Smart Fridge Launch Manager
The role:
If you're looking for a role where you manage at a distance and review decks, this is not it. If you want to own a program that will grow from $5M to $10M+ ARR this year, and leave it more structured than you found it, keep reading.
CookUnity's Smart Fridge program is scaling from ~$5M to $10M+ ARR in H2 2026: a standalone business within CookUnity with its own unit economics, client verticals, and operational complexity. That means 80-100 new unit deployments across office, factory, and real estate accounts, a full product upgrade rollout across the existing fleet, and building the infrastructure that makes all of it repeatable.
The model is proven. The question is whether expansion can become systematic rather than bespoke. The bottleneck is no longer sales; it's ops readiness, installation speed, and launch quality. That's what this role exists to solve.
This is a player-coach position and for a project management expert. You'll lead the full launch function end-to-end and still get into the field when it matters. The systems you build here will eventually let you step back, but right now, you need to build them while running.
What You Own:
Operational Readiness
Before a fridge goes live, everything upstream has to be right. This function owns the full build layer, from signed contract to a fridge that is ready to operate on day one.
Translate sales commitments into executable launch plans with confirmed timelines and sequencing
Conduct site assessments and confirm readiness before any equipment moves
Manage equipment procurement, inventory staging, and 3PL logistics across every active market
Build and maintain a reliable network of installation and maintenance vendors in every metro we operate in
Configure systems, integrations, and device setup ahead of go-live
Ensure warehouse and storage capacity scales ahead of deployment volume, not behind it
Own the master launch calendar across all active and pipeline locations
Track launch performance: on-time rate, cost vs. budget, escalation rate per launch
Launch & Engagement
Once a fridge is live, the work is just beginning. This function owns the activate layer and everything that determines whether a new unit actually performs. In the near term, you will run this function directly while building the model that makes it scalable and delegable.
Own the onsite launch experience from day one
Drive user onboarding and build adoption within the first 30 days
Monitor early engagement signals and intervene before a location goes cold
Execute re-engagement activations when penetration rates dip
Maintain the field feedback loop that surfaces menu, ops, and product insights back into the business
Map the customer journey by vertical (office, factory, real estate) and ensure the launch model is calibrated accordingly
Own and continuously improve the national launch playbook; it should be a living document, not a one-time deliverable
Product Upgrade Rollout
In parallel with new deployments, you will personally lead two concurrent upgrade rollouts across the existing active fleet:
Computer Vision: Coordinate with Tech on hardware/software deployment, testing protocols, and fleet-wide rollout sequencing. 100% of active units upgraded and operationalized by end of September 2026, with zero disruption to active locations
Shelf Pusher & Branding V2: Own the physical installation and ops integration across the fleet, including updated SOPs for drivers and hub staff, with clean handoffs that don't create downstream ops debt
Cross-Functional Accountability
Sales: Enforce launch sequencing discipline and manage timeline expectations before commitments are made externally
Logistics: Drive 3PL readiness and new market infrastructure ahead of launch commitments
Tech: Active driver on system configuration, integration testing, and launch-blocking issues, not a passive stakeholder
Finance: Align on capex tracking, PO approval flow, and cost visibility across the launch portfolio
Qualifications:
6-10 years in operations, field services, retail expansion, or consumer-facing launch functions
Genuinely hands-on; comfortable doing the work yourself, not just directing others
Proven track record managing concurrent hardware or physical infrastructure rollouts across multiple sites
Experience scaling operational functions into repeatable, autonomous engines
Strong financial fluency: budget ownership, cost-per-unit tracking, capex management
Comfortable in ambiguity; bias toward action over analysis paralysis
Sharp cross-functional instincts; able to drive alignment across Sales, Tech, Logistics, and Finance without formal authority
Willingness to travel for launch oversight, market builds, and field audits
Experience building operational playbooks from scratch, not just executing existing ones
Background in food, hospitality, retail, or workplace experience preferred
Preferred requirements:
Fluent in Spanish (preferred but not mandatory)
Benefits
🩺 Health Insurance coverage
🌅 401k Plan
🌟 Eligible for a bi-annual performance bonus
⛱ 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
🧘🏽♀️ 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 candidates experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.
Pay Range for this position
$90,000—$105,000 USD