Brooklyn Print Operations Lead — Build a World-Class Line

CookUnity; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance coverage

401(k) plan

Stock Options Plan granted on Day 1

Biannual performance bonus

PTO policy and paid sick days

5-year sabbatical: four‑week paid sabb

Paid family leave

Compassionate leave: 3–5 days

Job summary

CookUnity is seeking a hands‑on Print Manager to build and lead an in‑house printed materials function in Brooklyn. You’ll own commissioning, ramp‑up, and daily performance of Domino, Nilpeter, and Precision equipment while creating a strong team and repeatable processes.

This role requires hands‑on leadership, troubleshooting alongside operators, and a focus on quality, safety, and continuous improvement as we scale production.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in commercial printing, folding‑carton production, packaging print, or a comparable high‑volume print environment.
• 2+ years of experience leading print operators, technicians, or a production team, with a track record of developing people and improving performance.
• Hands‑on experience operating and troubleshooting digital inkjet, flexographic, offset, or hybrid print equipment.
• Working knowledge of prepress and digital print workflows, including PDFs, RIPs, job setup, color and density control, variable data, barcode and QR‑code quality, and artwork version management.
• Strong understanding of print defects, registration, substrate behavior, ink adhesion and curing, folding and gluing quality, and structured root‑cause problem‑solving.

Responsibilities

• Lead the installation, commissioning, acceptance testing, start‑up, and production ramp of CookUnity’s integrated Domino, Nilpeter, and Precision print and finishing line.
• Own daily print operations end to end, including production planning, job setup, prepress and file readiness, material staging, make‑ready, printing, folding and gluing, quality release, and handoff to downstream operations.
• Build the function from the ground up, including team structure, hiring, onboarding, shift coverage, skills matrices, training and certification, standard work, and a culture of accountability.
• Remain close to the equipment by coaching operators on setup and changeovers, diagnosing print and converting issues, and leading structured troubleshooting when performance falls short.
• Establish rigorous controls for artwork versions, job recipes, variable data, barcodes and QR codes, registration, print density, adhesion, folding, gluing, and finished‑sleeve quality.
• Create and own operating KPIs, including safety, uptime/OEE, throughput, schedule attainment, yield, waste, rework, changeover time, maintenance performance, and cost per sleeve.
• Develop preventive and autonomous maintenance routines, maintain critical spare‑parts and consumables strategies, and coordinate vendor service, escalation, and warranty support.
• Partner with Packaging and suppliers to qualify paperboard, coatings, inks, adhesives, and other consumables while balancing print quality, runnability, food‑packaging requirements, availability, and cost.
• Partner with Brand, Menu, Culinary, Packaging, and Technology teams to translate a high volume of changing content into accurate, production‑ready print jobs.
• Own the safe operation of the line and work area, including machine guarding, lockout/tagout, UV‑ink and chemical handling, ventilation requirements, housekeeping, training, and compliance with CookUnity standards and applicable regulations.
• Manage the operating budget and inventory for inks, flush, adhesives, paperboard, spare parts, tooling, and other print‑room supplies.
• Build a continuous‑improvement roadmap that increases capacity, quality, reliability, and labor efficiency while helping CookUnity determine how the print capability should expand over time.

Skills

Print production

Leadership

Inkjet printing

Prepress workflows

Quality & safety

Tools

Domino digital inkjet

Nilpeter equipment

Precision folder/gluers

Job description

CookUnity is seeking a hands‑on Print Manager to build and lead an in‑house printed materials function in Brooklyn. You’ll own commissioning, ramp‑up, and daily performance of Domino, Nilpeter, and Precision equipment while creating a strong team and repeatable processes.

This role requires hands‑on leadership, troubleshooting alongside operators, and a focus on quality, safety, and continuous improvement as we scale production.