Operations Manager Northeast Region

About the Role:

The Yay Company is looking for an experienced, hands-on Operations

Manager to own the performance of our Northeast area markets. These will consist of

locations in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

You are in your markets, at your schools, and with your teams on a rotating basis,

ensuring every location runs to Yay's standards and every school feels great about the

program.

This region operates primarily through Yay-produced hub kitchens, meaning you are

managing real food production, kitchen teams, and distribution logistics — not just

coordinating third-party vendors. You will be responsible for standing up new kitchen

locations, managing Kitchen Managers and Lunch Coordinators across multiple

markets, and owning the financial performance of your region.

This role is based in Pennsylvania. The ability to lead remote teams with high trust and

clear expectations is as important as your ability to show up in person.

This is a high-accountability, high-visibility role at a company that is scaling fast. If you

love being in the field, own outcomes rather than activities, and thrive in an

environment where every day is different, this role is for you.

● 5-7 years of experience in multi-unit operations management, ideally in food

service, hospitality, or a similarly fast-paced field environment

● Experience managing kitchen or food production operations — you understand

food cost, labor scheduling, and what it takes to run a kitchen at margin

● Proven ability to manage remote teams effectively — you know how to lead

people you are not standing next to every day

● Strong people manager — you have led teams in the field, held people

accountable, and developed talent

● Financially fluent — you can read a P&L, understand direct margin, and connect

daily operational decisions to financial outcomes

● Self-directed and highly organized — you manage multiple markets across a large

geography and nothing falls through the cracks

● Comfortable with ambiguity and growth — Yay is scaling and this region is

expanding. You build as you go and you enjoy that

● ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain within 30 days of hire

● Must be based in Philadelphia or within commuting distance

● Valid driver's license and reliable transportation — this role requires regular

travel across your markets

We are on a mission to fundamentally change school food

for the better. We are a culinary-first school food company — we cook fresh, nutritious,

and genuinely delicious meals in school kitchens every day. Since launching in 2018, we

have expanded across multiple markets and are backed by experienced venture capital

partners. This is school food the way it should be — and we are just getting started.