Culinary Operations Manager

NICE TO MEET YOU!

FELFEL is New York’s hottest food tech scale-up, changing the way people eat at work. Our smart fridges bring the city’s best local chefs and trendiest restaurants straight to the office—every single day. We’re all about great food, smart tech, and top-notch hospitality, making office meals something to look forward to.

Let’s meet up and see if we’re the right match to shake up the New York food scene together!

IN SHORT

We’re looking for a Culinary Operations Manager to build an ever-evolving food portfolio. You take dishes from idea to fridge in weeks—so our customers enjoy up to 8 new dishes every week. You have a culinary background, cooking skills, project management expertise, food safety know-how, and great communication skills to collaborate with our partner chefs and push innovation forward.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Daily Operations Ownership

• INVENTORY CONTROL/PURCHASING: You manage accurate inventory and product rotation to reduce waste, and support purchasing and stock maintenance across food, packaging, and non-consumables with the VP of Operations and Director of Culinary.
• QUALITY CONTROL: You oversee all supplier deliveries, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations, perform daily quality control checks to uphold the highest standards in taste, presentation, and food safety, and diligently verify the accuracy of quantities and costs from suppliers.
• SUPPLIER AD HOC MANAGEMENT: You manage ad hoc issues with suppliers including quality adjustments for next days.
• MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONS TEAM: You manage a team of a mix of FELFEL warehouse staff, staff drivers, independent contractors and 3^rd party logistics partners. You oversee training, scheduling and daily mentorship for all warehouse logistics staff and drivers.
• DISPATCH: You lead the AM distribution team (Tuesday-Friday shift starts at 4am), coordinating drivers and logistics partners to ensure accurate, timely deliveries that meet all health and food safety standards.
• FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY: You collaborate with the Food Safety Team and production partners to uphold exceptional food safety and quality standards, ensure cold chain integrity, and maintain clean, well-functioning transport and storage equipment.

Food Development

• SOURCING: You support the Direct of Food in souring packaged goods such as drinks and snacks and eventually help coordinate our fresh food suppliers. You keep a a landscape of all potential supplier in the differen core categories.
• PACKAGING: you also help us to create the packaging library and know what options are available at what price for what items.
• FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY:  Style and photograph all new items to be showcased on the FELFEL App and on the POS.

WHO YOU ARE

• Experience: You have worked in the culinary industry, manufacturing and/or retail for a minimum of 5 years. You have at least 2 years of purchasing and inventory control experience and you have managed a staff of at least 5 people. You should also be familiar with most common tech tools like Google or ERP softwares. Finally, a driver license is a must!
• You have a passion for food and local community:  You enjoy eating and experimenting with a diverse range of foods and flavors. You track food trends, have a nuanced understanding of food culture and food and dietary preferences of our target market in NYC as well as the local Tri-State Area.  You have a strong grasp of the NYC culinary landscape (restaurants, chefs, producers, purveyors, special food regulations etc.). 
• You have experience in the NY food scene: Culinary education (recipe creation, taste profiles, culinary vocabulary) is preferred, NY Food Handlers and or Serv-Safe Certification is preferred. You have worked in the food & hospitality industry in multiple capacities and bring a Front-of-House customer-centric mindset and an appreciation for the challenges of Back-of-House teams.
• You have warehouse related experience: You know what it is like to work in a warehouse and walk in cooler. You have experience in shipping/receiving and working with a diverse team of hourly staff, contractors and vendors.
• You have P&L, costing and pricing experience: You approach the subject of food with a business mindset to complement your culinary experience.  You consider costs, margins, and how to create efficiencies without sacrificing on quality or taste. You enjoy and excel at working with and negotiating with vendors and partners.
• You are self motivated while at the same time, being a team player: We are a small but growing team that is in need of a solution-oriented “make-it-happen” kind of person
• Excellent communicator: You possess strong writing and public speaking skills. 
• You are authorized to work in the United States. Currently FELFEL does not provide visa sponsorship. All applicants must be able to provide legal proof of their eligibility to work in the U.S.

OUR BENEFITS*

• Lots of delicious food in our own office FELFEL fridge
• The finest Italian coffee and tea, thanks to Gavetti, our innovative office coffee machine which will be launching soon to customers in NYC!
• Central location: Our office is located in the heart of New York City in Flatiron, within easy access to public transit, the Union Square Greenmarket, Eataly and other sources of culinary inspiration. Our Operations Center is in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
• 20 days of PTO and 10 holidays (some flexible)
• Comprehensive and affordable healthcare insurance options
• 401k plan
• Paid parental leave

If this sounds like the job for you, then APPLY NOW, we are looking forward to hearing from you! Optional: Send us three ideas of what you would like to see in the FELFEL!

*may change over time, these are a sample of what we have now.

MORE ABOUT US

FELFEL is a Swiss family-owned scale-up founded in 2013. The company is known for its ‘FELFEL’ smart fridges and its coffee brand ‘Gavetti’ for the office food market. In 2024 FELFEL launched as an innovative foodtech pioneer in the US. The company now serves around 1,000 locations in Switzerland and New York and employs around 150 employees in total.

www.felfel.com

FELFEL Values

We value hospitality, excellence, and community. We also believe diversity in experience only contributes to team growth and success. Every employee has the right to work in surroundings that are free from all forms of discrimination and harassment. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all applicants without regard to race, religion, age, gender, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, or veteran’s status.

Discover more at: felfel.com

Start: April 1st, 2025

Employment level: Full Time overtime exempt. 

Pay: The pay range for this role, based on experience is $105,000-$115,000/Year

Location: New York City/ Brooklyn 

Salary : $105,000 - $115,000