Director of Operations (Future COO Track)
Icon Foods is a 25-year leader in clean-label sweeteners, fibers, and better-for-you ingredient systems for food and beverage formulators. We’re rebuilding, refocusing, and gearing up for a serious turnaround — and we need a hands-on operator who thrives in the trenches, leads with heart and discipline, and knows how to transform chaos into execution.
If you’re the kind of person who sees broken systems and immediately starts building SOPs in your head… we want to talk.
The Role
We’re hiring a Director of Operations who can roll up their sleeves and own: logistics, manufacturing, procurement, production planning, and team leadership from day one.
This is not a “sit in meetings and delegate” operations role. This is real operations, hands on the wheel, boots on the floor, and eyes on every detail that keeps a food-ingredient company running.
The right person will have a clear path to:
COO
Integrator
Equity vesting / ownership
We’re building a leadership team for the next decade. This is your seat at the table.
What You’ll Do
Operational Leadership
Oversee daily operations across manufacturing, packaging, QC, logistics, procurement, and inventory.
Own OTIF, production schedules, and raw material flow.
Build and optimize SOPs, workflows, and accountability structures.
Implement measurable KPIs across the ops function with weekly scorecards.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Manage inbound/outbound freight, customs, 3PL performance, and vendor relationships.
Negotiate freight contracts, monitor routes, and reduce cost per shipment.
Ensure multi-source supplier resilience and clean-label compliance.
Procurement & Inventory
Lead purchasing strategy for sweeteners, fibers, inclusions, and packaging.
Manage lead times, MOQ strategies, and forward-buying decisions.
Own demand planning and stock level optimization.
Manufacturing Management
Oversee production planning, batch execution, and shift scheduling.
Drive continuous improvement (CI) in throughput, yields, and downtime reduction.
Work with QC and R&D to ensure specs, quality, and regulatory compliance.
People Leadership
Inspire and direct a small, high-impact ops team.
Train up talent and coach them into higher performance.
Foster a culture of discipline, communication, and no-drama productivity.
Systems & EOS
Execute as an operator in an Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) environment.
Run Level 10 meetings, manage scorecards, and keep teams aligned.
Potential to step into the Integrator seat once successful in role.
You Are…
A hands-on operator who doesn’t wait for instructions, you create clarity.
Someone who thrives in a fast-moving, founder-led organization.
A leader who can inspire, coach, and hold teams accountable.
Obsessed with process, detail, efficiency, and numbers.
Experienced in food manufacturing or CPG ingredients (strong plus).
Comfortable moving from forklift conversations to board-level strategic discussions.
Not afraid of a turnaround, in fact, you’re energized by it.
Required Experience
7+ years of operations leadership in manufacturing, supply chain, or food/CPG.
Strong logistics, procurement, and production planning background.
Proven success implementing or operating within EOS (Integrator experience a big plus).
Experience scaling or fixing broken operational systems.
Strong data literacy (ERP, Airtable, BI dashboards, Fishbowl, KPIs).
What We’re Offering
Competitive salary + performance bonuses
Potential track to COO within 18–36 months
Equity vesting opportunity for the right long-term leader
A chance to help rebuild an iconic clean-label ingredient company
The opportunity to create stability, structure, and growth from the ground up
How to Apply
Send your résumé, a brief note explaining your operations experience, and one example of a process you built that changed everything.
