Senior Director, Automation Field Operations - Sweetgreen

Here at sweetgreen’s Automation Team we’re at the forefront of restaurant automation. Our meal assembly automation - the Infinite Kitchen - operates daily at several of our sweetgreen locations across the country, but we are just getting started. As we expand our footprint of Infinite Kitchens, we are seeking a Senior Director, Automation Field Operations to lead and grow our field operations team of skilled technicians and project managers. This is an ideal role for someone with experience scaling complex automation solutions with a background in engineering, program management or field deployments.

This is a full time role based in Boston with up to 25% travel to our deployment sites and up to 50% travel during onboarding.

Who You Are:

• An experienced leader of technicians and project managers with 10+ years of experience in field operations management in industrial automation or robotics
• Experienced in scaling deployment of complex robotics or automated solutions, including installation, commissioning and testing
• An expert in project management and project management techniques with a proven ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Adept at building and managing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of excellence, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Capable of building a sustainable field operations program without a lot of existing infrastructure and systems.
• Highly knowledgeable about industrial automation systems and their deployment in commercial environments
• Experienced in budget management, resource allocation, and strategic planning.
• Have a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field

What You’ll Do:

• Run the entire Infinite Kitchen deployment and maintenance function across the country
• Lead, manage and grow the field operations team, including technicians and project managers
• Develop and implement strategic plans to sustainably scale field operations
• Oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of system installations,  commissioning and testing ensuring on-time delivery and adherence to high-quality standards.
• Establish and enforce standardized procedures and documentation for all field operations activities.
• Act as the primary liaison and collaborate with sweetgreen’s construction project managers, architects and facilities teams including plan reviews and construction document reviews
• Transition the commissioning and testing function from our software team to our deployment teams
• Develop a strong project management function to manage the logistics of multiple deployments working with many vendors
• Develop infrastructure, documentation and work with our facilities teams to enable third parties to effectively perform maintenance on commodity equipment (eg. refrigeration)
• Develop systems to track maintenance work and upgrades performed across the fleet of infinite kitchens
• Support various testing and other lab related functions in Boston including inventory management of spare parts
• Capture and relay feedback from field teams to drive product and process improvements.
• Foster a collaborative and positive work environment and create a growth path to support the development of technicians into deployment team leaders
• Manage the field operations budget, ensuring cost-effective use of resources

What you'll get:

• Highly competitive pay + bonus plan
• Three different medical plans to suit your and your family's needs
• Dental and Vision insurance
• Flexible PTO plan
• 401k program
• Employee HSA and FSA
• Complimentary greens
• An opportunity to make a real impact on the people around you, both by growing them and by connecting them to real food
• To live the sweetlife and celebrate your passion + purpose
• A collaborative team of people who live our core values and have your back
• A clear career path with opportunities for development, both personally and professionally
• Free sweetgreen swag

Come join the sweetlife!

About sweetgreen

sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. We passionately believe that real food should be convenient and accessible to everyone. Every day in each sweetgreen, our 3,500 team members make food from scratch, using fresh ingredients and produce delivered that morning. And in our local communities, we’re committed to leaving people better than we found them. We’re in the business of feeding people, and we’re out to change what that means.

sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.

sweetgreen participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.