Print Manager

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

Job summary

CookUnity is seeking a hands-on Print Manager to build and lead our new in-house print materials function at our Brooklyn facility. You will own commissioning, ramp-up, and daily performance of our Domino, Nilpeter, and Precision equipment while building the team, standards, and operating discipline required to scale.

This is not a desk-only role; you will troubleshoot with operators, develop people, create repeatable processes, and drive quality and throughput.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in commercial printing or high-volume packaging.
• 2+ years leading print teams and improving performance.
• Hands-on experience with digital inkjet, flexographic, offset, or hybrid print equipment.
• Knowledge of prepress workflows, PDFs, RIPs, and variable data workflows.
• Understanding of print defects and quality control processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the installation, commissioning, acceptance testing, start-up, and production ramp of CookUnity's print and finishing line.
• Own daily print operations end-to-end: production planning, job setup, prepress, material staging, make-ready, printing, folding, gluing, and handoff to downstream ops.
• Build the function from the ground up: define team structure, hiring, onboarding, and shift coverage.
• Coach operators on setup and changeovers; diagnose issues; lead structured troubleshooting.
• Establish controls for artwork versions, barcodes/QR codes, density, and finished-sleeve quality.
• Create and own KPIs: safety, uptime, throughput, yield, waste, and changeover time.
• Develop preventive maintenance plans and coordinate service and spare parts with vendors.
• Qualify materials with Packaging and suppliers to balance cost and print quality.
• Collaborate with Brand/Menu/Packaging to translate content into production-ready print jobs.
• Ensure safe operation of the line and compliance with CookUnity standards.

Skills

Print leadership

Team management

Digital inkjet

Prepress workflows

Print quality control

Tools

RIP workflows

Job description

About CookUnity:

Food has lost its soul to modern convenience. And with it, it has lost the power to nourish, inspire, and connect us. So in 2018, CookUnity was founded as the first-of-its-kind platform that connects the world with the source of truly great food: chefs. Today, CookUnity delivers 50 million meals a year from the industry's best chefs to homes all over the country. Fresh. Ready-to-eat. And crafted with the passion that nourishes body and soul.

Unwilling to stop there, CookUnity is expanding beyond delivery to become an ever-innovating marketplace focused on our singular mission: empower Chefs to nourish the world.

If that mission has you hungry in more ways than one, you've found the right job posting.

The role

We are looking for a hands-on Print Manager to build and lead CookUnity's new in-house printed materials function at our Brooklyn facility. This role will own the commissioning, ramp-up, and daily performance of our integrated Domino digital inkjet, Nilpeter material-handling, and Precision folding and gluing equipment while building the team, standards, and operating discipline required to scale.

This is not a role for someone who only wants to supervise from a desk. The right leader knows print production deeply, can troubleshoot alongside operators, and is equally energized by developing people, creating repeatable processes, and improving quality and throughput.

You will partner closely with Packaging, Automation, Operations, Engineering, Facilities, Food Safety & Quality, Brand, Menu, and our equipment partners to turn this investment into a state-of-the-art print operation. This is a rare opportunity to build a new capability within a high-growth company and define what excellence looks like from day one.

This is a full-time, on-site role based in Brooklyn, NY. Flexibility across shifts will be required during commissioning, ramp-up, and other critical operating periods.

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.

Requirements

• 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. Direct experience with high-speed web handling and converting equipment is strongly valued.
• 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,