12th + University - Kitchen Lead

A Healthier Future Starts With You!

As a Kitchen Lead, you'll be an ambassador for our mission: building healthier communities by connecting people to real food. You're the backbone of our hot food preparationensuring every guest receives high-quality, properly cooked, and well-presented food through exceptional culinary skills, leadership, and operational awareness.

Join our movement to rewrite the future of fast food and grow your own future too. Top-performing Kitchen Leads can advance to General Manager in as little as 24 months.

What You'll Do:

Lead the kitchen with a focus on quality and consistency while ensuring smooth operations across all shifts.

Essential Functions

• Manual Precision: Measure, cut, organize, and ensure product standards are met.
• Operate Equipment: Use of kitchen tools and equipment (specifically ovens and other hot or electrical tools) safely and effectively, including setting, loading/unloading, and monitoring cooking times.
• Tactile Quality Checks: Conduct quality assessments requiring fine motor skills and tactile sensitivity.
• Team Communication: Engage in verbal communication with team members for coordination, coaching, and incident documentation.
• Performance Oversight: Observe and assess performance, ensuring operational quality and adherence to standards.
• Active Floor Leadership: Maintain a consistent physical presence, engaging in hands-on tasks and staying visible in the workspace.
• Task Coordination: Organize workflow, anticipate demand, and manage tasks efficiently.
• Execute Team Member Duties: Perform all essential functions and meet the minimum requirements as outlined in the Team Member role.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Kitchen or restaurant experience in high-volume settings with food safety knowledge
  • Food Handler or ServSafe certification a plus
• Strong time management, organization, and attention to detail with commitment to quality
• Effective communicator and team player who thrives in fast-paced environments
• Experience with kitchen management tools, inventory systems, and local/sustainable ingredients preferred

Minimum Requirements

• Meet all minimum requirements of the Team Member role
• Lifting: Handling various items, including cases/bags of produce + protein up to ~40 lbs
• Tactile Sensitivity: Use touch to assess quality and complete detail-oriented tasks
• Visual + Auditory Observation: Maintain attention to detail and environmental awareness during operations
• Must be available to work a minimum of 30 hours per week
• Must be 18 years of age or older
• Must be authorized to work in the United States

What Perks You'll Get

• Tips* (subject to location and role)
• Competitive wages (with raises for learning new skills)
• Medical, dental, and vision plan options for part-time and full-time team members*
• Paid vacation + wellness time
• Paid parental leave*
• 401k*
• Free healthy and delicious shift meals
• Access to our SG Swag Marketplace earn and buy custom Sweetgreen gear
• And much more

*Depending on eligibility

Who We Are

Sweetgreen is a plant-forward food company with a vision for a healthier tomorrowand we're just getting started. As we grow, we're committed to developing our people from restaurants to our support center so everyone can be part of the movement. When you join Sweetgreen, you don't just grow your own futureyou grow the planet's.

Sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.