Food Production & Operations Manager

Square Fare is a healthy meal delivery company with a kitchen based in Long Island City. We make meals that are individually-tailored to the needs of every client and so need to be precise (many clients have allergies) and fast (we operate under tight deadlines). We're looking for a hands-on food-production leader to build the operating engine of a growing NYC meal-delivery company. You'll own a team producing ~1,000 personalized meals each week, including plating production planning, kitchen operations, staffing, inventory, plating, dispatch, catering, customer service and continuous process improvement.

Schedule

• 5 day / week role
• Required: Saturday & Sunday (primary production + dispatch days)

Compensation

• $85-95K , based on experience
• + Performance-based incentives tied to:
  • Order accuracy
  • On-time dispatch
  • Waste reduction
  • Team efficiency
  • Client retention

Role Overview

This is both a floor leadership role and a desk job. You’ll be responsible for ensuring smooth, efficient execution from prep through final dispatch during kitchen operations time. You’ll act as the bridge between kitchen staff, packers, and delivery coordination. During the week, you'll be developing our catering business and handling back end customer support and our order management system.

Key Responsibilities Production & Plating Oversight

• Manage plating/assembly line for high-volume meal prep (we do about 1000 meals on weekends and growing)
• Ensure consistency, portion accuracy, and presentation standards
• Identify and resolve bottlenecks in real time

Dispatch & Logistics

• Oversee packaging, labeling, and order accuracy
• Coordinate dispatch timing and routing readiness
• Ensure all orders leave complete and on schedule

Team Leadership

• Recruit, supervise and direct plating team (typically 8–12 staff right now)
• Set the pace, assign roles, and maintain accountability
• Step in wherever needed to keep operations flowing

Process Improvement

• Continuously refine systems for speed, accuracy, and efficiency
• Help implement SOPs and basic tracking systems

Catering

• Coordinate production with kitchen team
• Handle all execution

Customer Support and Order Management

• Handle all communications with clients
• Flag errors in team meeting and come up with solutions
• Oversee order management portal including inputting of new dishes, managing client subscriptions, order adjustments, and running all reports

Ideal Candidate

• 4+ years in food operations, catering, meal prep, or high-volume kitchen environments
• Strong organizational and leadership skills under pressure
• Experience managing small teams in fast-paced settings
• Detail-oriented with a focus on consistency and execution
• Very comfortable with data and spreadsheets
• Comfortable with food safety standards and compliance and have Food Handler's Certificate
• Comfortable being on your feet and actively working during shifts

Nice to Have

• Experience with meal delivery or meal prep businesses
• Some corporate catering sales experience

What Success Looks Like

• Smooth, on-time weekend production
• Low error rate
• Efficient team flow with minimal downtime
• Controlled food and packaging waste
• Growing catering sales

How to Apply

Send your resume with a brief note about why this role interests you.