Operations Manager

Job Description

About Dropout Companies

Dropout Companies is building a new generation of frozen food brands: cleaner labels and genuine cultural relevance. Our portfolio includes Jams, the fastest-growing frozen PB&J brand in the country, and Bronco, a modern take on the frozen breakfast sandwich. We move fast, we hold high standards, and we’re just getting started.

The Role

We’re looking for a sharp, execution-first Operations Manager to help us scale. This person will work directly with the CGO and our head of operations to manage the systems, processes, and cross-functional coordination that brings our products to market on time, on spec, and at the quality our customers expect.

This is a high-ownership role at the intersection of supply chain, innovation, and internal operations. You won’t just manage tasks. You’ll build the infrastructure that lets a growing brand portfolio operate with precision as we scale into new retailers, new SKUs, and new markets.

You’ll touch everything from co-manufacturer relationships and production timelines to internal project tracking and cross-functional alignment. If you’re someone who likes solving hard problems, building clean systems, and holding people accountable to high standards, this is your role.

What You’ll Do

Supply Chain & Co-Manufacturer Management

• Own day-to-day relationships with our co-manufacturers (including KFF) across Jams, Bronco, and any future brands we bring to market.
• Manage production schedules, lead times, and capacity planning to ensure on-time delivery and in-stock positions across retail accounts.
• Identify and resolve supply chain bottlenecks before they become customer-facing problems.
• Partner with our head of operations to negotiate terms, improve cost structures, and hold co-mans accountable to quality and timeline commitments.
• Maintain visibility into raw material sourcing, finished goods inventory, and inbound/outbound freight flows.

Innovation & New Product Launch

• Support the end-to-end commercialization process for new SKUs, from formula sign-off and packaging spec through first production run and retail-ready delivery.
• Own the project timelines for product launches across the portfolio, coordinating cross-functionally with R&D, marketing, sales, and operations to hit key milestones.
• Track innovation projects against gate criteria and surface risks early so leadership can make informed go/no-go decisions.
• Build and maintain launch trackers, production specs, and item setup documentation across all new products.

Internal Operations & Project Management

• Serve as the connective tissue across internal teams, ensuring that every function (sales, marketing, supply chain, finance) is aligned on priorities, timelines, and open items.
• Build and maintain operational playbooks, project trackers, and reporting cadences that give leadership a real-time view of what’s in flight and what’s at risk.
• Own the weekly ops rhythm: standups, status updates, issue escalation, and follow-through.
• Identify process gaps and build the systems to close them—whether that means a new tracker, a better SOP, or a cleaner handoff between teams.
• Support cross-functional planning for key retail milestones including resets, promotions, new item launches, and distributor onboarding.

Who You Are

• You’re a builder. You don’t wait for someone to tell you there’s a system missing. You identify the gap and close it.
• You’re obsessively organized. You can manage multiple brands, workstreams, and stakeholders simultaneously without losing the thread.
• You communicate with precision. You know what to escalate, what to resolve yourself, and how to keep leadership informed without overwhelming them.
• You hold people accountable without drama. You follow up, you document, and you don’t let things fall through cracks.
• You’re comfortable in ambiguity. Early-stage brand environments don’t always come with playbooks. You write the playbook.
• You think in systems. When something breaks, you don’t just fix the immediate problem. You figure out why it broke and put something in place to prevent it from happening again.
• You thrive in fast-paced environments and know how to prioritize ruthlessly when everything feels urgent.
• You take pride in the details. Great operations are invisible, and you understand why that matters.

What You’ll Bring

• 2–5 years of experience in operations, supply chain, or project management, ideally within CPG, food & beverage, or a high-growth consumer brand.
• Direct experience working with co-manufacturers or third-party production partners.
• Proven ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects from kickoff through delivery.
• Strong working knowledge of retail distribution dynamics: distributor relationships, PO management, compliance requirements, and deduction resolution.
• Experience supporting new product launches from commercialization through first ship.
• Exceptional organization and project management skills. You’ve managed trackers, timelines, and cross-functional workstreams at scale.
• Comfort working remotely and managing asynchronously across a distributed team.
• Proficiency in tools like Google Workspace, Excel/Sheets, and project management platforms.

Nice to Have

• Experience across multiple CPG brands or SKUs simultaneously.
• Familiarity with frozen food, or natural/conventional channel dynamics.
• Background working in lean, high-growth team environments where resourcefulness is required.
• A genuine love for building brands people actually care about.

Why This Role Is Special

This is a rare opportunity to get in early at a company with real momentum. Brands in thousands of doors, distribution across major retailers, and a clear path to becoming category leaders. You’ll have real ownership, real accountability, and real impact on how these brands scale.

Dropout Companies employees are driven by a genuine love for the work and a refusal to coast on “good enough.” They care deeply about the brands they’re building, take pride in the details, and understand that the best work happens when everyone rolls up their sleeves regardless of title. No task is beneath anyone here. Attention to detail, proactivity, accountability, and the ability to not take yourself too seriously are what define the people who thrive at Dropout Companies. The pace is fast, the problems are real, and the opportunity for growth is significant. If you want to be part of building something, this is that seat.

Requirements

Ownership & initiative — they need to be a self-starter who identifies gaps and builds solutions without being told. The doc emphasizes not waiting for direction and writing the playbook when one doesn't exist.

Organizational discipline — managing multiple brands, workstreams, and stakeholders simultaneously without dropping anything. This one comes up repeatedly across nearly every section.

Communication precision — knowing what to escalate vs. what to handle independently, and keeping leadership informed without overwhelming them. It's about judgment in communication, not just frequency.

Accountability without friction — following up, documenting, and holding people to commitments, but doing it without creating drama or tension. That's a specific and fairly rare combination.

Comfort with ambiguity — early-stage environments don't have established processes, so the person needs to operate effectively even when things aren't clearly defined.

Systems thinking — when something breaks, they don't just patch it. They diagnose the root cause and build something to prevent recurrence. This signals you want someone who thinks structurally, not reactively.

Ruthless prioritization — the ability to triage when everything feels urgent, which is really about judgment and composure under pressure.

Detail orientation — the doc closes with "great operations are invisible," which frames attention to detail as a philosophy, not just a habit.

Benefits

• Private Health Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Work From Home