Director, IT & Enterprise

Job Description

Job Description

Founded in 2013, Home Chef is the leading meal solutions company with both a retail and online presence. Available online at homechef.com and in retail at more than 2,100 Kroger grocery stores, Home Chef is committed to inspiring and enabling more people to cook simple, delicious meals, no matter how busy they are.

In 2023, Home Chef introduced a new brand, Tempo! Tempo features a rotating selection of ready-to-heat meals delivered directly to your door. These meals are better-for-you versions of familiar favorites, designed to save you time and reduce stress while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Our Tempo menu includes options that are protein-packed, fiber-rich, calorie and carb conscious, keto-friendly, and dietitian-approved.

Similar to our recipes, we recognize that variety is the spice of life, and therefore, our employees also bring their uniqueness and color to our fantastic team. We're eager to work with humble team players and pragmatic next-level thinkers to innovate on Home Chef's offerings.

Home Chef's IT team is responsible for maintaining technology and enterprise systems that support our company goals and continued growth. The team supports our Chicago-based corporate office in addition to 4 national production facilities. Ideal candidates embody our tech team values: serving as proactive thought-partners to business stakeholders, encouraging their team to think bigger, taking full ownership of outcomes, and maintaining a fun, collaborative environment.

Detailed Responsibilities

Strategy & Planning:

• Establish and execute the multi-year IT strategy and enterprise roadmap aligned with Home Chef's growth objectives
• Lead enterprise AI, automation, and data governance strategies, establishing guidelines that encourage practical AI adoption while protecting corporate data
• Continually evaluate technical infrastructure, decommission redundant tools, and drive modern efficiency across systems
• Maintain clear communication channels to provide leadership visibility into project roadmaps, resource allocation, and initiative progress

Operations & Support:

• Maintain resilient networking infrastructure, targeting high uptime and proactively eliminating single points of failure across corporate and manufacturing locations
• Oversee plant-floor technology systems across 4 facilities, including custom pick-to-light platforms, WMS, timekeeping systems, and access controls
• Manage end-to-end hardware lifecycles for corporate laptops, plant-floor kiosks, scanning equipment, and network hardware from procurement through retirement
• Implement robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions for both corporate staff and plant-floor teams
• Oversee responsive helpdesk services, including structured on-call and off-hours support
• Partner with operational teams to plan, install, and validate technology for facility expansions and new site launches

Enterprise System Management:

• Maintain, integrate, and optimize key enterprise platforms (e.g., NetSuite, Google Workspace, Kronos, ADP, Concur, Greenhouse)
• Act as a technical advisor to cross-functional leaders during the evaluation, selection, and rollout of new software applications
• Oversee IT-specific spend within the enterprise software budget and negotiate vendor contracts
• Drive SaaS governance to eliminate license sprawl and optimize software spend
• Expand cross-platform automations and workflow optimizations (experience with Workato is a plus)

Security & Privacy:

• Develop, maintain, and enforce cybersecurity policies, Zero Trust controls, Incident Response (IR) protocols, and Disaster Recovery (DR) plans
• Collaborate with Kroger's corporate IT security team to ensure Home Chef systems adhere to enterprise security and compliance standards
• Conduct periodic vulnerability assessments, system audits, and penetration testing across corporate and plant environments
• Monitor changing data privacy regulations and partner with legal to maintain operational compliance

Team Management:

• Mentor, coach, and support professional growth for a team of IT administrators and support staff
• Establish clear performance metrics, operational SLAs, and professional standards for the IT department  
• Build strong collaborative relationships across all departments, positioning IT as a consultative problem-solver
• Continuously evaluate organizational structure to ensure proper coverage across corporate offices and distributed production facilities

Key Traits and Behaviors 

• Taking Ownership : We do whatever is necessary to get the job done - no job is too big or too small. We are willing to do any task at any level - and get our hands dirty (at a meal solutions company, sometimes we all have to do the dishes!). We work with speed, setting realistic but aggressive timelines. We do not allow lack of perfect to get in the way of progress.
• Pragmatic, Next-level Thinker : We explore new methodologies and strategies and are not constrained by conventional thinking or 'the way we have always done it'. We take calculated risks in order to learn and innovate with speed, or 'test and learn'. We pride ourselves on using data and insights to drive practical decisions in our fast-paced environment.
• Humble Team Player :  We work collaboratively and effectively with colleagues, always putting company and team needs ahead of personal achievement. We are open to different points of view when weighing a decision, pulling in different people to provide fresh and unique perspectives.

Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability needed for this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.

• 3+ years experience running an IT team (10+ team members; manufacturing/operations/food environment a plus)
• Experience managing $1M+ software budgets
• Experience evaluating, negotiating, and implementing enterprise software contracts
• Flexibility to travel up to 20% of the time 
• Flexibility to be on-call to support plant technology & employee needs
• Up to one year of post-high school training such as in a business school, community college or vocational training

Perks and benefits

• Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer - enter promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order!
• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
• Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
• 401k program
• Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses

We are humble team players.
We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves - and respectfully listen to and accept input.

We are pragmatic next-level thinkers.
We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.

We take ownership.
We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results-driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.

We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you'll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.

We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.

Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at View email address on ziprecruiter.com.

Home Chef offers the base salary range as posted below, with the exact offer depending on factors such as geographic location, experience, skills, and internal equity. While compensation is within the provided range, it is not typical for offers to be made at the upper end. In addition to base salary, Home Chef provides a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare coverage, 401k match, and paid time off.

Illinois Pay Range

$160,000—$185,000 USD

To view the California Applicant Notice click here