Central Kitchen Operations & Distribution Lead

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

Job summary

Orbital Kitchens is hiring a Production & Distribution Facility Manager to lead a new central facility. You will own inventory, warehousing, and distribution while supervising production output, quality, and scheduling. This foundational role involves building SOPs, systems, and a team as we scale from several locations to 20+.

You will manage end-to-end inventory, vendor relations, and logistics, ensuring food safety, accuracy, and efficiency across all processes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a warehouse, inventory, distribution, or commissary/central kitchen management role.
• Experience managing inventory systems and controlling shrinkage/waste at scale.
• Experience managing logistics/delivery operations to multiple end locations.
• Strong working knowledge of food safety standards (ServSafe, HACCP).
• Comfortable with inventory/ERP software and building out KPI dashboards.
• Proven people management across multi-functional teams (10+ direct/indirect reports).

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end inventory accuracy across raw materials, packaging, and finished goods.
• Design and maintain inventory control systems (par levels, FIFO/FEFO, cycle counts).
• Manage receiving, quality checks, invoice reconciliation, and putaway processes.
• Minimize shrinkage, spoilage, and food waste through disciplined storage and rotation.
• Track KPIs and report on inventory turns, days-on-hand, waste, stockouts, and variance.
• Own vendor relationships and escalation of supply issues; coordinate with Finance for counts.
• Build and manage distribution schedules to supply multiple kitchen locations.
• Oversee fleet/delivery team scheduling and maintenance coordination.
• Oversee daily production scheduling; ensure HACCP and portioning standards.
• Develop SOPs for receiving, storage, production handoff, and distribution.
• Hire, train, and manage a multi-functional team; set KPIs and conduct reviews.
• Maintain facility cost control and ensure compliance with health/safety inspections.

Skills

Inventory management

People management

Food safety

Logistics coordination

ERP software

Tools

ERP systems

Reporting dashboards

Route optimization tools

Job description

Orbital Kitchens is hiring a Production & Distribution Facility Manager to lead a new central facility. You will own inventory, warehousing, and distribution while supervising production output, quality, and scheduling. This foundational role involves building SOPs, systems, and a team as we scale from several locations to 20+.

You will manage end-to-end inventory, vendor relations, and logistics, ensuring food safety, accuracy, and efficiency across all processes.