Operations Manager (Ready-to-Heat)

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.

The Tempo Operations Manager will oversee end-to-end operations of Home Chef’s Ready to Heat (RTH) production, ensuring consistent quality, food safety, and execution against production targets. This individual will manage a cross-functional team of culinary and production professionals including Executive Chefs and Production Kitchen Supervisors. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, high-volume environment, excels in leadership and team development, and is passionate about operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

Detailed Responsibilities

Oversee Tempo Production and Kitchen Operations

Ensure seamless execution of all RTH production operations, including prep, cooking, cooling, portioning, traying, sealing, and labeling.

Coordinate production planning, ingredient readiness, and kitchen line staffing with plant leadership and warehouse teams.

Monitor adherence to production schedules and address obstacles in real time.

Lead and Develop Cross-Functional Teams

Leads by example and embodies Home Chef values of Customer First, Best-in-Class Team, Ownership, Pursue Excellence, and Deliver Happiness

Directly manage Executive Chef and Production Kitchen Manager

Provide leadership, coaching, and professional development across kitchen and production teams.

Foster a high-performance culture rooted in collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Drives strong communication across shifts and departments by ensuring huddles and daily communications are completed effectively

Drive Quality, Food Safety, and Compliance

Ensure strict compliance with food safety programs (GMP, HACCP, SQF).

Champion a “Safety First, Quality Always” culture across shifts.

Act as escalation point for quality and food safety concerns, coordinating with Quality and FSQA teams.

Partner with Corporate Teams

Collaborate with R&D chefs to support recipe rollouts, menu improvements, and ingredient transitions.

Partner with Procurement to address sourcing issues and ingredient changes.

Align with HR, Quality, and Engineering on process and system improvements.

Reporting, Tracking, and Continuous Improvement

Own daily/weekly reporting of production KPIs, team performance, and quality metrics.

Utilize Progress Tracker and other tools to track batch data, yields, and line performance.

Identify process gaps and lead implementation of SOPs and efficiencies with Continuous Improvement.

This position requires 5% travel.

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.

5+ years of leadership experience in high-volume food production, culinary operations, or manufacturing.

Strong understanding of HACCP and SQF requirements.

Demonstrated success in managing cross-functional production and culinary teams.

Experience with Microsoft Office, Google Suite, and production tracking tools.

Ability to manage in a cold production environment (~38°F).

Exceptional communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.

General high school degree, or equivalent, (e.g. GED).

More About Us

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

How We Work Together

• 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.

Be at Home at Home Chef

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 [email protected] .

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