Director, Plant Operations
Founded in 2013, Home Chef is the leading meal solutions company with both a retail and online presence. Available online at homechef.com and in retail at more than 2,100 Kroger grocery stores, Home Chef is committed to inspiring and enabling more people to cook simple, delicious meals, no matter how busy they are.
In 2023, Home Chef introduced a new brand, Tempo! Tempo features a rotating selection of ready-to-heat meals delivered directly to your door. These meals are better-for-you versions of familiar favorites, designed to save you time and reduce stress while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Our Tempo menu includes options that are protein-packed, fiber-rich, calorie and carb conscious, keto-friendly, and dietitian-approved.
Similar to our recipes, we recognize that variety is the spice of life, and therefore, our employees also bring their uniqueness and color to our fantastic team. We’re eager to work with humble team players and pragmatic next-level thinkers to innovate on Home Chef’s offerings.
The Director of Plant Operations owns end-to-end performance of the plant, including safety, quality, fulfillment, and cost. This role leads a cross-functional leadership team and drives operational excellence in a fast-paced, high-volume food manufacturing environment.
At Home Chef, this isn’t just about running a plant. You’ll play a key role in shaping how we operate, scale, and deliver for our customers every single day. From leading high-impact teams to solving complex operational challenges, this role sits at the center of our business and has a direct line to the customer experience.
You will be responsible for building strong teams, improving performance, and driving consistent execution across all plant functions, while fostering a culture rooted in accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
What You’ll Do
Own Plant Performance & Strategy
- Set and execute the vision and strategy for on-time fulfillment of all production goals
- Lead and develop department leaders across production, warehouse, quality, maintenance, CI, and inventory
- Anticipate and proactively address operational challenges impacting performance
- Partner cross-functionally with corporate teams to remove barriers and drive results
- Ensure staffing plans align with production needs and operational goals
Lead, Develop & Inspire Teams
- Coach and develop leaders to build a high-performing, accountable organization
- Create a culture rooted in Home Chef’s “Customer First” mindset
- Drive employee engagement, retention, and a positive work environment
- Partner with HR to effectively manage employee relations, performance, and talent planning
- Lead regular communication cadences to align teams on performance, priorities, and goals
Drive KPIs & Financial Performance
- Own plant-level financial performance, including cost management and budget adherence
- Establish and drive accountability to key operational KPIs (safety, quality, delivery, cost)
- Develop and execute action plans to improve performance and achieve targets
- Maintain a strong understanding of cost drivers and operational efficiencies
Ensure Operational Excellence & Facility Standards
- Champion a “Safety First, Quality Always” culture across all levels of the organization
- Maintain a clean, organized, and audit-ready facility
- Ensure compliance with GMPs, food safety standards (SQF), and regulatory requirements
- Oversee inventory management practices and WMS implementation
- Drive adoption of tools, systems, and technologies that improve plant performance
Lead Continuous Improvement & Change
- Identify root causes of operational issues and implement sustainable solutions
- Partner with Continuous Improvement teams to deploy and scale initiatives
- Hold teams accountable to standard operating procedures while identifying opportunities to improve them
- Lead change management efforts across processes, systems, and teams
What Success Looks Like
- Consistently delivers on-time fulfillment and production targets
- Builds and develops a strong, accountable leadership team
- Improves key KPIs across safety, quality, cost, and efficiency
- Creates strong alignment between plant operations and corporate partners
- Establishes a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement
What You Bring
- 10+ years of experience in plant or manufacturing operations, preferably within food production
- Proven experience leading leaders in a high-volume, fast-paced environment
- Strong track record of owning and improving operational KPIs and plant performance
- Experience driving continuous improvement and change management initiatives
- Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams and positive workplace cultures
- Strong business acumen with the ability to understand and manage cost drivers
- Excellent communication, leadership, and decision-making skills
- Experience with WMS, ERP systems, and standard business tools (Excel, etc.)
More About Us
Perks and Benefits
- Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer - enter promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order!
- Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
- Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
- 401k program
- Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses
How We Work Together
We are humble team players.
We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves - and respectfully listen to and accept input.
We are pragmatic next-level thinkers.
We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.
We take ownership.
We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results-driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.
Be at Home at Home Chef
We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you’ll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.
We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.
Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at hr@homechef.com.
Home Chef offers the base salary range as posted below, with the exact offer depending on factors such as geographic location, experience, skills, and internal equity. While compensation is within the provided range, it is not typical for offers to be made at the upper end. In addition to base salary, Home Chef provides a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare coverage, 401k match, and paid time off.
California Pay Range
$160,000 - $180,000 USD
To view the California Applicant Notice click here
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