B2B Smart Fridge Field Operations Manager

About CookUnity: 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 CookUnity’s B2B Smart Fridge network is scaling quickly, and we need a hands-on operations owner who can make sure every fridge, hardware kit, installation, and maintenance workflow is launch-ready and reliable in the field. This role owns the physical and technical readiness of Smart Fridge expansion: building and preparing fridges, managing hardware inventory, coordinating shipments and installers, validating systems before launch, and creating the documentation needed to make the process repeatable across markets. This is a field-operations role, not a purely strategic launch role. The ideal person is comfortable moving between a warehouse, a client site, a vendor call, a tracker, and a technical troubleshooting conversation. What You’ll Own Fridge Builds, Hardware Kits & Inventory • Build, prepare, and audit Smart Fridge units before deployment. • Assemble and maintain hardware kits for launches, including OptConnect, GlacierGrid, Raspberry Pi, CV equipment, cables, shelf pushers, labels, decals, and related components. • Maintain inventory of fridges, hardware, spare parts, and launch materials. • Track serial numbers, device IDs, on-hand stock, incoming equipment, and reorder needs. • Receive and test new equipment before it is used in the field. • Ensure each fridge and kit has a clear checklist before it is wrapped, shipped, or handed to an installer. Shipping, Installation & Field Readiness • Coordinate fridge shipments, freight, local moves, removals, and returns. • Coordinate build crews and installation partners. • Build and maintain a reliable network of local installers in key markets. • Confirm physical site readiness in partnership with Launch and Sales teams, including power, placement, access, permits, building approvals, and installation constraints. • Ensure fridges are installed with the correct hardware, branding, labels, sensors, connectivity, and dashboard setup. • Complete post-install validation before handoff. Systems, Tools & Technical Validation • Manage and maintain required Smart Fridge tools, dashboards, and logs, including OptConnect, GlacierGrid, Fraiche Dashboard, Raspberry Pi Connect, Rackbeat, and related trackers. • Validate that each deployed fridge is correctly mapped across systems. • Test connectivity, temperature monitoring, QR/access setup, CV camera readiness, locks, screens, and transaction flow. • Partner with Tech and Engineering teams to troubleshoot hardware issues and test new equipment or workflows. • Document issues, fixes, and repeatable processes so they can be used by future installers and operators. Maintenance & Cost Control • Coordinate maintenance work for active Smart Fridge units. • Track maintenance tickets, open issues, resolution status, and proof of completion. • Review and verify invoices tied to installs, freight, repairs, hardware, and contractor work. • Track cost per installation and maintenance cost by fridge, vendor, and market. • Flag risks early when parts, vendor availability, cost, or timing may impact a launch. Launch Stabilization & Handoff • Support the first days of newly launched fridges by confirming hardware, systems, inventory flow, and field execution are stable. • Communicate clear post-install updates with status, blockers, owners, costs, photos/proof, and next steps. • Partner with Smart Fridge Ops on any early escalations before handing the location into BAU ownership. • Create and maintain SOPs, launch checklists, training materials, and field guides. What Success Looks Like • Fridges ship complete, tested, labeled, and ready for installation. • Launches are not delayed because of missing hardware, unclear ownership, or incomplete setup. • Every install has a completed readiness checklist and proof of completion. • Hardware, CV, shelf pusher, branding, and sensor rollouts are tracked clearly by unit and market. • Install and maintenance costs are visible and reviewed. • Field issues are documented in a way that prevents repeat problems. • The Smart Fridge team has scalable SOPs and training materials instead of relying on tribal knowledge. Requirements • 3-6+ years of experience in field operations, warehouse operations, installation coordination, facilities, hardware deployment, technical logistics, or physical infrastructure rollout. • Willingness and ability to travel up to 25% of the time to support installations, troubleshooting, vendor management, and field operations. • Comfort working hands-on with equipment, hardware, tools, vendors, and field teams. • Experience coordinating contractors, installers, carriers, or maintenance partners. • Strong organization across trackers, inventory logs, invoices, POs, and vendor follow-up. • Ability to troubleshoot operational and technical issues without needing every step defined in advance. • Clear communication style with strong follow-through: what happened, why it happened, impact, owner, next step, and proof. • Ability to create practical SOPs, checklists, and training documents that teams can actually use in the field. • Willingness to travel regularly and work in warehouse/client-site environments. Nice To Have • Experience with vending, smart fridges, retail hardware, appliances, IoT devices, cold-chain operations, facilities, or field-service networks. • Experience with connectivity devices, temperature sensors, camera systems, Raspberry Pi or similar hardware, QR/access systems, or operational dashboards. Learn More About CookUnity We believe great leadership starts with alignment on vision, values, and ways of working. To give you deeper insight into who we are and what we’re looking for, we invite you to explore: CookUnity's Leadership Principles – The values and behaviors that guide how we operate, collaborate, and scale. We hope this provides valuable insight into our culture and product vision. If this excites you, we’d love to connect! Benefits 🩺 Health Insurance coverage 🌅 401k Plan 🌟 Eligible for a bi-annual performance bonus ⛱ Unlimited PTO 🗓️ 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 🤖 AI-forward workplace: enterprise access to ChatGPT and Claude to help you work smarter and grow faster. 🧘🏽‍♀️ Wellness perks: access to fitness subsidies to build a healthy lifestyle 👩🏾‍🏫 Personalized Spanish coach 🚀 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 the candidate's experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data. • Pay Range for this position: $80.000 - $90.000 per year. If you’re interested in this role, please submit your application, and if we think you might be a fit, we'll get in touch with you. Thank you for your time! 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. A quick note for all candidates We’ve recently seen an increase in recruitment scams across the industry, and we want to make sure you (and your data) stay safe while applying to CookUnity. We also want you to know that we take this seriously — sometimes, as part of our process, we may ask for a brief “proof of humanity” to confirm that we’re connecting with a real person, not an impersonator. Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself and know what to expect from us: • Apply only through our official channels. All open roles are listed on our official careers page: careers.cookunity.com • Our recruiters are real people — and easy to verify. You can always find them on LinkedIn with verified profiles. If you’re unsure, feel free to reach out to us on our official LinkedIn Company Page. • We only communicate through official CookUnity channels. That means emails ending in @cookunity.com and interviews held through official company platforms (Google Meet or Zoom) — never WhatsApp, Telegram, or SMS. • We’ll never ask for payment or personal financial details. If anyone does, please don’t share any information and let us know right away. If something ever feels off or you’re unsure about a message, we’d much rather you double-check with us. You can always contact us directly through any of our social media channels. We appreciate your interest in joining CookUnity — and we care about keeping your experience (and safety) as genuine as possible.