General Manager of Operations

Location Type: On-site

 

We grow the world’s BEST Strawberries & our Operations team is a major reason why!

We are seeking a General Manager to lead our Phillipsburg, NJ facility with full accountability for Operations, Maintenance, and Facilities within a high-tech indoor vertical farm operating 24/7/365. This leader owns the end-to-end performance of the site, including safety, food safety and quality, operational excellence, plant health, financial performance, team development, staffing, and service across farm, packaging, maintenance, and facilities. They are responsible for everything from driving continuous improvement and optimizing operations to leading through staffing challenges, emergencies, and daily execution. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives on ownership, drives results, and holds themselves and their teams accountable for outcomes.

Above all, we’re looking for an authentic people leader who develops high-performing teams and leaders at every level-from hourly operators to senior managers. The right person leads by example, earns trust through action, and creates a culture where people are engaged, accountable, and motivated to follow because of how they lead, not simply because of their title.

What you’ll be responsible for:

• Own the overall performance of the Phillipsburg facility, with full accountability for safety, quality, production, people, cost, customer fulfillment, and operational excellence.
• Lead all site operations, including Farm, Pack, Facilities, Maintenance, Safety, and Security, with full P&L ownership and decision-making authority across all shifts.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing leadership team, including the Assistant General Manager, Facilities Manager, and Maintenance Manager, while fostering a culture of accountability, engagement, continuous learning, and alignment with Oishii’s values.
• Drive talent strategy across the site by developing leaders, improving retention, managing performance, planning succession, and ensuring teams have the training, resources, and support to succeed.
• Ensure compliance with all food safety, quality, sanitation, regulatory, and workplace safety standards while maintaining audit readiness and operational discipline.
• Establish, monitor, and continuously improve key operational metrics across safety, quality, production, cost, and service, using data to identify opportunities, solve problems, and drive measurable business results.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that increase efficiency, productivity, automation adoption, product quality, and profitability while standardizing best practices across operations.
• Partner cross-functionally with Supply Chain, Sales, Engineering, R&D, People, and other business leaders to align operational execution with business priorities and customer commitments.
• Provide decisive leadership during operational challenges, including equipment failures, plant health events, staffing shortages, and other business-critical situations, while maintaining business continuity and minimizing operational risk.
• Build scalable operational processes, systems, and organizational capability that support future growth and position the facility for long-term success.

Who will love this job: Individuals who identify with our Core Values and exhibit skills within those values will thrive at Oishii.

• One Team, One Fight!
  • Ability to quickly shift priorities to meet deadlines and effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, clearly, concisely, and with purpose.
  • Ability to work cross-functionally at all levels including across all locations, and collaborate at various levels of the organization with a focus on unifying all functions to deliver exceptional results.
  • Ability to lead through others and develop teams with a diverse level of experience to succeed.
• Focus.
  • Willingness to be a student of the business, taking time to learn about plants from our scientists & growers to best understand how to operationalize what we do.
  • Ability to remove obstacles to prioritize, which could include problem-solving, working through ambiguity, and using fact-based or sound judgment.
  • Ability to synthesize information quickly to aid in the troubleshooting process.
• GSD (Get Sh** Done!)
  • Possessing an entrepreneurial mindset with the tenacity to develop ideas, test and implement them rapidly.
  • Capable of prioritizing tasks and considering the resources available when doing so.
  • A bias for action! Ability to hold yourself accountable and take ownership of driving results that impact company outcomes.

What we’re looking for in a General Manager of Operations:

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership and management experience in warehouse, logistics, manufacturing, production, or co-manufacturing environments.
• 5+ years leading large-scale food, CPG, manufacturing, or production operations, with experience in highly automated facilities. Robotics-enabled operations experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, fast-paced 24/7 operations. Multi-site leadership experience is preferred.
• Strong analytical and data-driven decision maker with experience using production and inventory management systems, ERP platforms, and advanced Excel. Proven ability to drive operational improvements through metrics and technology.
• Exceptional leadership, organizational, and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize, execute, and deliver results in a dynamic environment.

Physical Requirements & Working Conditions:

• MUST NOT be allergic to bees.
• The location for this role is located in Philipsburg, NJ, and is 100% on-site.
• A vehicle will be required for this, along with a valid driver’s license.

• Our facilities are 24/7/365 with live product requiring continuous monitoring.

Perks at Oishii:

• Compensation: $150,000-$170,000 with Equity
• Medical, Dental, Vision, and other ancillary benefits
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid Parental leave
• Office social events including happy hours, parties, and community service projects
• Employee activity groups for basketball players, Yoga Enthusiasts, runners…

About Us:

Oishii (which means “delicious” in Japanese) is the innovative company behind the world’s largest indoor vertical strawberry farm. On a mission to transform the agriculture industry through the power of smart farming, Oishii harmoniously marries nature with state-of-the-art technology to create the ideal elements-rain, air, heat, light, nourishment and natural bee pollination-for growing in-season produce all year round. Oishii’s beloved Omakase, Koyo and Nikko Berries are grown in pesticide-free vertical farms in the U.S. and proudly bear the Non-GMO Project Verified seal. Founded in 2016, Oishii’s investors include SPARX Group, NTT, Yaskawa, McWin Capital Partners, and Resilience Reserve. Oishii was recognized as one of Fast Company’s “World’s Most Innovative Companies” in 2022.

Today, Oishii operates farms and research facilities across the United States and Japan, bringing together expertise from both countries to advance the future of agriculture. As a Japanese-founded company with global ambitions, we are building a world-class team dedicated to transforming how premium produce is grown and delivered. For more information, visit www.oishii.com.