Senior Manager, Transportation (Temperature-Controlled Logistics)

About The Role

Kinder's is seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Temperature-Controlled Logistics to own the transportation strategy, 4PL partnership and carrier base behind our fastest-growing business: frozen and chilled foods.

We are a fast-growing company working hard to bring amazing flavor solutions that are as exciting and delicious as they are simple to use to our consumers, whether they are experienced cooks or first-timers in the kitchen. We are obsessed with quality and 100% committed to being the most innovative company in any market we serve. Our mission is to bring awesome flavor to consumers whenever and wherever they are looking for it, and in whatever they are looking for it in (seasonings, sauces, rubs, marinades, frozen favorites, or anything else we can come up with). We have experienced tremendous growth over the last 5 years, but we think we are just getting started.

Today, we have over 100 products sold nationwide at retailers including Costco, Walmart, Sam's Club, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway and many more. While we have been around for 80 years, we are now a top 5 brand in the U.S. in multiple flavor categories including seasoning blends, BBQ sauce, and wing sauce. To keep our momentum rolling, we need more passionate builders to join our team and help us reach every kitchen across the U.S. and maybe even the world.

How you'll have an impact at Kinder's: As the Senior Manager, Temperature-Controlled Logistics, you will be the single accountable owner of how our Frozen and Chilled products move - from co-manufacturers, through cold storage, to retail and club shelves across the country. This is a strategic role. You won't run loads day to day; our temperature-controlled 4PL partner does that. You will decide how they run, hold them to it, and keep the cold chain unbroken as the business grows.

You will own the relationship with our temperature-controlled 4PL partner, set and govern the routing guide, lead our refrigerated carrier strategy, and own cold-chain integrity and food safety compliance in transportation. You will partner closely with Supply Planning, Quality, Sales, Finance, our co-manufacturers and our internal Logistics Operations and Analytics teams, and you will report to the Senior Director, Transportation & Logistics Strategy.
Key Responsibilities
Temperature-Controlled Transportation Strategy:

• Develop and own the multi-year transportation strategy for the Frozen and Chilled businesses, built to scale with rapid growth in volume, items and customers.
• Design the temperature-controlled network end to end - co-manufacturer pickups, cold storage and warehouse moves, and outbound to retail and club distribution centers - balancing service, cost, product integrity and resilience.
• Shape mode and network decisions for refrigerated freight, including multi-stop, consolidation and dedicated capacity where it creates advantage.
• Translate commercial plans, launches, promotions and seasonal peaks into refrigerated capacity plans well ahead of demand.
• Bring a point of view to cross-functional leaders on how temperature-controlled transportation can protect in-stock performance and enable growth.

4PL Partner Ownership:

• Serve as the accountable owner of our temperature-controlled 4PL relationship: scope of work, service level agreements, governance cadence and quarterly business reviews.
• Set clear expectations for what the partner executes day to day - tendering, appointment scheduling, temperature tracking, exception handling, carrier payment, freight audit and claims - and hold them accountable for delivering it.
• Negotiate and manage partner agreements, including service levels, service credits, cold-chain and food safety requirements, rate and cost transparency, data access and audit rights.
• Direct the partner to operate within the Kinder's routing guide and over Kinder's-contracted carriers, and push them for continuous improvement ideas, not just reports.
• Manage cold storage and other partners supporting frozen and chilled freight, ensuring they work as one system with the 4PL.

Refrigerated Carrier Strategy & Procurement:

• Own the refrigerated carrier portfolio - asset carriers and brokers - including carrier qualification, contracting, onboarding and performance management.
• Lead temperature-controlled freight bids with our procurement partner and build the routing guide from the results.
• Build strategic relationships with core reefer carriers so Kinder's has reliable capacity through peak seasons and tight markets.
• Manage accessorial, detention and fuel programs with the added complexity of refrigerated operations (pre-cool, continuous run, multi-temp).

Cold Chain Integrity & Compliance:

• Own transportation compliance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule, in partnership with Quality.
• Set temperature requirements, monitoring and data standards for partners and carriers, and make sure every load is traceable from pickup to delivery.
• Lead investigation and resolution of temperature excursions, product damage and rejected loads, and drive root-cause fixes with partners, carriers and co-manufacturers.
• Work with co-manufacturers and cold storage partners on loading, dock and handoff practices that protect product quality.

