadership to align demand planning, production planning, customer commitments, and profitability goals. Identify and implement process improvements, automation opportunities, technology investments, and cost-reduction initiatives. Recruit, coach, and retain operational leaders; create a culture of accountability, safety, quality, urgency, and continuous improvement. Manage capital projects, facility upgrades, equipment purchases, and operational expansion initiatives. Report operational results, risks, priorities, and strategic recommendations to the CEO and leadership team. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in operations, supply chain, engineering, business, food science, or a related field; advanced degree preferred. 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in food manufacturing, food distribution, consumer packaged goods, or a closely related perishable-goods environment. At least 5 years in a senior operations leadership role, such as VP of Operations, General Manager, Plant Manager, or COO. Demonstrated experience overseeing both manufacturing and distribution/fulfillment operations. Strong knowledge of food safety, quality systems, sanitation, traceability, inventory control, cold-chain operations, and regulatory compliance. Proven track record of improving operational performance, reducing waste and costs, increasing capacity, and strengthening customer service. Experience with ERP, warehouse-management, production-planning, and inventory-management systems. Financial fluency, including budgeting, P&L ownership, labor planning, capital expenditure evaluation, and margin improvement. Exceptional leadership, communication, negotiation, and change-management skills. Ability to work on-site in Long Island City and travel periodically to suppliers, customers, warehouses, or other company facilities as needed. Preferred Qualifications Experience with USDA-, FDA-, SQF-, HACCP-, or GFSI-regulated operations. Experience managing refrigerated, frozen, or other temperature-sensitive food products. Background in direct-store delivery, wholesale, retail, e-commerce, foodservice, or multi-channel distribution. Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous-improvement certification. Experience leading a rapidly growing, founder-led, or entrepreneurial food business. What Success Looks Like Within the first 12 months, the COO will have established a clear operating cadence, improved visibility into core performance metrics, strengthened food-safety and quality controls, improved production and fulfillment reliability, and built an operational foundation capable of supporting profitable growth. #J-18808-Ljbffr Elevated Executive Recruiting