Restaurant Experience Manager

Sonic; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Inspire is seeking a Restaurant Experience Manager to elevate guest experience by identifying and testing equipment, smallwares, design elements, and operating procedures that boost speed, accuracy, quality, and consistency across Sonic brands.

You will partner with Operations, Training, Design, Construction, and field teams to translate pain points into practical, scalable solutions and reusable procedures. Travel up to 25% is required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in restaurant operations, equipment, design, or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent field experience.
• Strong understanding of restaurant workflows and layouts.
• Experience evaluating equipment, smallwares, or process changes.
• Ability to translate field observations into actionable recommendations.
• Knowledge of health and safety regulations and equipment specs.
• Excellent problem solving, project management, and communication skills.
• Experience managing direct reports is preferred.
• Willingness to travel up to 25%.

Responsibilities

• Identify bottlenecks and friction points impacting guest experience.
• Develop and improve procedures to be more repeatable and guest-focused.
• Create tools, standards, checklists, and field-ready procedures.
• Prioritize improvements using field feedback and pilot data.
• Evaluate equipment and layout changes for impact on staff and guests.
• Provide design and operational guidance to field teams.
• Collaborate with Operations, Training, Design, and Construction teams.
• Track rollout progress and adjust based on results.

Skills

Operations experience

Process improvement

Equipment testing

Layout optimization

Field support

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Role Focus: Improve Guest Experience by strengthening operational processes, procedures, equipment choices, and restaurant design so every drive-in can execute faster, more consistently, and with fewer points of friction for guests and team members.The Restaurant Experience Manager is responsible for improving the restaurant experience by identifying, testing, and implementing equipment, smallwares, design elements, and operating procedures that strengthen speed, accuracy, quality, ease of execution, and overall Guest Experience. This role connects operational process design with practical restaurant execution, ensuring that equipment decisions and layout recommendations directly support consistent brand standards, easier team routines, and a better guest outcome in both new and existing locations.The Manager will work cross-functionally with Operations, Culinary, Equipment, Construction, Design, Training, and field teams to translate restaurant pain points into clear process improvements, testable solutions, and scalable procedures. This position will report to the Senior Director of Restaurant Experience.Key ResponsibilitiesGuest Experience & Operational Process ImprovementIdentify operational friction points that negatively impact the guest experience, including bottlenecks in speed of service, order accuracy, product quality, team movement, communication, and handoff routines.Develop and improve restaurant processes and procedures that make execution easier, more repeatable, and more guest-focused across the system.Partner with Operations and Training to turn process improvements into practical tools, standards, checklists, and field-ready procedures.Use field feedback, operational observations, guest-impact measures, and pilot learnings to prioritize improvements that most directly improve consistency and guest satisfaction.Evaluate whether new equipment, smallwares, and layout changes improve both the team member experience and the guest experience before recommending broader rollout.Equipment & Smallware Testing and EvaluationLead testing, evaluation, and selection of restaurant equipment and smallwares that improve operational efficiency, product quality, guest consistency, and ease of execution.Build pilot plans that define the guest-experience problem being solved, the operational procedure being tested, success measures, field feedback needs, and rollout readiness criteria.Partner with vendors to ensure equipment meets performance, safety, durability, maintainability, and restaurant-operator usability standards.Create clear equipment and smallware specifications, operating procedures, documentation, and training support for field teams.Assess equipment and smallware solutions for impact on labor flow, speed, accuracy, food quality, cleaning routines, and service consistency.Restaurant Design Review and ApprovalReview restaurant layout designs to ensure alignment with operational best practices, brand standards, and guest-experience priorities.Collaborate with Design, Construction, Operations, and field teams to improve workstations, kitchen flow, storage, staging, guest handoff points, and team travel paths.Recommend spatial planning, equipment placement, and ergonomic improvements that reduce complexity and support consistent procedure execution.Ensure design decisions support speed, accuracy, food quality, team safety, cleanliness, accessibility, and a smooth guest journey.Help translate design decisions into operating implications so field teams understand how layouts should be used to improve execution.Field Support, Standards, and Continuous ImprovementServe as a subject matter expert to field teams by providing guidance on equipment, layouts, workflow, and procedure improvements that support better restaurant execution.Conduct site visits to observe operational routines, identify root causes of guest-experience gaps, and recommend practical improvements.Document field learnings and convert them into repeatable recommendations that can be shared across Operations, Training, Design, and Construction teams.Support rollout planning by identifying risks, procedure changes, training needs, operational dependencies, and field adoption barriers.Track whether implemented changes are delivering the intended operational and guest-experience improvements, and recommend adjustments when results are inconsistent.CollaborationWork closely with cross-functional teams including Operations, Facilities, Construction, Culinary, Training, and Design to align on strategic initiatives.Bring a guest-first operational lens to equipment, design, and process decisions so recommendations are grounded in restaurant execution and guest impact.Stay current on industry trends, innovations, and emerging technologies in restaurant equipment, layout, and operational process design.Qualifications and Skills5+ years of experience in restaurant operations, equipment, design, field support, process improvement, or a related field.Bachelor’s degree or equivalent field experience.Strong understanding of restaurant workflows, kitchen layouts, operational procedures, and execution standards.Experience evaluating equipment, smallwares, layout changes, or process improvements in a restaurant environment.Ability to translate field observations and guest-experience opportunities into clear operational recommendations.Knowledge of health and safety regulations, foodservice equipment specifications, and industry best practices.Strong problem-solving, project management, documentation, and communication skills.Ability to work collaboratively with internal teams, external vendors, operators, and field leaders.Experience managing direct reports is preferred.Willingness to travel for site visits, field support, testing, pilots, and industry events.Travel: Up to 25%Inspire is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 33,300 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide. We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences.