Regional Operational Excellence Manager

Operational Excellence Manager

Reports to:

Regional Director of Operations

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

You are food obsessed and operationally driven. You lead with passion, purpose, and pride, and you understand that exceptional hospitality programs are built on disciplined execution, strong systems, and teams who win together.

You are looking for impact. You thrive at the intersection of culinary excellence and operational precision, knowing that inspiring guest experiences require thoughtful planning, scalable tools, and unwavering standards. You are as comfortable building opening timelines and training tools as you are walking a café, coaching a manager, and ensuring the front of house experience feels seamless and welcoming.

At Guckenheimer, a chef driven workplace dining company, we set the standard for culinary excellence, innovation, hospitality, and integrity. As an Operational Excellence Manager, you play a critical role in bringing new locations to life and ensuring every front of house environment reflects our standards from day one.

You believe operational excellence protects the craft. You create structure, clarity, and alignment so opening teams can execute with confidence. You lead with ownership, collaborate across departments, and build strong regional champions who sustain excellence long after opening day.

If you thrive in a culture where standards are high, collaboration is real, and guest experience is everything, this is where you belong.

Position Overview

The Operational Excellence Manager leads and coordinates regional new unit openings with a strong focus on front of house excellence. This includes oversight of merchandising, signage, small wares, equipment placement, and the full setup of front of house operations to ensure a polished and hospitality focused guest experience.

This role develops and deploys site level operational tools that set opening teams up for success, including task by time guides, cleaning schedules, station diagrams, training materials, and operational checklists. The Operational Excellence Manager trains management teams and hourly staff on front of house standards, service expectations, and operational processes.

In addition, this leader ensures the successful implementation of ancillary services such as coffee bars, office coffee service pantries, micro kitchens, juice and smoothie outlets, promotional activations, and catering programs. They develop and mentor regional champions to uphold standards, reinforce training, and support future openings.

Through strong planning, structured execution, and hands on leadership, the Operational Excellence Manager ensures every opening delivers operational readiness, hospitality excellence, and a guest experience that reflects the Guckenheimer standard.

How Success Is Measured

Success in this role is defined by seamless openings, sustainable front of house standards, and exceptional first impressions.

• New unit openings are executed on time, fully operational, and aligned with Guckenheimer standards from day one
• Front of house environments are organized, guest ready, and supported by structured tools and clear operational guidance
• Management and hourly teams consistently execute service standards and operational processes with confidence
• Ancillary programs launch successfully and operate with consistency and profitability
• Regional champions are developed to sustain standards and support ongoing training
• Post opening audits reflect strong compliance with service, merchandising, safety, and brand standards
• Guest feedback and client satisfaction demonstrate a smooth transition from opening to steady state operations
• Opening processes become more efficient, scalable, and repeatable across the region

Success is measured not only by opening day readiness, but by the long term strength and sustainability of the teams left behind.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate regional new unit openings to ensure operational readiness and exceptional front of house guest experiences
• Oversee merchandising, signage, small wares, service flow, and front of house setup to align with company standards
• Develop and implement structured opening…