Freelance Manager Culinary Innovation Jobs (NOW HIRING)

At CAVA we make itdeliciously simple to eat well and feel good every day.We are guided by a Mediterranean heritage that's beenperfecting how to eat and live for four thousand years. We prioritizeauthenticity, curiosity, and the pursuit of excellence in everything we do. Weare working towards somethingbig together.

Wefoster a culture built on five core values:

Generosity First, Always: We lead with kindness. Our best workhappens when we act in service of others.

Constant Curiosity: We are eager to learn, grow, andexplore beyond the obvious.

Act with Agility: We welcome change; it's the onlyconstant. We embrace, adjust, adapt.

Passion for Positivity: We greet each day with warmth andpossibility.

Collective Ambition: We have high aspirations that areachieved when we work together with a shared purpose.

TheRole

TheDirector ofOperations Innovationsits within Ops Services and is responsible fortranslating culinary vision into scalable restaurant execution.
Partnering closely with the Culinary team (who owns ideation), this roleensures new menu items are operationally sound, executable at volume, and readyfor system-wide rollout. You will lead the testing and validationprocess-proving concepts in real restaurant environments before they scaleacross the system.
This role is accountable for ensuring innovation works on the line, duringpeak, with real teams-balancing guest experience, throughput, labor, and foodquality.

WhatYou'll DoLeadOperational Testing & Validation

-Design and execute ops tests (6-8 restaurants) to validate in-store execution

-Scale successful items into market tests (20-40 restaurants) to assessperformance at volume

-Define clear success metrics across incidence, labor, food cost, and guestexperience

TranslateCulinary Vision into Execution

-Partner with Culinary to convert concepts into simple, repeatable builds andprep systems

-Pressure-test ideas against real kitchen constraints: station flow, equipment,staffing, and peak volume

-Ensure execution consistency across varying restaurant volumes and teamcapabilities

ProtectThroughput & Labor Efficiency

-Evaluate and optimize impact on speed of service, ticket times, and linecomplexity

-Identify and eliminate friction points before broader rollout

-Make clear tradeoffs to maintain operational simplicity at scale

DriveData-Informed Decisions

-Partner with Analytics to assess PMIX, labor impact, food cost, and guestfeedback

-Deliver clear go / iterate / stop recommendations based on performance

EnableField Execution

-Partner with Training to develop clear, operator-friendly SOPs and rolloutmaterials

-Ensure test restaurants and field teams are set up for clean execution andfeedback loops

-Incorporate field insights into iteration and final recommendations

Cross-FunctionalAlignment

-Partner with Supply Chain to validate ingredient readiness and operationalfeasibility

-Align across Culinary, Ops, and Marketing from concept through rollout

-Act as the bridge between test kitchen and restaurant reality

WhoYou Are

-Operator-first mindset with deep understanding of restaurant workflows

-Experience in high-volume environments and scaling execution

-Practical, decisive, and able to simplify complexity quickly

-Credible with field teams and grounded in real restaurant conditions

-Comfortable making tradeoffs to protect throughput and performance

WhatWe're Looking ForMinimumQualifications

-5-8+ years of experience in restaurant operations, culinary operations, or menuinnovation

-Experience testing and rolling out initiatives across multi-unit restaurantsystems

-Strong understanding of throughput, labor models, and station design

-Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives from concept throughexecution

PreferredQualifications

-Experience in fast-casual or QSR environments at scale

-Exposure to menu testing, pilots, or test-and-learn environments

-Strong understanding of menu economics (PMIX, COGS, labor impact)

-Experience working closely with field operations teams

OperatorAccountability

Thisrole is based out of our Washington DC Collaboration Center and accountable forensuring new menu items are proven to work in real restaurant conditions-duringpeak-before national rollout.

Physical Requirements:

Abilityto maintain stationary position to be able to operate a computer and otheroffice equipment

Mustbe able to identify, analyze and assess details

Forcertain positions, must be able to occasionally move or transport items up to50 pounds

Abilityto communicate with others and exchange information accurately and effectively

Constantlypositions self and move about to support ordinary restaurant or food productionsupport or office operations, as applicable

Abilityto work in a constant state of alertness and in a safe manner

What we offer:

Competitive salary, plus bonus andlong-term incentives*

Early Wage Access!

Unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, pluspaid opportunities to give back to the community

Health,Dental, Vision, Telemedicine, Pet Insurance plus more!

401kenrollment with CAVA contribution

Company-paidSTD, LTD, Life and AD&D coverage for salaried positions*

FreeCAVA food

Casualwork environment

The opportunity to be on the ground floorof a rapidly growing brand

• All exempt and non exempt employees are eligible for benefits. Benefits are effective the 1st of the month following 30 days of service and you have until the day before the effective date to enroll. A new hire can enroll in our benefit program by selecting a link that is emailed directly to the new hire at their personal email address once hired.
• Please note that visa sponsorship is not available.
• The posting range is an all cash range.

*Indicates qualifyingeligible positions only

CAVA - Joining "A culture, not aconcept"

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