Product Manager, Kitchen Sequencing + Optimization

Wonder Group, INC; United States; Hybrid; USD 194,000 - 203,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity option

401(k)

Health insurance

Paid time off

Parental leave

Meal discounts

Job summary

Wonder Group, INC is seeking a Kitchen Sequencing Product Manager to lead the lifecycle from ideation to deployment, focusing on kitchen optimization and sequencing across 20+ restaurants and 400+ menu items. You will partner with engineers, data scientists, and operations to translate needs into scalable features and metrics.

You'll own strategy, roadmap, and KPIs for sequencing, collaborate across teams to reduce wait times, and drive impact with agile rituals in a fast-paced startup

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5+ years of product ownership experience.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with data science projects and ML projects/ products (optimizations).
• Experience with operations research techniques and simulations is a plus.
• Experience with logistics, ETA, Kitchen or supply chain concepts is a plus.
• SQL and Python skills are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the product strategy, roadmap, and vision for sequencing and kitchen optimization.
• Owns the product features for sequencing, including defining scope, prioritizing development, and measuring impact.
• Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, and operations researchers to build sequencing algorithms and data pipelines.
• Translate product requirements and bugs into tickets and drive deployment of new features.
• Partner with a dedicated data analyst to track KPIs and analyze rollout impact.
• Lead agile rituals (sprint planning, standups, backlog grooming) and drive cross-functional alignment.

Skills

Product ownership

Quantitative analysis

Data science projects

Operations research

Logistics concepts

SQL

Python

Leadership

Job description

About The Opportunity

We’re looking for a detail-oriented self-starter to join our Product team, with a specific focus on our kitchen sequencing initiative. Our locations serve over 20+ restaurants, 400+ menu items, all with varying cook times and equipment utilization. The goal then for the Kitchen Sequencing Product Manager is to reduce the time in which food is sitting complete waiting for other items in the order and the amount of time a courier must wait to pick up the food once the order is complete. You will partner with other product managers, engineers, operations researchers, and cross-functional leaders to build and optimize for these metrics which ultimately will lead to higher customer satisfaction. You’ll own the product lifecycle from ideation to deployment, working to translate operational needs into technical requirements.

The Impact

• High visibility area necessitating Executive level stakeholder management, must be able to communicate effectively to all levels of the organization
• Develop and execute the product strategy, roadmap, and vision for sequencing, a kitchen optimization product line
• Owns the product features for sequencing (a kitchen optimization product line), including defining the scope, prioritizing development, and measuring impact
• Work closely with Kitchen Display Team to influence features that may drive better adherence from teams in the field and improve predictability to improve the inputs to improve the output.
• Bring in signals that our sequencing system needs (but doesn't have), reduce variability or accuracy of the signals it currently has to improve its ability to accurately forecast the kitchen.
• Develops a deep understanding of the trade-offs between competing KPIs (e.g., expo sit time, throughput, and customer promise time) to propose solutions and roadmap initiatives that explicitly consider the optimal frontier
• Collaborates with engineers and operations researchers to build and improve existing sequencing algorithms, simulator capabilities, and data pipelines
• Translates product requirements and bugs into JIRA tickets and collaborates with our engineers to build and deploy new features
• Partners closely with a dedicated data analyst to track the success of feature rollouts, conduct ad hoc analyses to uncover new opportunities, and establish clear KPIs for all initiatives
• Strategic Finance Experience: someone to support business cases, financial analysis to connect Operational KPIs to business impact and support tradeoff decision making
• Ensures clear communication of sequencing changes to Operations and in-field teams, and collaborates with them to define new processes and ensure adherence
• Develops a strong grasp of the operational landscape and competitive solutions in kitchen automation and logistics
• Work closely with operations to help improve courier hand-off time at the front of house
• Leads the team in agile scrum rituals like sprint planning, daily standups, and backlog grooming

What You Bring to the Table

The ideal candidate has experience building quality user experiences from the ground up, preferably in a supply chain, logistics, or robotics-integrated environment. Has an inventive and creative "do-what-it-takes" spirit, demonstrates a bias for action, and the ability to make progress with limited resources. This position requires someone with a solid technical background and an ability to partner cross-functionally. As a startup in hyper-growth, experience operating and thriving in small, fast-paced environments will set you up for success, allowing you to be comfortable in our hands-on environment where change is the only constant.

• Minimum of 5+ years of product ownership experience
• Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Must have experience working with data science project and ML projects/ products (optimizations)
• Experience with operations research techniques and simulations is a plus
• Experience with logistics, ETA, Kitchen or supply chain concepts a plus
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment
• Self-starter, ability to work autonomously
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and influence stakeholders at all levels including surfacing up tradeoffs between teams and to drive consensus
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities
• Constant attention to detail
• SQL, Python skills a plus

Our hybrid model requires 3 days a week in the office. That said, many team members choose to come in more often to take advantage of in-person collaboration and connection. You’re welcome—and encouraged—to be in the office up to 5 days a week if it works for you.

Salary

NYC Base Salary: $193,500-$203,000 per year.

Wonder uses geographic-specific salary structures, which means the salary offered may vary depending on where the job is located. The final salary offer will take into account various factors, such as the candidate's skills, education, training, credentials, and experience.

Benefits

• competitive compensation package with equity and a 401(k)
• a choice of medical, dental, and vision plans
• company paid short and long term disability coverage
• paid time off including flexible time off for exempt employees
• paid vacation for non-exempt employees
• paid sick leave in compliance with applicable law
• paid parental leave
• discounted meals and exclusive perks across the Wonder family of brands

Eligibility, effective dates, and available plan options vary by employment classification and location. To learn more about benefits for this role, visit our Careers page here.

A Final Note

At Wonder, we build the best teams by hiring with an objective lens — evaluating people for their potential while championing diversity, equity, and inclusion. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, marital status, disability, or any other protected class. As part of our commitment to fair and compliant hiring practices, Wonder participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to confirm employment eligibility. If you need an accommodation during the interview process, please let your recruiter know.

About Wonder

Wonder is the mealtime platform built to feed every craving without compromise. With options including dine-in, delivery, pickup, and meal kits, Wonder makes every mealtime effortless. Through the Wonder app, customers can combine hundreds of dishes from exclusive, chef-developed concepts in a single order so everyone gets exactly what they’re craving. Wonder’s portfolio of brands includes meal-kit pioneer Blue Apron, leading online food marketplaces Grubhub and Seamless, and Emmy®-winning media company Tastemade. Together, we're united by a single mission: to make great food more accessible. There has never been a more exciting time to join our world-class team. We’ve brought together people who are changing the way the world eats — with grit, optimism, care, and a little bit of salt, and pepper. And we're just getting started.