Associate Operations Manager Los Angeles, CA

LAB37; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 93,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k)

Equity potential

Bonus eligibility

Onsite five days a week

Job summary

Lab37 Robotics in Los Angeles is seeking an Associate Operations Manager to drive day-to-day kitchen performance, coach frontline leaders, and scale operations as we expand. This hands-on role spends significant time in our kitchens, ensuring safety, efficiency, and consistent standards across locations.

You will lead labor planning, cost control, inventory, health and safety, and onboarding of new kitchen staff while partnering with the Head of Operations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in restaurant/foodservice operations.
• Experience managing multiple locations is preferred.
• Knowledge of labor, food cost, inventory and safety basics.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day operational performance across LA kitchens.
• Coach shift leads and kitchen leadership to build high-performance culture.
• Ensure SOPs for cleaning, safety, opening/closing, prep, inventory, and order quality.
• Manage location labor including staffing, scheduling, overtime and costs.
• Monitor KPIs and implement corrective actions; escalate as needed.

Skills

Operations management

Labor scheduling

People management

KPIs & performance

Coaching frontline teams

Job description

Lab37 Robotics , is a technology company focused on the development and deployment of robots designed specifically for direct-to-customer food production. Our mission is to revolutionize the food industry by creating innovative robotic solutions that enhance efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction. We are passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver cutting-edge products that meet the evolving needs of our clients.

About the role

As an Associate Operations Manager, you will play a key role in the day-to-day performance of our Los Angeles kitchen operations. You will work closely with the Head of Operations to ensure our kitchens run safely, efficiently, and consistently while developing frontline leaders.

This is a hands-on field operations role. You will spend significant time in our kitchens, coaching leaders, solving problems, ensuring standards are followed, and driving accountability across locations. As Lab37 grows, this role will expand in scope and responsibility.

What you’ll do

• Own day-to-day operational performance across assigned Los Angeles kitchens and serve as the first point of escalation for location-level issues.
• Manage and coach Shift Leads, Floating Managers, and other kitchen leadership while building a high-performance culture.
• Ensure SOPs are followed across cleaning, food safety, opening/closing, prep, equipment care, inventory, and order quality.
• Own location-level labor management, including staffing, scheduling, overtime, productivity, and labor costs.
• Help manage food cost, inventory, waste, purchasing, and other controllable operating costs.
• Coordinate facilities and equipment issues, vendors, repairs, and preventive maintenance.
• Spend regular time onsite observing execution, identifying gaps, coaching employees, and stepping in when needed.
• Monitor location KPIs, identify underperformance, and implement corrective action plans.
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and development of kitchen leaders and hourly employees.
• Support new kitchen launches and help stabilize locations after opening.
• Identify recurring operational issues and recommend practical improvements to leadership.
• Maintain clear communication and follow-through to ensure issues are resolved.
• Escalate issues requiring senior leadership judgment, material spend, or broader strategic decisions.

What we are looking for

• 5+ years of experience in restaurant, foodservice, QSR, fast-casual, commissary, or similar operations.
• Experience managing multiple restaurant or foodservice locations is strongly preferred.
• Experience owning or supporting labor, food cost, staffing, manager development, facilities, inventory, health and safety, and location KPIs.
• Strong understanding of labor scheduling, productivity, and labor-cost management.
• Working knowledge of food cost, inventory, waste, purchasing, and basic restaurant/unit economics.
• Experience maintaining food-safety, cleanliness, and operational standards.
• Strong people-management skills, including coaching, accountability, performance management, and leader development.
• Comfortable using operational data and KPIs to identify problems and make decisions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfortable learning scheduling, timekeeping, inventory, purchasing, POS/order-management, and SOP/task-management systems.
• New-store or kitchen-opening experience is a strong plus.
• Comfortable working onsite and being hands-on with frontline teams.
• Demand for online food delivery is growing really fast! In the last 5 years, just in the US, the overall market has expanded 10X from $10B to $100B, and could expand to $500bn- $1T by 2030.
• Changing the restaurant industry: You’ll be part of a team that helps restaurants succeed in online food delivery.
• Collaborative environment: You will receive support and guidance from experienced colleagues and managers, helping you to learn, grow and achieve your goals, and you’ll work closely with other teams to ensure our customer’s success.

What else you need to know

This role is based in our Los Angelesoffice. As a company driven by invention and continuous change - we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

The base salary range for this role is $93,000 - $110,00 per year.

Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards and an annual performance-based bonus.

Benefits Summary (USA Full-Time Exempt Employees):

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (multiple plans, incl. HSA options).
• Company-paid life and disability insurance (short- and long-term).
• Voluntary insurance: accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity.
• Optional supplemental life insurance for self, spouse, and children.
• 401(k).
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare, Dependent Care, Commuter)
• Discretionary vacation days
• 8 paid holidays per year

Ready to join us as we serve those who serve others?

#LI-Onsite

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As set forth in Lab37’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

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A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

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