Position Summary
The Sr. Manager, Engineering Project Management, serves as the primary project manager for initiatives led by Panera’s Engineering team that improve café operations and systems. This role ensures projects are delivered on time, within scope, and aligned with Panera’s strategic goals. The ideal candidate combines strong project management skills with the ability to coordinate technical assessments and cross-functional collaboration. Reporting to the Director of Engineering, this position plays a critical role in driving operational efficiency and supporting Panera’s future operating model.
Key Responsibilities
- Own end-to-end project management for café engineering initiatives, including planning, scheduling, risk management, and stakeholder communication.
- Develop and maintain detailed project plans and timelines; monitor progress and proactively resolve issues.
- Serve as a liaison between Engineering and cross-functional teams (Operations, Development, Culinary, IT, Finance) to ensure alignment and smooth execution.
- Create and maintain detailed project plans, timelines, and resource allocations; monitor progress and adjust as needed.
- Serve as a liaison between engineering and cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and successful execution.
- Prepare and deliver clear, actionable updates to leadership and field teams, support testing and equipment deployments.
- Validate technical feasibility of new equipment, systems, and processes; provide recommendations based on operational impact.
- Work with Development’s design and creative groups to provide feedback on how curated plans impact in-cafe day-to-day operations, validating equipment placement that avoids bottlenecks to ensure effective customer and associate travel paths.
- Drive continuous improvement by leveraging data, analytics, and feedback from field operations.
- Willingness to learn café team members, AGMs, and GMs daily responsibilities and operations.
- Work on other assigned projects as necessary
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, or related field preferred.
- 3+ years of experience in project management, engineering, or operations (within a multi-unit restaurant or retail environment preferred.)
- Experience working in a restaurant/café is a nice to have.
- Strong technical aptitude with ability to troubleshoot and solve complex problems.
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and deliver results on time.
- Excellent communication and influencing skills; able to build relationships across departments.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite; experience with project management tools a plus.
- Able to delegate effectively, with strong follow-up skills
- Ability to travel up to 50% based on project needs.
Competitive Pay $136,383-$190,937 annually.
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.
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What We Do
Panera began in 1987 as St. Louis Bread Company, a humble community bakery founded with a sourdough starter from San Francisco and a dream of putting a loaf of bread in every arm. While our business has expanded well beyond St. Louis since then, that same sourdough starter is still used in our iconic sourdough bread and the craft of baking bread fresh each day remains at the heart of Panera Bread. Each day, our trained bakers fill our bakery shelves with delicious freshly baked cookies, pastries, bagels, and a range of breads from focaccia to classic baguettes.
We believe in serving delicious, freshly prepared, clean food made with carefully selected ingredients that we are proud to serve our own families. Our menu, crafted by chefs and bakers, features classic, comforting dishes, each with an intriguing twist.
We respect our planet and take measures to lessen our impacts. We believe in treating people with warmth, kindness, and respect, whether it’s a guest in our cafe or one of our associates. And we believe in helping our local communities, especially in times of need.
We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we offer omni-channel access to your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering, catering, and Rapid Pick-Up® for to-go orders, Curbside pick-up and delivery – all designed to make things easier for our guests.
Today, Panera operates as both Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co St. Louis Bread Company in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
Panera Bread is privately held by JAB Holding Company. Panera Bread is part of Panera Brands, one of the largest fast-casual restaurant platforms in the U.S., comprised of Panera Bread®, Caribou Coffee® and Einstein Bros.® Bagels.
