Director of Operations
2 days ago
San Antonio
About the Company We are a fast-growing, physician-founded CPG brand in the better-for-you sweetener category - making natural sweeteners and baking ingredients that help people cut refined sugar without sacrificing taste. We are sold across the natural grocery channel, Amazon, and direct-to-consumer. The brand is experiencing rapid multi-year growth, and one of our product lines is going viral through organic influencer and creator activity. We are investor-backed with dedicated capital and resources to scale. Our operating team combines the founder’s deep product and brand expertise with experienced operators who have scaled consumer businesses before. The team is small, senior, and moves fast. If you want to be part of the next breakout better-for-you brand, keep reading. About the Role We are hiring a Director of Operations to own the day-to-day execution of our supply chain, inventory management, and fulfillment operations across retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer. You will be the person who ensures that when a customer orders our product - whether through our website, a grocery shelf, or a wholesale account - the product is in stock, shipped on time, and delivered without issues. This is a build role, not a maintain role. Our operational infrastructure is early-stage and growing fast. You will create forecasting models, establish vendor scorecards, design reporting cadences, and implement the processes that allow this brand to scale several multiples from here without the supply chain breaking. You will work directly with the three partners who run the business - including our physician co-founder and two experienced operators - with unified direction and full support to succeed. We value people who approach problems objectively and let data drive decisions. You diagnose issues dispassionately, use credible evidence to evaluate solutions, present clear options with a recommended path, and execute accountably. If that describes how you operate, this role will fit. Core Operations • Oversee end-to-end daily operations, ensuring a seamless flow from order intake through fulfillment and delivery, • Manage and optimize order management systems, inventory tracking, and fulfillment workflows to reduce errors and delays, • Lead the operations team - set priorities, define SLAs, and hold the team accountable to execution standards, • Identify operational bottlenecks across supply chain, fulfillment, and customer experience, and implement scalable solutions Inventory & Demand Planning • Build and own a consolidated demand forecast across retail, wholesale, and DTC, • Set and manage safety stock levels, reorder points, and production triggers across all SKUs, • Monitor sell-through, promotional lifts, and new distribution launches to keep inventory ahead of demand Manufacturing & Vendor Coordination • Serve as the daily point of contact with manufacturing partners for production scheduling, PO management, and quality oversight, • Coordinate packaging, ingredient sourcing timelines, and capacity planning to ensure uninterrupted production, • Track vendor performance on delivery, quality, and cost; flag issues early and drive resolution Certifications, Quality & Compliance • Own and manage all third-party certifications - organic, fair-trade, kosher, and others - ensuring ongoing compliance and successful renewals, • Maintain and continuously improve product traceability systems to support audits, recalls, and regulatory requirements, • Develop, implement, and enforce QA programs across sourcing, production, and fulfillment, • Lead recall readiness processes - documentation, communication protocols, and execution plans, • Ensure allergen protocols across all products and manufacturing facilities, and oversee FDA labeling compliance Logistics & Fulfillment • Oversee logistics and fulfillment - inbound shipments, warehousing, and outbound distribution, • Manage 3PL and Amazon inbound operations - fill rates, shipping accuracy, replenishment timing, cost efficiency, • Optimize freight costs across inbound and outbound logistics, • Ensure DTC orders ship on time with accurate picking, packing, and tracking Distributor Management • Manage operational relationships with national distributors - order processing, fill rate optimization, issue resolution, • Track and reduce chargebacks and deductions through root cause analysis and corrective action, • Coordinate new retail distribution launches - onboarding, initial inventory positioning, fill-rate targets Growth & Cross-Functional Partnership • Partner with Sales to onboard new retail, wholesale, and distribution partners - ensuring operational readiness and smooth account setup, • Oversee customer service operations across retail, wholesale, and DTC - high service levels, timely issue resolution, • Collaborate with Product on new product launches - operational readiness, packaging requirements, QA standards, co-manufacturer coordination, • Work with Marketing to optimize and scale DTC operations - order flow, fulfillment efficiency, customer experience, • Provide data-driven insights to support sales strategy - performance reporting, inventory planning, customer trends Finance & Reporting • Partner with Accounting on financial reporting related to operations - cost tracking, margin analysis, ERP, invoicing, and reconciliation, • Support forecasting and budgeting processes with operational and inventory insights, • Produce weekly and monthly operational reports - inventory, fill rates, COGS, vendor performance, key exceptions Required Qualifications • 5–7 years of operations experience in consumer-packaged goods (CPG) with direct responsibility for inventory, production planning, or supply chain execution, • Hands-on experience managing co-manufacturer or contract manufacturer relationships, • Experience working with national grocery distributors (UNFI, KeHE, or equivalent), • Multi-channel operations experience across retail, wholesale, and DTC (at least two), • Demand forecasting and inventory planning skills with a track record of improving fill rates or reducing stockouts, • Advanced Excel/Google Sheets proficiency and comfort with order management and accounting systems, • Objective, data-driven approach to problem solving - you use evidence to diagnose issues, evaluate options, and make recommendations rather than operating on instinct alone, • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growth-stage environment where you build processes rather than inherit them Preferred Qualifications • Experience owning certifications (organic, fair-trade, kosher, or similar), quality assurance programs, and recall readiness protocols, • Experience in better-for-you, natural, or organic food and beverage, • Familiarity with organic certification (USDA/CCOF), food safety protocols, and FDA labeling, • 3PL management and Amazon FBA inbound logistics experience, • Background at a brand during a high-growth phase where you helped build or significantly improve operational infrastructure, • Trade-spend management and retail deduction reconciliation experience How to Apply Submit your resume and a brief note (3–5 sentences) on why this role excites you and what operational challenge you are most proud of solving. We value substance over polish - tell us what you actually did, not what your team did.