Smart Fridge Launch Manager

CookUnity; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bi-annual performance bonus

Sabbatical after 5 years

Paid family leave

Compassionate leave

CookUnity credits

Wellness subsidies

Job summary

CookUnity seeks a hands-on Launch Operations leader to own end-to-end deployment planning and execution for the Smart Fridge program. You will drive readiness, coordinate across Sales, Logistics, Tech, and Finance, and lead two concurrent upgrades while scaling the launch model for nationwide deployment.

You will work hands-on in field settings, building repeatable processes and playbooks, with travel to various markets as needed.

Qualifications

• 6–10 years in operations, field services, or consumer-launch roles.
• Hands-on leader able to manage end-to-end hardware/physical infra rollouts.
• Proven track record building repeatable launch processes.
• Strong financial fluency: budgeting and cost tracking.
• Willingness to travel for launch oversight and field audits.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end launch function for new deployments, from planning to go-live.
• Lead operational readiness: translate commitments into executable launch plans with timelines.
• Manage procurement, inventory staging, and 3PL logistics across markets.
• Build and maintain a network of installation and maintenance vendors.
• Configure systems and integrations ahead of go-live and ensure capacity scales.
• Own the master launch calendar and track performance metrics.

Skills

Operations leadership

Cross-functional

Budget management

Vendor management

Travel readiness

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.

The role:

If you're looking for a role where you manage at a distance and review decks, this is not it. If you want to own a program that will grow from $5M to $10M+ ARR this year, and leave it more structured than you found it, keep reading.

CookUnity's Smart Fridge program is scaling from ~$5M to $10M+ ARR in H2 2026: a standalone business within CookUnity with its own unit economics, client verticals, and operational complexity. That means 80-100 new unit deployments across office, factory, and real estate accounts, a full product upgrade rollout across the existing fleet, and building the infrastructure that makes all of it repeatable.

The model is proven. The question is whether expansion can become systematic rather than bespoke. The bottleneck is no longer sales; it's ops readiness, installation speed, and launch quality. That's what this role exists to solve.

This is a player-coach position and for a project management expert. You'll lead the full launch function end-to-end and still get into the field when it matters. The systems you build here will eventually let you step back, but right now, you need to build them while running.

What You Own:

Operational Readiness

Before a fridge goes live, everything upstream has to be right. This function owns the full build layer, from signed contract to a fridge that is ready to operate on day one.

• Translate sales commitments into executable launch plans with confirmed timelines and sequencing
• Conduct site assessments and confirm readiness before any equipment moves
• Manage equipment procurement, inventory staging, and 3PL logistics across every active market
• Build and maintain a reliable network of installation and maintenance vendors in every metro we operate in
• Configure systems, integrations, and device setup ahead of go-live
• Ensure warehouse and storage capacity scales ahead of deployment volume, not behind it
• Own the master launch calendar across all active and pipeline locations
• Track launch performance: on-time rate, cost vs. budget, escalation rate per launch

Launch & Engagement

Once a fridge is live, the work is just beginning. This function owns the activate layer and everything that determines whether a new unit actually performs. In the near term, you will run this function directly while building the model that makes it scalable and delegable.

• Own the onsite launch experience from day one
• Drive user onboarding and build adoption within the first 30 days
• Monitor early engagement signals and intervene before a location goes cold
• Execute re-engagement activations when penetration rates dip
• Maintain the field feedback loop that surfaces menu, ops, and product insights back into the business
• Map the customer journey by vertical (office, factory, real estate) and ensure the launch model is calibrated accordingly
• Own and continuously improve the national launch playbook; it should be a living document, not a one-time deliverable

In parallel with new deployments, you will personally lead two concurrent upgrade rollouts across the existing active fleet:

• Computer Vision: Coordinate with Tech on hardware/software deployment, testing protocols, and fleet-wide rollout sequencing. 100% of active units upgraded and operationalized by end of September 2026, with zero disruption to active locations
• Shelf Pusher & Branding V2: Own the physical installation and ops integration across the fleet, including updated SOPs for drivers and hub staff, with clean handoffs that don't create downstream ops debt

Cross-Functional Accountability

• Sales: Enforce launch sequencing discipline and manage timeline expectations before commitments are made externally
• Logistics: Drive 3PL readiness and new market infrastructure ahead of launch commitments
• Tech: Active driver on system configuration, integration testing, and launch-blocking issues, not a passive stakeholder
• Finance: Align on capex tracking, PO approval flow, and cost visibility across the launch portfolio

Qualifications:

• 6-10 years in operations, field services, retail expansion, or consumer-facing launch functions
• Genuinely hands-on; comfortable doing the work yourself, not just directing others
• Proven track record managing concurrent hardware or physical infrastructure rollouts across multiple sites
• Experience scaling operational functions into repeatable, autonomous engines
• Strong financial fluency: budget ownership, cost-per-unit tracking, capex management
• Comfortable in ambiguity; bias toward action over analysis paralysis
• Sharp cross-functional instincts; able to drive alignment across Sales, Tech, Logistics, and Finance without formal authority
• Willingness to travel for launch oversight, market builds, and field audits
• Experience building operational playbooks from scratch, not just executing existing ones
• Background in food, hospitality, retail, or workplace experience preferred

Preferred requirements:

• Fluent in Spanish (preferred but not mandatory)

• Eligible for a bi-annual performance bonus
• 5- year Sabbatical: After 5 years with CookUnity, you get a 4-week paid sabbatical
• Paid Family leave
• 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 fitness subsidies to build a healthy lifestyle
• Awesome opportunity to join a company that is looking to change how we eat and how chefs work!

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

$90,000 — $105,000 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.