Food Production & Operations Manager
Square Fare
|
Long Island City, NY
Full-time
On-site
$
75,000 - 100,000 per year
Square Fare is a Long Island City-based early-stage company that is reinventing how to help people make healthy choices. We make fresh meals from scratch and that are individually-tailored to the needs of every client (calories, macros, food restrictions). We collaborate very closely with nutritionists, hospitals, fitness trainers and more to support their clients.
Job description
We're looking for a hands-on operations and food production leader to build our operating engine! You'll own a team producing ~1,500 personalized meals each week (and growing), including planning, plating, dispatch, catering, customer service, order management and continuous process improvement.
Schedule 5 day / week role
Required: Sunday (primary production + dispatch day). If you can do Saturday, that would be great too because good preparation on Saturday helps with smooth Sunday operations.
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 1500 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
Improve yields and profitability
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
A Happy team :)
Sounds like you? Reach out!
Compensation
this position is: salaried, $75,000 - $100,000
Role requirements
Minimum relevant experience: 4 years
Required skills
planning
plating
dispatch
catering
customer service
order management
continuous process improvement
Ensure consistency, portion accuracy, and presentation standards
Identify and resolve bottlenecks in real time
Oversee packaging, labeling, and order accuracy
Coordinate dispatch timing and routing readiness
Recruit, supervise and direct plating team (typically 8–12 staff right now)
Set the pace, assign roles, and maintain accountability
Continuously refine systems for speed, accuracy, and efficiency
Help implement SOPs and basic tracking systems
Required certifications or licenses
Food Handler's Certificate
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