Job Purpose

Lead restaurant technology hardware lifecycle management programs for Panera’s 2200 bakery-cafes, including hardware selection, vendor management, configuration governance, maintenance and retirement planning. Partner with deployment, inventory, supply chain, and operations teams to support the successful delivery and ongoing support of restaurant technology solutions.

Location: St. Louis, MO (hybrid)

Duties & Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of this job include, but are not limited to:

• Manage the restaurant technology hardware portfolio and lifecycle, supporting product strategy and execution while ensuring alignment with business priorities and operational needs.
• Partner with stakeholders and delivery teams to prioritize requirements, maintain roadmaps and backlogs, and support successful execution of hardware-related initiatives. Create and maintain contracts, including statements of work, cost negotiations, order agreements, master services agreements, product design and manufacturing agreements, etc.
• Create and maintain budgets for capital projects and repair and maintenance.
• Manage relationships with OEM, Value Added Reseller, and Field Services partners, including contract administration, performance management, and participation in request for proposals, vendor evaluations and business reviews.
• Collaborate with business and technology stakeholders to support restaurant technology hardware initiatives and operational objectives. Work with all restaurant technology hardware stakeholders to ensure that business, legal, security, licensing, process, etc., requirements are met.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Finance, Operations, and Deployment teams to ensure new product inventory availability and operational readiness for business initiatives.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications (Education & Experience)

Qualifications include:

• 7-10 years of progressive experience in restaurant technology, technology deployment, hardware lifecycle management, asset management, supply chain operations, or related fields required. Bachelor's degree preferred. Equivalent experience may be substituted for formal education.
• Demonstrated leadership, organizational, and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive initiatives.
• Strong interpersonal and well-developed verbal and written communications skills
• Must be able to learn, understand, and apply new concepts & technologies.
• Able to conform/adapt to priorities, demands, and timelines through analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• 7-10 years of experience supporting food services operations, restaurant technology systems, or related technology environments preferred.
• Experience managing hardware lifecycle programs, vendor relationships and knowledge of emerging technologies is desirable.
• Experience with systems and\or software development life cycle methodologies, such as SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework for enterprise), Agile, or Lean Agile.
• Proficient with Microsoft Windows 10, Apple iOS, Browser (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer), Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Outlook, OneNote, Teams, Sharepoint), Jira, Jira Align, Workday, and ServiceNow.
• Desired experience with information technology service management systems to manage cases, incidents, releases, changes, work orders, asset management, configuration management, etc.
• Position may require occasional travel to Panera markets within North American. (U.S. & Canada)
• Customer-oriented attitude and willingness to work through both simple and complex issues.

Working Conditions

• This position follows a hybrid work model, with a minimum of four days per week required in the office.
• This position may require occasional travel, including visits to bakery-cafes and vendor facilities, totaling approximately 1-2 weeks per year.

Physical Requirements

• While performing this job, the incumbent is regularly required to stand, sit, talk hear & use hands and fingers to operate keyboards

Direct Reports

• This position will have one direct report under its supervision.

The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.