We are currently recruiting a Senior Operations Manager – Warehouse & Logistics for a fast-growing frozen food company in Southern California. This position will lead warehouse operations, cold-chain logistics, inventory management, order fulfillment, and operational process improvement.
About the Role
The Senior Operations Manager owns the physical supply chain end to end: cold storage, freight, inventory accuracy, and order fulfillment across both our own facility and our third-party cold storage network. You will lead the operations team — today our Operations Lead and Operations Coordinator — and report directly to the CEO.
This is a build role, not a maintenance role. Warehouse and logistics run today on spreadsheets, discipline, and hustle. Your job is to turn that into a system that still holds at three times the volume. Success looks like inventory numbers leadership can trust, fill rates our buyers can plan against, a cold chain that never breaks, and freight and storage costs that grow slower than revenue.
Key Responsibilities
Cold chain & food safety
- Own cold chain integrity from origin factory to retailer receipt — no temperature excursions, no rejected loads
- Set and enforce temperature monitoring standards: data loggers on inbound reefer containers, temp recorders on outbound loads, and documented pulp temperatures at receiving and shipping
- Maintain HACCP and food safety programs; own FSMA compliance, including traceability recordkeeping and lot code traceability
- Run mock recalls and maintain recall readiness — own the traceability records that make a real recall survivable
- Own date code and shelf life discipline: FEFO rotation, aging inventory reporting, and short-code mitigation before product becomes a write-off
Warehouse operations (in-house)
- Own day-to-day operation of our freezer and cold-dock facility: receiving, put-away, pick/pack, staging, and load-out
- Supervise warehouse personnel — scheduling, training, productivity standards, and freezer safety
- Enforce OSHA compliance, forklift certification, and cold-environment PPE and rotation practices
- Own cycle counts and physical inventory; drive inventory accuracy to 98%+ and root-cause every variance
- Maintain refrigeration and equipment uptime; manage preventive maintenance and service vendor relationships
3PL & cold storage network
- Manage third-party cold storage partners — performance, capacity planning, and overflow strategy
- Negotiate storage, handling, in/out, and accessorial rates; hold partners accountable to agreed service levels
- Reconcile 3PL inventory reports against our system of record and resolve discrepancies before they hit a customer order
- Evaluate and onboard new cold storage or regional facilities as distribution expands
Freight & import logistics
- Manage refrigerated drayage from the Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach, including plug-in requirements and reefer demurrage and detention exposure
- Own outbound frozen freight: reefer FTL and LTL carrier selection, rate negotiation, routing guide compliance, and on-time delivery performance
- Coordinate with customs brokers on clearance, FDA prior notice, and import documentation
- Track and drive down cost per case shipped and cost per pallet stored
Order fulfillment & customer operations
- Own fill rate and on-time delivery performance to KeHE, UNFI, Albertsons, AWG, and direct retail accounts
- Oversee EDI order execution through SPS Commerce and ensure retailer routing and compliance requirements are met
- Own the deduction and chargeback lifecycle on the operations side — prevent the root causes, and supply the documentation Finance needs to dispute the rest
- Partner with Demand Planning on inventory positioning, safety stock levels, and replenishment timing
Team, systems & reporting
- Lead, coach, and grow the operations team; set KPIs and run a weekly operating rhythm
- Write and own the SOPs for every process above
- Lead WMS selection and implementation — move the function off spreadsheets
- Deliver a weekly operations dashboard to leadership: fill rate, inventory accuracy, cold chain exceptions, freight cost, and open issues
- Coordinate daily with our Nanjing-based sourcing and production team on inbound timing and production schedules
Who You Are
- 8+ years in warehouse, distribution, or logistics operations, including at least 3 years managing people
- Direct experience with frozen or refrigerated product and cold chain requirements — this one is non-negotiable
- Hands-on experience managing 3PL or public cold storage relationships
- Working knowledge of food safety requirements in a food handling environment: HACCP, FSMA, sanitation, and traceability
- Strong inventory management background with a track record of driving and holding inventory accuracy
- Experience with EDI order flow and retailer or distributor compliance requirements
- Strong Excel skills — comfortable building the tracker before the software exists
- Comfortable in a fast-moving environment with evolving processes, and willing to be on the dock when that is what the day needs
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience shipping to KeHE, UNFI, or national grocery retailers
- Import experience — ocean freight, reefer containers, drayage, and customs clearance
- WMS selection or implementation experience
- SQF, BRC, or equivalent GFSI certification experience; PCQI certification
- Deduction and chargeback management experience
- Ice cream, frozen dessert, or other temperature-sensitive CPG category experience
- Bilingual in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese (not required — our production team is in Nanjing)
Growth Path
This role is the direct path to Director of Operations, and we expect to make that step as the footprint grows rather than years from now. As volume, SKU count, and facility count expand, the Senior Operations Manager will take on multi-site responsibility, a larger team spanning warehouse, planning, and logistics, and full ownership of the operations budget.
Compensation
This position offers a competitive base salary range of $110,000 – $135,000, depending on experience and qualifications. It also includes an annual performance bonus tied to the operating KPIs this role owns — fill rate, inventory accuracy, cold chain performance, and freight cost — plus the opportunity to grow with an early-stage, high-growth business.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $110,000.00 - $135,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Experience:
- Logistics: 8 years (Required)
- Management: 3 years (Required)
Work Location: In person
