Senior Manager, Temperature-Controlled Logistics

Kinder's•Walnut Creek, CA

1h•$160,000 - $180,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Kinder’s is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Temperature-Controlled Logistics to own the transportation strategy, 4PL partnership and carrier base behind our fastest-growing business: frozen and chilled foods. Kinder’s is a fast-growing company working hard to bring amazing flavor solutions that are as exciting and delicious as they are simple to use to our consumers, whether they are experienced cooks or first-timers in the kitchen. We are obsessed with quality and 100% committed to being the most innovative company in any market we serve. Our mission is to bring awesome flavor to consumers whenever and wherever they are looking for it, and in whatever they are looking for it in (seasonings, sauces, rubs, marinades, frozen favorites, or anything else we can come up with). We have experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years, but we think we are just getting started. Today, we have over 100 products sold nationwide at retailers including Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway and many more. While we have been around for 80 years, we are now a top 5 brand in the U.S. in multiple flavor categories including seasoning blends, BBQ sauce, and wing sauce. To keep our momentum rolling, we need more passionate builders to join our team and help us reach every kitchen across the U.S. and maybe even the world.

Requirements

8+ years of transportation or logistics experience, with at least 3 years in a strategic or leadership role in frozen, refrigerated or perishable food
Proven experience owning a 3PL, 4PL or managed transportation relationship – including contracts, service levels and performance governance
Deep knowledge of refrigerated truckload markets, reefer carrier procurement and freight bid management
Working knowledge of FSMA Sanitary Transportation requirements, temperature monitoring and cold-chain practices
Experience meeting the routing, compliance and in-stock expectations of large retail and club customers such as Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club
Strong commercial and financial acumen – comfortable negotiating, building cost models and making trade-offs in the face of incomplete information
Data-driven mindset with hands-on experience using TMS, visibility and BI tools (e.g., Tableau or Power BI); familiarity with SAP a plus
Working knowledge of AI tools (e.g., generative AI assistants, machine-learning forecasting, AI-enabled TMS and visibility platforms) and how to apply them to transportation decisions, analysis and partner management
Excellent communication and influence skills with executives, partners, co-manufacturers and cross-functional teams
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered

Responsibilities

Develop and own the multi-year transportation strategy for the Frozen and Chilled businesses, built to scale with rapid growth in volume, items and customers.
Design the temperature-controlled network end to end – co-manufacturer pickups, cold storage and warehouse moves, and outbound to retail and club distribution centers – balancing service, cost, product integrity and resilience.
Shape mode and network decisions for refrigerated freight, including multi-stop, consolidation and dedicated capacity where it creates advantage.
Translate commercial plans, launches, promotions and seasonal peaks into refrigerated capacity plans well ahead of demand.
Bring a point of view to cross-functional leaders on how temperature-controlled transportation can protect in-stock performance and enable growth.
Serve as the accountable owner of our temperature-controlled 4PL relationship: scope of work, service level agreements, governance cadence and quarterly business reviews.
Set clear expectations for what the partner executes day to day – tendering, appointment scheduling, temperature tracking, exception handling, carrier payment, freight audit and claims – and hold them accountable for delivering it.
Negotiate and manage partner agreements, including service levels, service credits, cold-chain and food safety requirements, rate and cost transparency, data access and audit rights.
Direct the partner to operate within the Kinder’s routing guide and over Kinder’s-contracted carriers, and push them for continuous improvement ideas, not just reports.
Manage cold storage and other partners supporting frozen and chilled freight, ensuring they work as one system with the 4PL.
Own the refrigerated carrier portfolio – asset carriers and brokers – including carrier qualification, contracting, onboarding and performance management.
Lead temperature-controlled freight bids with our procurement partner and build the routing guide from the results.
Build strategic relationships with core reefer carriers so Kinder’s has reliable capacity through peak seasons and tight markets.
Manage accessorial, detention and fuel programs with the added complexity of refrigerated operations (pre-cool, continuous run, multi-temp).
Own transportation compliance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule, in partnership with Quality.
Set temperature requirements, monitoring and data standards for partners and carriers, and make sure every load is traceable from pickup to delivery.
Lead investigation and resolution of temperature excursions, product damage and rejected loads, and drive root-cause fixes with partners, carriers and co-manufacturers.
Work with co-manufacturers and cold storage partners on loading, dock and handoff practices that protect product quality.
Partner with Logistics Analytics to define and review carrier and partner scorecards, cost-to-serve and network performance, and act on what the data shows.
Own the temperature-controlled freight budget and forecast in partnership with Finance; identify and deliver cost improvements without compromising service or product integrity.
Protect customer service, in-stock performance and retailer compliance for our frozen business, especially with our largest retail partners.
Champion visibility and temperature-monitoring technology, and make sure partner systems give Kinder’s the data it needs.
Apply AI and automation to transportation work – rate and capacity analysis, bid evaluation, temperature-exception alerting, partner reporting and forecasting – and push our partners to do the same.
Work with Supply Planning, Quality, Sales, Customer Operations and Finance so transportation decisions support the overall business, not just freight cost.
Provide direction and escalation support to the Logistics Operations team on frozen and chilled pre-shipment work and partner handoffs.
Lead with Kinder’s values – Humility, Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Curiosity and Results – asking great questions and owning outcomes without excuses.
Anticipate refrigerated capacity, rate, weather and equipment risk and build contingency plans with partners, carriers and cold storage providers.
Lead response to disruptions and cold-chain failures, always doing what is right for consumers, customers and the business over the long term.