Performance, Cost & Data:

• Partner with Logistics Analytics to define and review carrier and partner scorecards, cost-to-serve and network performance, and act on what the data shows.
• Own the temperature-controlled freight budget and forecast in partnership with Finance; identify and deliver cost improvements without compromising service or product integrity.
• Protect customer service, in-stock performance and retailer compliance for our frozen business, especially with our largest retail partners.
• Champion visibility and temperature-monitoring technology, and make sure partner systems give Kinder's the data it needs.
• Apply AI and automation to transportation work - rate and capacity analysis, bid evaluation, temperature-exception alerting, partner reporting and forecasting - and push our partners to do the same.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Culture:

• Work with Supply Planning, Quality, Sales, Customer Operations and Finance so transportation decisions support the overall business, not just freight cost.
• Provide direction and escalation support to the Logistics Operations team on frozen and chilled pre-shipment work and partner handoffs.
• Lead with Kinder's values - Humility, Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Curiosity and Results - asking great questions and owning outcomes without excuses.

Risk & Continuity:

• Anticipate refrigerated capacity, rate, weather and equipment risk and build contingency plans with partners, carriers and cold storage providers.
• Lead response to disruptions and cold-chain failures, always doing what is right for consumers, customers and the business over the long term.

Reporting & Scope

• Reports to the Senior Director, Transportation & Logistics Strategy
• Owns the temperature-controlled 4PL partner and refrigerated carrier base
• Works closely with the Logistics Operations team (coordinators), Logistics Analytics and Quality

What You Bring to the Table

• 8+ years of transportation or logistics experience, with at least 3 years in a strategic or leadership role in frozen, refrigerated or perishable food
• Proven experience owning a 3PL, 4PL or managed transportation relationship - including contracts, service levels and performance governance
• Deep knowledge of refrigerated truckload markets, reefer carrier procurement and freight bid management
• Working knowledge of FSMA Sanitary Transportation requirements, temperature monitoring and cold-chain practices
• Experience meeting the routing, compliance and in-stock expectations of large retail and club customers such as Walmart, Costco and Sam's Club
• Strong commercial and financial acumen - comfortable negotiating, building cost models and making trade-offs in the face of incomplete information
• Data-driven mindset with hands-on experience using TMS, visibility and BI tools (e.g., Tableau or Power BI); familiarity with SAP a plus
• Working knowledge of AI tools (e.g., generative AI assistants, machine-learning forecasting, AI-enabled TMS and visibility platforms) and how to apply them to transportation decisions, analysis and partner management
• Excellent communication and influence skills with executives, partners, co-manufacturers and cross-functional teams
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business or a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered

Location and Travel

The position will be based out of our office in Walnut Creek, CA. We strongly believe in the power of culture and community and have a hybrid work structure with 4 days in the office on a weekly basis to encourage collaboration and personal connections that will allow us to better serve our customers and consumers and to have more fun. Fridays are flex days with employees having the opportunity to choose to be either in the office or to work from home based on what makes most sense for them. This role requires travel of approximately 25% to partner, carrier, co-manufacturer and cold storage locations.
Pay Transparency

The expected starting salary range for this role is $160,000- $180,000 per year. The salary range posted for this role reflects the good-faith base pay range Kinder's reasonably expects to offer at the time of posting and may vary based on the location of the role. Individual compensation within the posted range will be determined based on factors such as relevant education, experience, qualifications, skills, and business needs.

SEASONED FOR SUCCESS:

• No two days here are the same.
• We try to be good team members and good communicators, but we don't live by hierarchy and structure - everyone is a difference maker here.
• We make a lot of decisions in the face of incomplete information - our team embraces ambiguity and tries to make good decisions fast rather than great decisions slow.
• We believe our job is to take smart risk, not to eliminate risk.
• We believe in growing our skills and becoming a better company with more managerial expertise, but we are an entrepreneurial company at heart.
• We aren't trying to be average - we want to do exceptional things, and we are willing to work hard to achieve them.

BENEFITS THAT BRING MORE TO THE TABLE:

We offer a range of total rewards that may include paid time off, 401k, bonus / incentive eligibility, equity grants, competitive health benefits, and other family-friendly benefits, including parental leave. Kinder's benefits vary based on eligibility and can be reviewed in more detail during the interview process.

OUR RECIPE FOR BALANCE:

We believe great culture starts with people. We're a people-first company built on connection, collaboration, and balance. Most of our work happens in the office to spark creativity and community, but we also offer flexibility so team members have the autonomy to work outside the office when needed to support their work-life balance and personal commitments.