Senior Manager, Transportation (Ambient Logistics)
Kinder's
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Job summary
Kinder’s is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Ambient Logistics to own the transportation strategy behind our shelf-stable products. You’ll manage the 4PL partner, carrier base, and network design, working closely with Sales, Supply Planning, Finance, and Operations.
In this strategic role, you’ll lead multi-year plans, optimize inbound/outbound flows, drive cost transparency, and ensure on-time delivery across retail partners.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of transportation or logistics experience, with at least 3 years in a strategic or leadership role in food, beverage or consumer goods.
- Experience owning a 3PL/4PL or managed transportation relationship – contracts, service levels and governance.
- Deep knowledge of dry van truckload and LTL markets, carrier procurement and freight bid management.
- Track record of designing or improving transportation networks that scaled with fast growth.
- Experience meeting routing and compliance requirements of large retail customers such as Walmart, Costco and Kroger.
- Strong commercial and financial acumen – cost models and trade-offs.
- Data-driven with hands-on experience using TMS and BI tools; SAP a plus.
- Working knowledge of AI tools in transportation and forecasting.
- Excellent communication and influence skills with executives and cross-functional teams.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred; equivalent experience considered.
Responsibilities
- Own multi-year ambient transportation strategy aligned with growth plans.
- Design the ambient network end-to-end – inbound, consolidation, warehouse replenishment and outbound.
- Drive mode strategy and decide lanes Kinder’s contracts directly versus through partners.
- Translate plans into capacity and budget ahead of demand.
- Own ambient 4PL relationship and governance, and push for improvements.
- Negotiate partner agreements and ensure performance.
- Lead ambient freight bids and build routing guides from results.
- Build relationships with core carriers for reliable capacity.
- Collaborate with Sales, Supply Planning, Finance and Analytics teams.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
Walnut Creek, CA or Bentonville, AR
What’s it like to work at Kinder’s? Well, there’s a lot of snacking and geeking out over what we all cooked over the weekend. Beyond that, there’s also plenty of hard work. Because we don’t just like flavor, we’re obsessed with it.
With over 100 products sold nationwide, we’re now a top-five brand in multiple flavor categories at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, and more. We’re not your typical CPG company. Privately held and founder-led, we like to think of ourselves as a pirate ship in a sea of cruise ships . Our crew is adventurous and fearless. We chart our own course and chase big ideas to make food unforgettable.
As we expand globally and approach $1 billion in revenue, we need more smart-and-scrappy, flavor-obsessed people to come aboard. If you’re looking for a place where you can see the real impact of your work... this is it!Every day, you’ll be part of a journey to add flavor to millions of meals and lives.
Kinder’s is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Ambient Logistics to own the transportation strategy, 4PL partnership and carrier base behind our shelf-stable business: the seasonings, rubs, sauces and marinades that built our brand.
We are a fast-growing company working hard to bring amazing flavor solutions that are as exciting and delicious as they are simple to use to our consumers, whether they are experienced cooks or first-timers in the kitchen. We are obsessed with quality and 100% committed to being the most innovative company in any market we serve. Our mission is to bring awesome flavor to consumers whenever and wherever they are looking for it, and in whatever they are looking for it in (seasonings, sauces, rubs, marinades, frozen favorites, or anything else we can come up with). We have experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years, but we think we are just getting started.
Today, we have over 100 products sold nationwide at retailers including Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway and many more. While we have been around for 80 years, we are now a top 5 brand in the U.S. in multiple flavor categories including seasoning blends, BBQ sauce, and wing sauce. To keep our momentum rolling, we need more passionate builders to join our team and help us reach every kitchen across the U.S. and maybe even the world.
As the Senior Manager, Ambient Logistics, you will be the single accountable owner of how our Dry and Liquid freight moves – from more than a dozen co-manufacturers and internal plants, through our warehouses, to retail and club customers nationwide. This is a strategic role. You won’t run loads day to day; our 4PL partner does that. You will decide how they run, hold them to it, and keep redesigning the network as we scale.
You will own the relationship with our ambient 4PL partner, set and govern the routing guide, lead our ambient carrier strategy, and work with our consolidation partners to keep inbound freight moving efficiently. You will partner closely with Sales, Supply Planning, Finance, Operations and our internal Logistics Operations and Analytics teams, and you will report to the Senior Director, Transportation & Logistics Strategy.
- Develop and own the multi-year transportation strategy for the Dry and Liquid businesses, aligned with company growth plans and built to scale with volume, new items and new channels.
- Design the ambient network end to end – inbound from co-manufacturers and plants, consolidation, warehouse replenishment and outbound to customers – balancing service, cost and resilience.
- Drive mode strategy (truckload, LTL, consolidation, intermodal where it fits) and decide which lanes Kinder’s contracts directly versus through partners.
