Kitchen Equipment Manager

About the Role

The Kitchen Equipment Manager owns the readiness, maintenance, and field performance of Bolton's mobile kitchen fleet — trailerized kitchens, kitchen skids, and smokers — across every active project and disaster deployment. The role involves cross-training technicians, building a dedicated kitchen equipment team, and ensuring fleet readiness, preventive maintenance, and field support.

Responsibilities

• Fleet readiness (Houston yard):
  • Run the return-to-ready process for every unit coming back from the field: clean, hook up, test, and tag.
  • Maintain red/green tag status on all trailers, skids, and smokers; red-tagged units carry a documented repair list and parts need.
  • Use the yard as a test environment — run each unit as it would operate in the field before it ships.
  • Sign off that every unit is plug-and-play ready before deployment.
• Preventive maintenance and repair:
  • Build and own PM schedules for all kitchen equipment, in the yard and at deployed sites.
  • Diagnose and repair hot side and refrigeration equipment; serve as the escalation point for field technicians.
  • Decide repair vs. swap for problem units at deployed sites and coordinate replacements.
• Field support and deployment:
  • Lead equipment startup, commissioning, and startup procedures at new sites.
  • Provide remote troubleshooting support to deployed technicians and site teams.
  • Travel to sites to resolve critical failures, audit equipment use, and verify maintenance is being performed.
  • Give leadership clear visibility on equipment condition and issues across all states.
• Technician training and team build-out:
  • Phase 1: Cross-train all technicians reporting to the Maintenance Manager to competency on every kitchen equipment type, hot side and refrigeration.
  • Phase 2: Build and lead a dedicated team of kitchen equipment technicians, responsible for job readiness and maintenance when equipment comes off rent.
  • Build a structured, repeatable training program, including pathways to manufacturer certification.
  • Recruit, assess, and develop technicians for the kitchen equipment team.
• Parts, documentation, and warranty:
  • Define and maintain standby parts inventory by equipment type; organize and control the parts room.
  • Document every service event — equipment history, PMs, repairs — in the company system of record.
  • Manage warranty claims and documentation directly with manufacturers.
  • Maintain manufacturer relationships for training, parts, and technical support.

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years servicing commercial kitchen equipment, with deep hot side expertise and working refrigeration knowledge.
• Proven experience training technicians to competency.
• Experience leading a service team as a lead technician, branch manager, or business owner.
• Track record building PM programs, organizing parts inventory, and improving equipment uptime.
• Hands-on warranty experience and strict service documentation habits.
• Ability to troubleshoot gas, electrical, and controls systems on commercial cooking equipment.
• Willingness to travel periodically to project sites.
• Valid driver's license.

Preferred Qualifications

• Manufacturer certifications (e.g., Garland, Cleveland, Rational) and/or master technician certification.
• Formal electrical training.
• Experience with high-volume operations requiring fast turnaround.
• Experience with mobile, temporary, or remote-site kitchens.
• Familiarity with service management software and QR-code equipment tracking.

Success Measures

• First 90 days:
  • Complete condition assessment of the full fleet; every unit carries a current red/green tag.
  • Written return-to-ready and startup procedures in use for every equipment type.
  • PM schedule live for the yard and all deployed sites.
  • Standby parts list defined and parts room organized.
  • All technicians reporting to the Maintenance Manager cross-trained on the kitchen fleet, with a documented training plan for each.
• Ongoing:
  • Fleet uptime at deployed sites.
  • Units shipped ready on first deployment, with no startup failures.
  • Kitchen equipment technician team hired, trained, and certified.
  • Complete service records and timely warranty recovery.

Working Conditions

Based at the Houston yard, with periodic travel to field sites, including remote locations and disaster response deployments. Work around live gas, electrical, and high-heat equipment; PPE and safety compliance required. Extended hours and short-notice travel during deployments and emergencies. Regular lifting, climbing in and out of trailers, and work in outdoor conditions.