Chief Operating Officer

The Opportunity

Achatz Handmade Pie Co. / Pie Collective is a founder‑led, family‑owned business recognized for premium products, ingredient integrity, and craftsmanship. As the company enters its next phase of growth, we are seeking a Chief Operating Officer to serve as a strategic partner to ownership and architect the operational foundation required to scale without compromising quality, culture, or brand promise. This role offers a rare opportunity to professionalize and integrate operations across manufacturing, retail, and wholesale while honoring the values that make Achatz distinctive.

The COO will bring structure, clarity, and disciplined execution to a growing organization and help unlock sustainable, profitable growth.

The COO will have enterprise‑wide responsibility for operations, systems, and execution. This leader will translate strategy into scalable processes, strengthen governance and accountability, and ensure the organization has the infrastructure, talent, and data needed to grow with confidence.

• Provide overall leadership for manufacturing and operational functions, ensuring consistent quality, efficiency, and cost discipline
• Establish a strong operating rhythm that shifts the organization from reactive problem‑solving to proactive, data‑driven execution.
• Develop scalable capacity and workforce strategies aligned with growth objectives.

• Lead the transition from informal, founder‑dependent processes to standardized, governed, and repeatable operating practices.
• Own enterprise process governance, including SOPs, training, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure alignment between documented standards and real‑world execution.

• Drive enterprise adoption of Net Suite, ensuring it becomes the system of record and delivers actionable operational and financial visibility.
• Eliminate workarounds and shadow systems that undermine data integrity.

• Strengthen quality governance and decision‑making discipline, reinforcing a culture where quality is non‑negotiable.
• Assess and evolve the QA operating model to support growth and complexity.

• Partner closely with ownership to provide clear, actionable insight into cost structure, margins, and performance drivers.
• Elevate the use of KPIs, dashboards, and analytics to support better decision‑making across the business.

• Collaborate with leadership to evaluate and execute growth strategies across retail, wholesale, and branded opportunities.
• Help balance growth ambition with operational readiness and risk management.

• Build leadership capability and bench strength across operations.
• Clarify roles, expectations, and accountability while leading with empathy and respect for a family‑owned culture.
• Model high‑EQ leadership: structure without rigidity, discipline without fear.

• 15+ years of progressive operations leadership experience, including at least 5 of those years with senior‑level accountability (VP Operations, General Manager, or COO equivalent) within a manufacturing environment (Food, CPG, or highly regulated manufacturing experience)
• Bachelor’s degree required (Operations, Engineering, Business, or related field); secondary degree highly preferred.
• Relevant certifications in Lean/Continuous Improvement, food safety and quality systems (HACCP, PCQI, SQF/BRC/FSSC), supply chain (APICS), or ERP platforms (Net Suite required)
• Hands‑on experience implementing and driving adoption of Net Suite ERP system; ability to enforce system discipline and data integrity across functions
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise‑scale operations, with responsibility for systems, process, people, and performance — not just plant execution
• Proven success professionalizing operations in a founder‑led, family‑owned, or entrepreneurial business transitioning to its next growth phase
• Strong operational and financial acumen, including ownership of KPIs, cost structure, margin drivers, and performance…