Operations Lead

About The Job

The Mission

Ship Morning Water—our functional hydration powder—to paying customers by October 1, 2025 with zero quality misses, compliant labels, and a supply chain that can scale to 10k+ units/month.

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Why You?

Because you’ve already:

• Run at least one supplement, beverage, or food SKU from prototype to shelf.
• Lived the ugly parts: MOQs, lead‑time roulette, co‑packer drama, Prop 65/FDA labeling, and 3PL onboarding.
• Built Gantt charts that actual humans follow—and fired vendors who slipped.
• Balanced cash like oxygen: you know PO vs. runway trade‑offs cold.
• Thrive on ruthless prioritization, brutal candor, and speed > polish.

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What You’ll Own (not “support”)

Supply Chain & Production

• Finalize ingredient sourcing (dual‑sourced critical actives).
• Lock June 15 production slot; manage line trial + full run.

Packaging & Compliance

• Convert approved design into press‑ready dielines.
• Coordinate FDA/Prop 65 review; fix fast if flagged.

Logistics & Fulfillment

• Select and stand‑up 3PL with <48‑hr SLA.
• Build inbound freight + outbound ship playbook.

Cash & Ops Visibility

• Maintain weekly Cash Dashboard (burn, runway, AP/AR).
• Update launch Gantt; red‑flag any slip within 24 hrs.

Cross‑Functional Firefighter

• Help translate founder ideas into vendor‑ready briefs.

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Must‑Haves

• 5+ yrs CPG Ops or Supply‑Chain leadership (supplements or food preferred).
• Rolodex of reliable co‑packers, printers, ingredient brokers, freight forwarders.
• Spreadsheet killer + Airtable/Notion fluent.
• Clear, concise communicator who thrives in early-stage businesses.
• Able to overlap at least 3 hrs with Pacific Time.

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Nice‑to‑Haves

• Experience launching DTC subscription SKUs.
• FDA/USDA audit experience.
• Past stint at a <$10 M revenue start‑up that scaled fast.

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Terms & Comp

• Contract: 10 hrs/week for 4 months (May 22 – Sept 30).
• Rate: $90 – $130/hour (1099) or propose a flat monthly retainer.
• Extension: If we both win, option to grow into a full‑time role.

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How to Apply

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