Senior Warehouse Operations Manager
About The Position
As the Sr Warehouse Operations Manager for CookUnity Chicago, you will lead all aspects of warehouse operations at our most dynamic and high-volume facilities. You’ll be responsible for both day-to-day operational excellence and the strategic development of systems and processes that drive scalability, efficiency, and food safety. This role demands a strong leader who can own and optimize core functions such as receiving, inventory control, ingredient distribution, and order staging. You'll also serve as a critical cross-functional partner to teams across Culinary, Fulfillment, Procurement, and Technology to ensure materials and ingredients flow smoothly into production and finished goods move efficiently into last-mile distribution. This is a high-impact role for someone passionate about building systems, developing people, and driving continuous improvement across warehouse and supply chain operations.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or related field; or equivalent operational experience in fast-paced warehouse settings.
- Minimum of 8 years of experience in warehouse, inventory, or supply chain operations, including at least 5 years in a leadership role.
- Demonstrated success managing warehouse teams in food production, manufacturing, or high-volume fulfillment environments.
- Strong understanding of HACCP, warehouse safety protocols, and food handling requirements.
- Experience with ERP, WMS, and MRP platforms (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Infor) and the ability to lead system optimization or rollouts.
- Proven ability to manage site budgets, labor plans, and operational metrics.
- Skilled in continuous improvement practices and structured problem-solving.
- Ability to thrive in a hands-on leadership role within a dynamic, scaling environment.
Nice To Haves
- Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred due to the makeup of our team.
Responsibilities
- Oversee all warehouse operations at our Chicago, IL facility, including receiving, storage, inventory management, ingredient picking, and distribution to chef and Operations teams.
- Manage a team of salaried and hourly associates and leaders (25+ direct and indirect reports)
- Serve as the WMS and ERP system lead for the Chicago site, ensuring alignment between software tools and operational workflows.
- Develop and execute warehouse layouts, racking strategies, and inventory zoning to maximize space and improve material flow.
- Lead a team of Managers, Supervisors, Leads, and Associates, fostering a culture of accountability, safety, and high performance.
- Own KPIs such as inventory accuracy, order cycle time, spoilage, and labor utilization; develop and implement strategies to improve these metrics.
- Partner with Culinary and Fulfillment to align on ingredient readiness, finished goods hand-off, and quality standards.
- Manage warehouse labor planning and the site’s operational budget; ensure labor productivity is continuously optimized.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives using Lean or Six Sigma methodologies targeting material handling, storage optimization, and data accuracy.
- Ensure compliance with food safety protocols (e.g., HACCP), sanitation practices, and warehouse safety standards.
- Provide warehouse input into S&OP and site capacity planning processes.
- Travel occasionally (5–10%) to support company-wide initiatives and collaborate with peers at other CookUnity sites.
Benefits
- 🩺 Health Insurance coverage
- ⛱ PTO policy and paid sick days
- 📈 We grow, you grow: Stock Options Plan granted on Day 1.
- 🌟 Eligible for bi-annual performance bonus
- 🐣 Family leave fully paid
- 🕯 Compassionate Leave: 3-5 days each time the need arises
- 🥘 A generous amount of CookUnity credits to enjoy our amazing meals, added to your account, monthly
- 🧘🏽♀️ Wellness perks: access to fitness subsidies to build a healthy lifestyle
- 👩🏾🏫 Personalized Spanish coach
- 🌟 Awesome opportunity to join a company that is looking to change how we eat and how chefs work!
- 🗓️ 5- year Sabbatical: After 5 years with CookUnity, you get a 4-week paid sabbatical
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Number of Employees
1-10 employees