- Translate commercial plans, promotions and seasonal peaks (grilling season, holidays) into transportation capacity plans well ahead of demand.
- Bring a point of view to cross-functional leaders on how ambient transportation can create advantage for our customers and consumers.
- Serve as the accountable owner of our ambient 4PL relationship: scope of work, service level agreements, governance cadence and quarterly business reviews.
- Set clear expectations for what the partner executes day to day – tendering, appointment scheduling, tracking, exception handling, carrier payment, freight audit and claims – and hold them accountable for delivering it.
- Negotiate and manage partner agreements, including service levels, service credits, rate and cost transparency, data access and audit rights.
- Direct the partner to operate within the Kinder’s routing guide and over Kinder’s-contracted carriers, and push them for continuous improvement ideas, not just reports.
- Manage consolidation and 3PL partners supporting inbound ambient freight, ensuring they work as one system with the 4PL.
- Own the ambient carrier portfolio – asset carriers and brokers – including carrier selection, contracting, onboarding and performance management.
- Lead ambient freight bids with our procurement partner: define lanes and requirements, evaluate responses, award, and build the routing guide from the results.
- Build strategic relationships with core carriers so Kinder’s is a shipper of choice, with capacity we can count on through market swings.
- Manage accessorial, detention and fuel programs to keep costs transparent, fair and controlled.
- Partner with Logistics Analytics to define and review carrier and partner scorecards, cost-to-serve and network performance, and act on what the data shows.
- Own the ambient freight budget and forecast in partnership with Finance; identify and deliver cost improvements without compromising service.
- Protect customer service and retailer compliance (on-time, in-full, appointment and routing requirements) for our largest retail and club customers.
- Champion the transportation technology stack – TMS, visibility and analytics tools – and make sure partner systems give Kinder’s the data it needs.
- Apply AI and automation to transportation work – rate and capacity analysis, bid evaluation, exception management, partner reporting and forecasting – and push our partners to do the same.
- Work with Supply Planning, Sales, Customer Operations and Finance so transportation decisions support the overall business, not just freight cost.
- Provide direction and escalation support to the Logistics Operations team on ambient pre-shipment work and partner handoffs.
- Lead with Kinder’s values – Humility, Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Curiosity and Results – asking great questions and owning outcomes without excuses.
- Support the evaluation and launch of new channels and partners as the business grows.
- Anticipate capacity, rate and service risk in the ambient network and build contingency plans with partners and carriers.
- Lead response to disruptions – weather, capacity crunches, partner or carrier failures – always doing what is right for customers and the business over the long term.
- Reports to the Senior Director, Transportation & Logistics Strategy
- Owns the ambient 4PL partner, consolidation partners and ambient carrier base
- Works closely with the Logistics Operations team (coordinators) and Logistics Analytics
- 8+ years of transportation or logistics experience, with at least 3 years in a strategic or leadership role in food, beverage or consumer goods
- Proven experience owning a 3PL, 4PL or managed transportation relationship – including contracts, service levels and performance governance
- Deep knowledge of dry van truckload and LTL markets, carrier procurement and freight bid management
- Track record of designing or improving transportation networks that scaled with fast growth
- Experience meeting the routing and compliance requirements of large retail and club customers such as Walmart, Costco and Kroger
- Strong commercial and financial acumen – comfortable negotiating, building cost models and making trade-offs in the face of incomplete information
- Data-driven mindset with hands-on experience using TMS and BI tools (e.g., Tableau or Power BI); familiarity with SAP a plus
- Working knowledge of AI tools (e.g., generative AI assistants, machine-learning forecasting, AI-enabled TMS and visibility platforms) and how to apply them to transportation decisions, analysis and partner management
- Excellent communication and influence skills with executives, partners and cross-functional teams
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered
The position can be based out of either one of our offices in Walnut Creek, CA or Bentonville, AR. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 days in the office on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers and consumers and to have more fun. Fridays are flex days with employees having the opportunity to choose to be either in the office or to work from home based on what makes most sense for them. This role requires travel of approximately 20% to partner, carrier, co-manufacturer and warehouse locations.
The expected starting salary range for this role is $1 60 ,000- $ 1 8 0 ,000 per year. The salary range posted for this role reflects the good-faith base pay range Kinder’s reasonably expects to offer at the time of posting and may vary based on the location of the role. Individual compensation within the posted range will be determined based on factors such as relevant education, experience, qualifications, skills, and business needs .
- No two days here are the same.
- We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don’t live by hierarchy and structure – everyone is a difference maker here.
- We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information – our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow.
- We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk.
- We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart.
- We aren’t trying to be average – we want to do exceptional things, and we are willing to work hard to achieve them.
We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder’s benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.
We believe great culture starts with people. We’re a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.
Kinder's is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need any accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, please reach out to us at careers@kinders.com
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