Associate Director, Kitchen Operations - West Coast

ABOUT THE JOB

The Associate Director, Kitchen Operations – West Coast will be a senior leader within the Global Food & Beverage team, responsible for operational leadership across a growing portfolio of corporate campuses, production facilities, and offices throughout the region. This role combines financial management, new campus development, construction partnership, vendor leadership, and team management. This role will lead existing food and beverage operations while owning the F&B development and effective readiness of new campuses and facilities coming online across the West Coast. This is a highly cross-functional role requiring strong business judgment, operational expertise, and the ability to move seamlessly between strategic planning and execution. Significant travel across the portfolio is expected. We are driven by our outcomes here at Anduril Industries. Do or do not, there is no try.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Lead food and beverage operations across a diverse West Coast portfolio, driving consistency in service, quality, safety, employee experience, and financial performance.
• Own F&B operational readiness for new campuses and facilities from planning and design through opening and stabilization.
• Partner closely with Construction, Real Estate, Workplace, Finance, and other cross-functional teams throughout the development process.
• Review and interpret architectural plans, elevations, equipment layouts, and construction documentation, with a working understanding of MEP infrastructure and its impact on F&B operations.
• Identify F&B infrastructure, operational, schedule, and cost risks early and drive solutions through project completion.
• Manage operating budgets, P&Ls, forecasts, financial analysis, and key cost drivers across assigned programs.
• Evaluate vendor performance, commercial terms, pricing, investments, and operating results to drive accountability and financial discipline.
• Lead strategic relationships with food service operators and other F&B partners, including performance management, contract execution, and operational improvements.
• Ensure strong food safety, sanitation, regulatory compliance, and risk management across the portfolio.
• Lead, coach, and develop F&B operations team members while building scalable processes and standards for a rapidly growing organization.
• Serve as a senior escalation point for complex operational, vendor, project, and employee experience issues.
• Establish repeatable standards and playbooks that improve the quality, efficiency, and speed of future campus openings.
• Travel regularly across West Coast locations and to other company sites as needed.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years of progressive food and beverage, hospitality, corporate dining, culinary, or related operations experience.
• Experience leading complex, multi-site F&B programs within large corporate campuses, production environments, hospitality, or similarly operationally complex organizations.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing P&Ls, budgets, forecasts, and vendor economics.
• Experience partnering with Construction, Real Estate, Facilities, or Development teams on new construction, renovations, expansions, or major facility projects.
• Ability to read and interpret architectural plans, elevations, equipment layouts, and construction documentation.
• Working knowledge of MEP systems and how infrastructure decisions affect food and beverage operations.
• Strong expertise in food safety, operational risk, and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated success managing complex third-party food service and hospitality vendors.
• Experience leading and developing teams in a fast-paced, rapidly growing environment.
• Strong project management, communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently across a geographically distributed portfolio.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Success in this role means building a scalable, high-performing West Coast F&B operation that supports rapid campus growth while maintaining strong financial discipline, operational excellence, food safety, and employee experience. The ideal candidate is a seasoned F&B operator who understands the business side of the operation, can speak confidently with construction and development teams, holds vendors accountable, and can lead both people and complex projects from concept through execution.