Warehouse/Inventory Specialist

VLCM•Logan, UT

1d•Onsite

About The Position

We're a fast-growing direct-to-consumer frozen-meal business, and the kitchen has outgrown a founder-built, mostly manual way of operating. We need an operations leader who builds systems. Someone who turns daily meal production and inventory into a predictable, measurable process, communicates proactively, and plans ahead so that what's ordered is what's made and shipped on time. Must be adept at providing consistent visibility to remote executive leadership. Strong hands-on production leadership is required, but the differentiator is systems thinking, planning, and communication, not just line speed. You own the kitchen - and just as importantly, you own the system that makes it run. This hands-on leadership role is responsible for daily meal production at our Logan facility: the people, the plan, the inventory, the food cost, the quality, and the food safety. Your core job is to make sure the right meals get made, staged, and shipped on time, every day - and to build the repeatable processes, inventory discipline, and clear communication that let production scale without chaos. You'll turn a largely manual, in-someone's-head operation into a documented, measurable one.

Requirements

A hands-on production or culinary operations leader from a high-volume kitchen, commissary, meal-prep, or food-manufacturing environment
A systems and process builder - you've turned chaotic or manual operations into documented, measurable ones
A proactive planner who anticipates demand and stages ahead so nothing critical runs out
A clear, proactive communicator who follows through on written and verbal direction precisely, asks questions, thinks critically and pushes back appropriately, escalates early, and keeps manager and stakeholders in the loop
Strong on inventory management and production planning, ideally with real inventory software experience
Comfortable owning facilities and light fleet logistics - coordinating repair vendors, working with a landlord, and keeping a delivery vehicle serviced and road-ready
Cost-conscious and fluent in food cost, labor efficiency, and waste
Food-safety certified (ServSafe / HACCP) or ready to certify quickly
A capable, dependable people leader who stays calm and decisive under pressure

Nice To Haves

Experience in direct-to-consumer / ecommerce food (frozen or fresh) and cold-chain shipping
Familiarity with Shopify and inventory tools (Fishbowl or similar)
Familiarity with AI tools like Claude, Gemini or ChatGPT and willingness to learn
Experience standing up SOPs or opening/scaling a commercial kitchen / production facility
Experience negotiating scope, price, delivery deadlines with vendors and managing them to contracts
Allergen-program or dietary-modification experience preferred

Responsibilities

Plan daily and weekly production to actual demand - open orders, sales trends, and modifications - so we never make the wrong mix or run out of what's already been ordered
Own inventory as a real discipline: raw goods, ingredients, packaging, and finished Ready-to-Ship (RTS) frozen meals - with accurate counts, par levels, and reorder triggers
Stand up and run a dependable inventory/production system (we use Shopify today and are evaluating a dedicated tool such as Fishbowl); make the numbers trustworthy enough to plan and ship from directly
Maintain freezer organization and staging so filling an order is "shop the shelf and ship," not a daily scavenger hunt
Own on-time fulfillment against our shipping SLA (currently 5–7 business days; the goal is pay-to-porch in 3 calendar days)
Ensure orders ship complete and correct, including allergen-safe orders - no partial shipments slipping out without a plan and tight coordination
Own shipping and packaging quality end-to-end: right box sizes, clean presentation, correct cold-chain (ice packs / dry ice), and inserts - the unboxing is a brand moment
Manage food cost / COGS to target (goal: under 40-50%) and control waste
Track and improve labor efficiency (cost per meal, meals per labor hour) and daily throughput as we scale toward higher daily volume
Own vendor relationships, ordering cadence, and price negotiation on ingredients, proteins, and packaging
Keep the facility running: schedule and manage building maintenance and repair vendors (HVAC/AC, refrigeration & walk-in freezer, plumbing, electrical, waste/sanitation, pest control), track tickets to resolution, and keep the space clean, safe, and audit-ready
Serve as the day-to-day point of contact with the landlord/property manager on building issues, shared-facility items, and repairs - coordinate access and follow through to closure
Own upkeep of the company delivery van/vehicle(s): routine maintenance and service scheduling, registration/insurance current, cleanliness, and reliable availability for deliveries and supply runs
Run a preventive-maintenance schedule with the kitchen crew - routine upkeep and checks on major equipment (walk-in/big freezer, refrigeration, ovens, and other kitchen equipment) so small issues get caught before they become failures
Anticipate facility and equipment needs before they cause downtime - the freezer, the AC, and the van going down all stop production or shipping
Implement and hold food-safety and sanitation standards (HACCP / ServSafe); keep the facility audit-ready
Own the allergen-safe workflow and accurate labeling - precision here protects customers and the brand
Hold recipe, portioning, and packaging standards across every shift
Schedule, hire, train, and lead the kitchen team and shift leads; build a dependable bench (including gig/temp staffing when needed)
Set the daily plan and communicate priorities clearly to the floor, then make sure they're executed
Delegate to Shift Leads to manage daily operations once systems are in place; enabling your consistent focus on managing COGS, reporting, strategic improvements and "working on the business," not just in the business
Provide reliable start-of-day and end-of-day visibility to remote leadership (production made, orders shipped, outstanding, out-of-SLA, inventory position)
Document SOPs so the operation doesn't live in one person's head
Communicate proactively and escalate early - flag problems and constraints before they become customer-facing failures, and coordinate across ops, R&D, and customer service