Job opening
Culinary Director
Filed under Food and Beverage Services
Full job description
Director of Culinary Operations
Location: San Francisco, CA | Direct Hire | Confidential Search
About the Opportunity
We're conducting a confidential search on behalf of a leading company in the airline catering and high-volume food production industry. Our client is seeking a Director of Culinary Operations to lead a complex, industrial-scale food manufacturing operation — one that blends culinary excellence with process discipline, food safety, and operational leadership.
This is a senior leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of culinary operations and industrial production, and who's ready to lead multi-line, multi-shift teams delivering high-quality meals across multiple airline customers.
What You'll Do • Lead high-volume airline catering production operations • Drive food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance (HACCP, GMP, FDA/USDA) • Own production planning, ERP/MRP systems, and process controls, including the Master Production Schedule • Manage food cost, labor productivity, waste, yield accuracy, and on-time delivery KPIs • Champion Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives • Build, train, and develop culinary, supervisory, and production teams • Apply advanced food production techniques such as sous-vide, hot-fill processing, and pasteurization • Partner cross-functionally with Supply Chain, QA, Process Engineering, Maintenance, and Commercial teams
What We're Looking For • 10+ years of hands-on leadership experience in large-scale food manufacturing, airline catering, or high-volume institutional catering • Proven track record as a Production Manager or Culinary Operations Leader • Strong experience with ERP/MRP systems, production planning, and Lean/Continuous Improvement methodologies • Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Process Engineering, Food Engineering, or a related field preferred; culinary qualifications a plus but not required • Deep knowledge of food safety systems, industrial-scale production processes, and quality/cost control
Details • Location: San Francisco, CA (on-site) • Employment Type: Direct Hire
Location: San Francisco, CA | Direct Hire | Confidential Search
About the Opportunity
We're conducting a confidential search on behalf of a leading company in the airline catering and high-volume food production industry. Our client is seeking a Director of Culinary Operations to lead a complex, industrial-scale food manufacturing operation — one that blends culinary excellence with process discipline, food safety, and operational leadership.
This is a senior leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of culinary operations and industrial production, and who's ready to lead multi-line, multi-shift teams delivering high-quality meals across multiple airline customers.
What You'll Do • Lead high-volume airline catering production operations • Drive food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance (HACCP, GMP, FDA/USDA) • Own production planning, ERP/MRP systems, and process controls, including the Master Production Schedule • Manage food cost, labor productivity, waste, yield accuracy, and on-time delivery KPIs • Champion Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives • Build, train, and develop culinary, supervisory, and production teams • Apply advanced food production techniques such as sous-vide, hot-fill processing, and pasteurization • Partner cross-functionally with Supply Chain, QA, Process Engineering, Maintenance, and Commercial teams
What We're Looking For • 10+ years of hands-on leadership experience in large-scale food manufacturing, airline catering, or high-volume institutional catering • Proven track record as a Production Manager or Culinary Operations Leader • Strong experience with ERP/MRP systems, production planning, and Lean/Continuous Improvement methodologies • Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Process Engineering, Food Engineering, or a related field preferred; culinary qualifications a plus but not required • Deep knowledge of food safety systems, industrial-scale production processes, and quality/cost control
Details • Location: San Francisco, CA (on-site) • Employment Type: Direct Hire