Director Culinary Operations

gategroup•San Francisco, CA

7d•$150,000 - $160,000

About The Position

The Director Culinary Operations is the senior culinary and production leader for a high-volume, complex airline catering operation that functions as an industrial-scale food manufacturing department. The role oversees the safe, compliant, efficient, and cost-effective production of high-quality meals for multiple airline customers, while leading teams, enforcing process controls, and driving data-informed continuous improvement. It combines culinary excellence, industrial engineering, food safety, and operational leadership to ensure outputs meet regulatory requirements, airline specifications, and internal quality standards. The Director owns end-to-end food production planning, including the kitchen Master Production Schedule and production sequencing, and uses ERP/MRP systems to coordinate material planning, capacity, and execution. The position is accountable for operational performance and quality across food production and assembly, and collaborates with planning, procurement, logistics, quality, engineering, maintenance, commercial teams, and airline customers. Travel is required up to 10%.

Requirements

At least 10 years of hands-on leadership experience.
Experience in large-scale food manufacturing or production environments is strongly preferred.
Experience in airline catering or high-volume institutional catering.
Proven experience as a Production Manager or Culinary Operations Leader.
Experience implementing Lean food production/manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies.
Demonstrated experience with ERP/MRP systems, including MPS and production planning.
Deep knowledge of food safety systems, including HACCP, GMP, and FDA/USDA compliance.
Knowledge of industrial-scale food production processes, production planning, and scheduling.
Strong understanding of KPIs and operational financial drivers, inventory control, and cost control.
Hands-on capability with batch control, process standardization, and quality systems.
Ability to stand, bend, lift, and move intermittently during shifts of 10 or more hours.
Ability to lift, push, pull, and move products, equipment, and supplies weighing more than 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Process Engineering, Food Engineering, or a related field is preferred.
Culinary qualifications are a plus but are not mandatory.

Responsibilities

Ensure compliance with Health Department requirements, USDA and FDA regulations, HACCP, GMP, and airline-specific protocols.
Partner with QA Support teams to design, execute, and continuously improve sanitation programs, including cleaning schedules, validation, and verification.
Manage allergen controls, prevent cross-contamination, and ensure traceability and control throughout the production lifecycle.
Lead complex, high-volume, multi-line and multi-shift production operations across kitchens and assembly lines.
Establish standardized production processes to improve consistency and reduce variability.
Optimize kitchen throughput and efficiency, and ensure on-time, in-full delivery to assembly.
Own end-to-end food production planning, including the Master Production Schedule and detailed production sequencing.
Use ERP/MRP systems to ensure accurate material planning, capacity alignment, and real-time execution tracking.
Control batch sheets and work orders, maintaining data accuracy and operational discipline.
Implement process controls to reduce variability, improve predictability, and strengthen system performance.
Coordinate with planning, procurement, and logistics to synchronize the supply chain from raw materials to finished products.
Implement Total Quality Management principles across food production and assembly.
Establish and enforce quality standards for recipes, specifications, procedures, portion control, and product consistency.
Monitor products to ensure they meet quality standards before reaching customers, and drive continuous improvement.
Own operational KPIs, including food cost, labor cost and productivity, food waste, yield accuracy, portion consistency, and on-time delivery.
Identify performance trends and gaps and drive corrective and preventive actions using data-informed performance management.
Enforce FIFO practices and manage food cost, waste, recipe yield accuracy, and inventory variances.
Build a high-performance culture centered on accountability, discipline, and continuous improvement.
Design and implement training programs covering food safety, process adherence, and operational excellence.
Develop future leaders and maintain succession pipelines.
Apply modern food processing techniques, including sous-vide, hot-fill processing, pasteurization, and shelf-life extension methods.
Collaborate with Supply Chain Planning, Buyers, Quality Assurance, Process Engineering, Maintenance, Commercial teams, airline customers, and corporate functions.
Align production capabilities with customer requirements and contribute to strategic initiatives, innovation, and transformation.