COO- Chief Operating Officer in Saluda, South Carolina at Palmetto Gourmet Foods Inc

Job Description: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Industry: Noodle / Food Manufacturing
Company Stage: Early Growth (6-Year-Old Subsidiary of Borealis Foods)
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Works Closely With: Parent Company Leadership & Board

Position Summary

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will lead and scale all operational functions of a fast-growing noodle manufacturing company. This role requires a hands-on, execution-focused leader who can build structure, discipline, and efficiency while maintaining the agility of a smaller organization.

The COO will be responsible for driving operational excellence across manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, maintenance, food safety, and distribution—while ensuring alignment with the performance expectations, governance standards, and reporting requirements of a public company environment.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Execution & Scale-Up

• Lead day-to-day operations across manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, supply chain, quality, and logistics in a lean, growth-stage environment.
• Build scalable processes, systems, and KPIs to support continued expansion.
• Transition operations from entrepreneurial/start-up mode to structured, performance-driven execution.

Manufacturing & Production

• Oversee noodle production operations, including raw material handling (e.g., flour, wheat, ingredients), processing, packaging, and distribution.
• Improve plant throughput, labor efficiency, and equipment utilization.
• Implement lean manufacturing principles and continuous improvement initiatives.

Plant Engineering & Maintenance

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for plant engineering and maintenance functions.
• Ensure reliability and uptime of production equipment through effective preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Partner with engineering and maintenance teams to identify and execute continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, automation, and cost reduction.
• Support capital projects, equipment upgrades, and facility expansions.
• Drive root cause analysis and long-term solutions to recurring operational and mechanical issues.

Supply Chain & Procurement

• Manage sourcing, vendor relationships, and ingredient procurement to ensure cost efficiency and supply continuity.
• Optimize inventory levels and reduce waste/spoilage.
• Strengthen logistics and distribution capabilities to support customer growth.

Quality, Food Safety & Compliance

• Ensure strict compliance with FDA, USDA, HACCP, and GFSI standards.
• Maintain strong food safety culture and audit readiness at all times.
• Align reporting and compliance practices with parent company and public market expectations.

Financial & Performance Management

• Own operational P&L performance, including cost control, margin improvement, and capital allocation.
• Develop and track KPIs, dashboards, and reporting aligned with both internal leadership and parent company requirements.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality or growth.

Strategic Alignment with Parent Company

• Serve as the operational liaison to the publicly traded parent organization.
• Ensure timely and accurate performance reporting, forecasting, and compliance with corporate governance standards.
• Support integration of best practices, systems, and controls from the parent company.

Growth & Expansion

• Support commercialization of new noodle products, SKUs, and private label opportunities.
• Lead operational readiness for capacity expansion, new equipment, or facility growth.
• Evaluate co-manufacturing or vertical integration opportunities.

Leadership & Culture

• Build and develop a high-performing, accountable operations team, including engineering and maintenance leadership.
• Establish clear structure, roles, and performance expectations in a previously less formal organization.
• Promote a culture of safety, quality, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Promote a positive, coaching mentality among the management team in order to instill mentorship/coaching attitude with the workforce.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, Operations, or related field required
• MBA or advanced degree preferred

Experience

• 15+ years of operations leadership experience in food manufacturing, ideally in noodles, grain-based products, or similar categories
• Experience in a small-to-mid-sized or fast-scaling company environment required
• Experience working within or reporting to a publicly traded company or PE-backed structure strongly preferred
• Proven success building processes and scaling operations from early-stage to more mature systems

Skills & Competencies

• Hands-on leadership style with ability to both strategize and execute
• Deep understanding of food manufacturing, particularly high-volume, cost-sensitive production environments
• Strong financial and operational acumen
• Experience implementing structure, KPIs, and accountability in growing companies
• Ability to navigate dual priorities: entrepreneurial agility + public company discipline
• Excellent communication skills, especially with executive leadership and corporate stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of plant engineering principles, industrial equipment systems, and maintenance best practices
• Experience overseeing or closely partnering with plant engineering and maintenance teams
• Familiarity with preventive/predictive maintenance systems (CMMS), reliability engineering, and capital project execution
• Background in driving engineering-led continuous improvement initiatives, automation, and equipment optimization

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Plant efficiency, uptime, and throughput
• Cost of goods sold (COGS) and margin improvement
• Order fulfillment and on-time delivery
• Inventory turnover and waste reduction
• Food safety audit scores and compliance metrics
• Equipment reliability and maintenance effectiveness (e.g., downtime reduction, OEE)
• EBITDA contribution and operational budget adherence

Work Environment

• Based at or near manufacturing facility with strong floor presence
• Periodic travel to parent company headquarters and other locations
• Fast-paced environment requiring adaptability and problem-solving

Compensation

• Competitive base salary
• Performance-based annual bonus tied to operational and financial metrics
• Equity or long-term incentive plan aligned with parent company structure
• Full benefits package

Ideal Candidate Profile (Summary)

A hands-on builder-operator who thrives in a growing food manufacturing environment, brings strong operational and engineering awareness, and can introduce structure without losing agility. This leader must be equally comfortable driving plant-level improvements and meeting the expectations of a publicly traded parent organization—while building a scalable, disciplined, and high-performing operation.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Prolonged periods of standing and walking may be required.
• Must be able to lift up to 45 pounds.
• Bending, stopping, carrying up to 20 pounds may be required.

EEO Statement

PGF provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, or service in the military. Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation, and training.

Palmetto Gourmet Foods is a drug free workplace.