Senior Construction Manager

CookUnity; Northern (KY); Remote; USD 140,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO

Stock Options Plan

Bi-annual performance bonus

Family leave

Compassionate Leave

CookUnity credits

Wellness subsidies

Job summary

CookUnity is seeking a Senior Construction Manager to lead capital projects across our growing network of production facilities. You will own initiatives from due diligence through commissioning and handoff, coordinating across Operations, Culinary, Food Safety, Facilities, and Finance to ensure facilities are production-ready.

The role requires direct food-production or commercial-kitchen construction experience, strong commercial judgment, and an entrepreneurial, hands-on approach.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience managing commercial construction projects.
• Direct experience delivering food-production facilities, commercial kitchens, food-manufacturing environments, or similar projects.
• Experience owning projects from preconstruction through closeout, with cost, schedule, and quality accountability.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple concurrent projects across markets, including expansions and retrofits.
• Own project budgets, schedules, risk assessments, permitting strategies, and execution plans.
• Manage projects through due diligence, design coordination, construction, commissioning, and handoff.
• Identify risks early and implement mitigation to protect milestones.
• Collaborate with Operations, Culinary, Food Safety, Facilities, and Finance to ensure readiness for launch.
• Oversee contractor and vendor teams and drive bidding, contracts, and cost reports.

Skills

Construction management

Food-production facilities

Budget management

Contract negotiation

Stakeholder management

Project scheduling

Permitting & compliance

Travel flexibility

Education

Bachelor's degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or related field

Tools

Procore

Bluebeam

MS Project

AutoCAD

Revit

PlanGrid

Job description

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.

About the role

As Senior Construction Manager, you will lead capital construction projects across CookUnity’s growing portfolio of food-production and operational facilities. You will own projects from site evaluation and preconstruction through permitting, construction, commissioning, and operational handoff.

This role requires someone with direct food-production or commercial-kitchen construction experience who can combine technical expertise, commercial judgment, and an entrepreneurial approach. You will manage multiple projects and partners simultaneously, identify risks early, and develop practical solutions that balance cost, quality, speed, and long-term operational needs.

This role is remote and requires approximately 50% travel.

What you’ll do

• Lead multiple concurrent projects across different markets, including expansions, retrofits, adaptive reuse projects, and new developments.
• Own project budgets, schedules, risk assessments, permitting strategies, and execution plans.
• Manage projects from due diligence and design coordination through construction, commissioning, closeout, and operational handoff.
• Identify risks and delays early and implement mitigation or recovery plans to maintain critical milestones.
• Partner with Operations, Culinary, Food Safety, Facilities, Automation, Supply Chain, Real Estate, Finance, and Executive Leadership to ensure facilities are ready for launch.
• Manage general contractors, subcontractors, consultants, vendors, landlords, and owner’s representatives throughout the project lifecycle.
• Lead RFPs, competitive bidding, bid leveling, contractor selection, and vendor due diligence.
• Review proposals, scopes of work, estimates, change orders, pay applications, and project-cost reports.
• Negotiate contracts and commercial terms while challenging pricing, contingencies, and proposed construction approaches.
• Identify value-engineering opportunities that improve cost, schedule, or performance without compromising safety, quality, or operational requirements.

Technical & Regulatory Oversight

• Review drawings, specifications, schedules, estimates, and technical submittals for constructibility, coordination, sequencing, and cost impacts.
• Coordinate work across architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire-protection, refrigeration, and specialty food-production systems.
• Partner with architects, engineers, and consultants to resolve technical issues and ensure designs support production workflows, food-safety requirements, and commercial-kitchen equipment.
• Coordinate permitting, plan reviews, inspections, utility requirements, regulatory approvals, and occupancy requirements with municipalities and authorities having jurisdiction.
• Oversee commissioning, punch-list completion, closeout documentation, and final operational handoff.

What we’re looking for

• 5–10 years of experience managing commercial construction projects.
• Direct experience delivering food-production facilities, commercial kitchens, food-manufacturing environments, or similar food and beverage projects.
• Experience owning projects from preconstruction and due diligence through construction, commissioning, turnover, and closeout.
• Proven success managing multiple projects, large construction budgets, schedules, contractors, and project risks.
• Strong experience with contractor procurement, competitive bidding, contract negotiation, change-order management, and value engineering.
• Working knowledge of architectural, civil, structural, and MEP construction, including refrigeration, kitchen equipment, utilities, or other food-production infrastructure.
• Experience coordinating permitting, inspections, health department requirements, regulatory approvals, and occupancy requirements.
• Ability to review and interpret construction drawings, specifications, estimates, schedules, and technical documentation.
• Strong communication, negotiation, commercial judgment, and stakeholder-management skills.
• A proactive, detail-oriented approach and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.
• Ability to travel approximately 50%.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience delivering large-scale food-production, commercial-kitchen, cold-storage, industrial-processing, fulfillment, or distribution facilities.
• Experience with design-build, construction-manager-at-risk, or other collaborative project-delivery models.
• Experience with tools such as Procore, Bluebeam, MS Project, AutoCAD, Revit, PlanGrid, or comparable platforms.
• Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management, Engineering, Architecture, or a related field.
• PE, RA, PMP, CCM, LEED, GC, or a comparable professional certification.

Why Join CookUnity?

You’ll have the opportunity to build the physical infrastructure powering the future of food. This role offers significant ownership, visibility, and impact, with the ability to shape a rapidly expanding national network of production facilities while working alongside teams that are redefining how consumers access chef-crafted meals.

• PTO policy and paid holidays off
• We grow, you grow: Stock Options Plan granted on Day 1.
• Eligible for bi-annual performance bonus
• Family leave: 12 weeks for primary caregiver and 6 weeks for secondary caregiver, fully paid
• Compassionate Leave: 3-5 days each time the need arises
• A generous amount of CookUnity credits to enjoy our amazing meals, added to your account, monthly
• Wellness perks: access to a nutritional coach and fitness subsidies to build a healthy lifestyle

Compensation

All final pay rates will be determined by candidates experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Compensation

All final pay rates will be determined by candidates experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Pay Range for this position

$140,000 — $175,000 USD

CookUnity is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to creating a community of inclusion and an environment free from discrimination or harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or physical or mental disability.