Cannabis Operations Leader — Scale & Optimize Growth

Vangst; City of Kingston (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Vangst is seeking an experienced operations executive to lead day-to-day operations for a growing New York cannabis company. The COO will align cultivation, post-harvest, packaging, inventory, sales, and finance to scale toward $1 million in monthly sales while maintaining product quality and regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate has deep regulated cannabis experience, a track record of building high-performing teams, and a hands-on leadership style that can drive accountability, KPI

Qualifications

• Experience in regulated cannabis industry, ideally within cultivation, manufacturing, processing, or a vertically integrated operation.
• Previous experience as a COO, VP of Operations, General Manager, or comparable senior operations executive.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multiple departments, manage teams, and develop strong department leaders.
• Strong understanding of the cannabis supply chain, from cultivation and harvest through post-harvest, packaging, inventory, and wholesale distribution.
• Experience overseeing post-harvest operations, cannabis packaging, and finished-goods production.
• Experience building or managing cannabis wholesale sales teams and driving dispensary account growth.
• Strong knowledge of inventory management, METRC, and regulated cannabis operations.
• Experience managing budgets, controlling operating expenses, and improving margins.
• Strong analytical skills, including KPI development, performance reporting, and data-driven decision-making.
• Ability to establish accountability, improve processes, and build scalable operating systems.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day operations and ensure effective coordination across departments.
• Develop the organizational structure, processes, and systems needed to support continued growth.
• Recruit, lead, and develop department leaders while establishing clear responsibilities, KPIs, and accountability.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement improvements that increase efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
• Manage operating expenses, staffing levels, and departmental budgets.
• Partner closely with ownership to communicate company performance, challenges, and growth opportunities.

Skills

Cannabis industry leadership

Operations leadership

Cross-functional leadership

KPI development

Data-driven decision making

Budget management

Process improvement

Strategic planning

Analytical thinking

Accountability building

Tools

METRC

Job description

Vangst is seeking an experienced operations executive to lead day-to-day operations for a growing New York cannabis company. The COO will align cultivation, post-harvest, packaging, inventory, sales, and finance to scale toward $1 million in monthly sales while maintaining product quality and regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate has deep regulated cannabis experience, a track record of building high-performing teams, and a hands-on leadership style that can drive accountability, KPI