About Tastebuds Popcorn
Founded in 2011, Tastebuds Popcorn and has grown into an established local brand, with multiple awards and a strong customer following across the Carolinas. We operate a small-batch manufacturing center that produces more than 150+ flavors across cheese/savory, candy/caramel, and chocolate/ premium lines, supplying our network of retail stores locations, licensees, private label wholesale accounts, and a growing CPG business. We have custom commercial equipment, proven recipes, real customer demand, and the kind of legitimate systems-building work that most operations roles only aspire to. The operation is active and hands-on, with real production volume and complexity — it now needs the right leader to bring structure, consistency, and know-how to enable scaling without sacrificing quality.
The Honest Pitch
Most operations management jobs are about maintaining a system someone else built. This one is different. Two key team members recently left, including the previous Kitchen Manager. The owner is now committed to rebuilding the operation properly — documented SOPs, real training systems, accountability metrics, and a kitchen that doesn't depend on any one person's memory. We've started this work and need someone to own it from here forward.
You will be the person who turns a kitchen that runs on tribal knowledge into one that runs on systems. If that sounds like a chore, this isn't the job. If that sounds like your kind of project, keep reading.
Why This Role Exists
We've made it through years of growth on the strength of individual operators and the owner's direct involvement. That's no longer sustainable. We need an operations manager whose primary job is building the systems — recipes, processes, training, quality, inventory — that let the kitchen run with less owner involvement and less risk of single-points-of-failure. This role is roughly 60% systems work and 40% on-the-floor leadership.
What You'll Own
- Recipe and process documentation. Drive the completion of recipe cards and process SOPs for every active product. Build the standard format. Make sure documentation gets used and updated, not filed and forgotten.
- Training and onboarding. Design how new operators learn the kitchen. Build a 30-60-90 day onboarding program. Cross-train existing team members so no section has a single point of failure.
- Production scheduling. Plan weekly production based on customer orders, par levels, and equipment capacity. Communicate the plan to the team. Adjust when reality changes.
- Quality and consistency. Define what "good" looks like for every product. Build the checks that catch deviations. Own the standard.
- Inventory and ordering. Manage a 200+ SKU inventory across ~25 suppliers. Build par levels and reorder triggers. Vet new suppliers when needed. Reduce waste from over-ordering or expiration.
- Catalog rationalization. We're reducing our flavor catalog from ~150 to a sustainable ~80–90. Help us decide what stays, what goes, and how we communicate changes to licensees and wholesale customers.
- Team management. Direct supervision of the Production Lead and section operators (currently 3–4 people). Hire, train, and develop the team. Run a daily stand-up and weekly review.
- KPIs and continuous improvement. Define the 3–5 metrics that matter (on-time fulfillment, batch yield, inventory turns, training completion). Report them weekly. Use them to improve.
- Food safety and compliance. Own ServSafe practices, allergen protocols, and any future certifications (PCQUI, HACCP, etc.) we pursue.
What You Bring
Required:
- 4+ years in food manufacturing, commercial kitchen operations, or similar production environment (we are not a restaurant).
- 2+ years in a supervisory or management role with direct reports (people leadership skills are critical)
- Demonstrated experience writing SOPs, training documents, or operational documentation — not just "I followed SOPs," but "I built them"
- Strong organizational and written communication skills (we'll ask for a writing sample)
- Comfort with spreadsheets for inventory, scheduling, and basic KPIs
- ServSafe Manager certification (or obtain within 60 days — we cover the cost)
- Willingness to spend 30–40% of your time on the production floor, especially during the first 90 days
Strongly preferred:
- Confectionery, candy, or kettle-based food production experience
- Experience leading a kitchen or production team through a systems rebuild or major process change
- PCQUI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) certification, HACCP certification or willingness to obtain one within 6 months (we cover the cost).
- Background in small-batch or artisan food manufacturing (not just large-scale CPG)
- Experience with private label or wholesale customer fulfillment
What Success Looks Like
In 90 days:
- Recipe SOPs completed for the top 60–80 active flavors
- Section-level process SOPs in place (open, close, sanitation, equipment startup)
- Production schedule moved from ad hoc to planned weekly
- Cross-training plan in motion — no section has a single point of failure
- Weekly KPI report being delivered
In 6 months:
- New hires can be onboarded with a documented program, not informal shadowing
- Inventory carrying cost reduced and stockouts rare
- Catalog rationalization complete and communicated to customers
- Owner spending less than 5 hours per week on kitchen operations
What We Offer
- Base salary based on experience with bonus incentives
- Direct access to ownership — no bureaucracy, decisions made fast
- Real ownership of an operation, not a slice of someone else's domain
- A clear, finite project (build the systems) AND ongoing leadership opportunity
- A team that wants to be led well
- The chance to point at a real, tangible thing and say "I built that"
- Expected hours: 30 – 45 per week
