Location:

Sunnyvale, CaliforniaSchedule:

Full-time, Monday through Friday, on-site

Compensation:

$35-50$ per hour, plus benefits and applicable overtimeReports to: Operations Manager About the role:

Symbiokinetics is looking for a hands-on Company Chef and Kitchen Operations Manager to build and run our in-office meal program.

You will prepare healthy, high-quality breakfast and lunch for approximately 13 employees each weekday. You will also own the kitchen operation end to end, including menu planning, purchasing, inventory, equipment selection and maintenance, food-safety procedures, sanitation, budgeting, and vendor management.

This is not a restaurant executive-chef role where most of the cooking is delegated. We are looking for someone who enjoys cooking personally, works well in a small and informal environment, and can independently create a reliable, safe, and well-organized food program.

Meal-service model:

The anticipated schedule is approximately 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m, Monday through Friday. Sunday will need lunch only, prepackaged meals are fine. Breakfast and lunch will ordinarily be served during the workday. Occasional evening service may be scheduled in advance.

• The exact schedule will be established based on team size and meal times.

Additional kitchen support may be added as the company grows.

ResponsibilitiesDaily meal preparation:

• Plan and prepare breakfast and lunch for 13 people, M-F, with enough leftovers for those who stay late.
• Sunday would need arrangements for lunch only, prepackaged is fine.
• Create varied, nutritionally balanced weekly menus using fresh, high-quality ingredients.
• Accommodate documented allergies and reasonable dietary restrictions, including vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, or other recurring needs.
• Establish consistent meal times, portion sizes, presentation standards, and service procedures.
• Safely cool, store, label, reheat, package, and manage leftovers.
• Prepare food for occasional visitors, meetings, demonstrations, and company events.
• Collect feedback and adjust menus based on employee preferences, seasonality, cost, and waste.

Purchasing and inventory:

• Forecast ingredient needs and maintain appropriate par levels.
• Source ingredients from grocery suppliers, wholesalers, farms, specialty vendors, and delivery services.
• Place orders, receive deliveries, verify quality, and resolve vendor issues.
• Maintain accurate inventory of food, beverages, kitchen supplies, cleaning products, and disposables.
• Manage a defined weekly or monthly food budget.
• Track purchases, receipts, food costs, and waste.
• Use a company purchasing card and approved vendor accounts.
• Conduct occasional in-person shopping when necessary, with business mileage reimbursed according to company policy.

Kitchen setup and equipment:

• Assess the existing kitchen and recommend the equipment, storage, smallwares, and supplies required for the proposed meal program.
• Help develop an initial kitchen setup and equipment-purchasing plan.
• Select practical, durable, and appropriately rated kitchen equipment.
• Maintain equipment manuals, warranties, maintenance schedules, and service records.
• Coordinate repairs and replacement of equipment.
• Identify equipment, ventilation, refrigeration, dishwashing, storage, or layout limitations before they become operational or safety problems.
• Work with company operations, facilities personnel, contractors, and regulators on kitchen improvements when needed.

Food safety and sanitation:

• Establish and maintain written kitchen operating procedures.
• Implement appropriate procedures for receiving, refrigeration, freezing, cooking, cooling, reheating, hot holding, and cold holding.
• Maintain temperature logs and other records appropriate to the operation.
• Establish clear labeling, date-marking, stock-rotation, and discard procedures.
• Maintain allergen controls and prevent cross-contact and cross-contamination.
• Establish cleaning and sanitation schedules for work surfaces, equipment, storage areas, refrigerators, freezers, and dining areas.
• Ensure safe storage and use of cleaning chemicals.
• Maintain pest-prevention, waste-disposal, recycling, and composting practices.
• Report equipment failures, food-safety concerns, injuries, contamination events, or other incidents promptly.
• Complete and maintain food-safety training and certifications required for the position.
• Support inspections, permitting, recordkeeping, and corrective actions in coordination with company management.

Kitchen administration:

• Develop weekly menus and share them with the team in advance.
• Maintain ingredient, recipe, supplier, and dietary-restriction records.
• Develop standardized recipes and approximate serving quantities.
• Maintain clear operating checklists so another qualified person can provide coverage when necessary.
• Track basic operating metrics, including food cost, utilization, waste, recurring employee requests, and equipment needs.
• Keep the kitchen, pantry, refrigerators, storage areas, and dining areas orderly and professionally maintained.
• Help the company plan for growth in employee count, meal volume, and kitchen staffing.

Qualifications:

• At least four years of relevant professional culinary experience, such as corporate dining, private-chef work, catering, restaurant cooking, institutional food service, or kitchen management.
• Demonstrated ability to independently prepare complete meals for groups of approximately 13 people.
• Strong practical cooking skills across a range of cuisines and dietary styles.
• Experience with menu planning, ingredient purchasing, inventory management, and food-cost control.
• Working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, food allergens, temperature control, and cross-contamination prevention.
• Ability to establish and follow organized kitchen systems rather than relying on improvisation.
• Ability to balance food quality, nutrition, employee preferences, cost, and operational simplicity.
• Comfort working independently in a small-company environment.
• Strong reliability, judgment, cleanliness, and attention to detail.
• Ability to communicate clearly about supply needs, safety concerns, budgets, and operational limitations.
• Basic ability to use email, spreadsheets, purchasing systems, and shared documents.
• Willingness to complete employer-provided food-safety training and obtain and maintain certifications required for the role.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience establishing a new kitchen or corporate meal program.
• Experience working as a corporate or private chef.
• Food Protection Manager certification or comparable advanced food-safety training.
• Experience managing suppliers and purchasing accounts.
• Familiarity with equipment specifications, preventive maintenance, and kitchen layout.
• Baking, fermentation, international-cuisine, or nutrition-related experience is a plus, but not required.

A culinary degree is welcome but is not required. Demonstrated skill, operational judgment, and reliability are more important.

Physical requirements:

The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, including:

• Standing and moving through the kitchen for extended periods.
• Repetitive food-preparation and cleaning tasks.
• Safely handling knives, hot equipment, and commercial or professional kitchen appliances.
• Lifting and carrying ingredients, cookware, and supplies weighing up to approximately 40 pounds.
• Receiving and putting away deliveries.
• Maintaining safe working practices in a physically active kitchen environment.

What success looks like:

Within the first 90 days, the person in this role should have:

• Established a reliable weekday meal schedule.
• Created a repeatable menu-planning and employee-feedback process.
• Implemented purchasing, inventory, receiving, and food-cost systems.
• Documented dietary restrictions and allergen procedures.
• Established cleaning, sanitation, temperature-control, labeling, and maintenance procedures.
• Identified any necessary kitchen upgrades or additional staffing needs.
• Consistently provided meals on time, within budget, and with minimal avoidable waste.

Compensation and benefits:

• Compensation range: $35-50$ per hour, based on experience and scope.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Overtime paid in accordance with applicable law.
• 3 weeks PTO and company holidays.
• FSA and dependent care FSA matching up to 3400$
• Company purchasing card and approved food budget.
• Business mileage reimbursement when personal vehicle use is authorized.
• Primarily weekday schedule, with limited evening or special-event work arranged in advance.
• Significant autonomy over menus and development of the company s food program.

How to apply:

Please submit:1. A resume or summary of relevant culinary experience.2. A brief description of the largest meal program you have independently operated.3. A sample five-day menu for [number] employees, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.4. An example of how you would accommodate common allergies or dietary restrictions without creating an entirely separate menu for every employee.5. Your availability and compensation expectations.

Finalists may be invited to complete a paid working interview in which they plan, purchase, prepare, serve, and clean up after a meal for a small group.

Symbiokinetics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to any status protected by applicable law and provide reasonable accommodations during the hiring process and employment.