Summary
About this role
We’re seeking a seasoned Sr Manager, Café Technical Product Management to lead the strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle delivery of cafe technology for a fast casual brand operating 2000+ locations. You will own the portfolio across Point of Sale (POS), Kitchen Display Systems (KDS), Drive Thru systems, digital menu boards, peripherals (printers, cash drawers, scales), barcode scanners, camera/anti theft systems, and any other hardware/software tools needed to run a high performing café. This leader will translate operational needs into scalable, reliable products—balancing guest experience, associate experience, and total cost of ownership (TCO)—and will partner closely with Operations, Marketing, Finance, Security/Compliance, Payments and Enterprise Architecture.
Duties & Responsibilities
Scope of Ownership:
- POS platform & payments (tenders, offline mode, loyalty, offers)
- KDS & production orchestration (order flow, batching, load balancing)
- Drive Thru (timers, audio, lane management, preview boards)
- Digital menu boards (content orchestration, price/item accuracy, ADA modes)
- Peripherals (receipt/label printers, cash drawers, scales, customer displays)
- Barcode / QR scanning (loyalty, payments, order handoff)
- Loss prevention & anti theft (CCTV/cameras, intelligent alerts)
- Store telemetry/IoT (network, device health, observability, configuration management)
- Store OS & image management (Windows/Android/iPadOS, patching, device lifecycle)
Key Responsibilities:
- Product Strategy & Roadmap
- Build a 3 year portfolio roadmap aligned to Panera’s RISE brand strategy, operations goals, and P&L targets; sequence investments across modernization, reliability, and new capabilities.
- Define and maintain north star outcomes (speed of service, order accuracy, uptime, associate efficiency).
- Portfolio Management & Delivery
- Lead product discovery (store walks, time-and-motion studies, call center insights, VOC) and convert insights into validated requirements, partnering with the business teams.
- Run projects at scale across hardware + software for pilots → phased rollouts → full deployment.
- Establish NFRs (reliability, performance, security, accessibility) and enforce definition of ready/done across teams.
- Reliability, Security & Compliance
- Own availability SLAs, incident/problem/change governance, and observability (device telemetry, proactive health).
- Partner with InfoSec/Compliance on PCI DSS, P2PE, ADA accessibility, regional privacy (e.g., CCPA/GDPR where applicable), and safety/camera regulations.
- Drive configuration management and patch cadence for store OS/images and firmware.
- Operational Excellence & Rollout
- Manage vendor relationships (RFPs, SOWs, SLAs, penalties, total cost) and negotiate commercial terms with Procurement/Legal.
- Partner with Field Ops to design pilot criteria, success metrics, go/no go gates and oversee cutover planning.
- Run root cause analysis (5 Whys, Pareto) on incidents and repeat issues; prioritize fixes that remove café friction.
- People Leadership
- Coach, and develop a diverse team of Technical Product Owners; set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and grow future leaders.
- Create a culture of bias to action and data driven decisions.
Qualifications (Education & Experience)
Qualifications include:
- 8–12 years in product management or adjacent roles (TPM, Solutions, Store Technology), including 3–5 years leading managers.
- Proven ownership of hardware + software portfolios in multi site retail/QSR/fast casual environments (1000+ locations preferred).
- Deep experience with POS/KDS, payments & peripherals, drive thru, and digital signage ecosystems.
- Strong command of portfolio governance, and vendor management.
- Working knowledge of PCI DSS, ADA, device management and observability tooling.
- Demonstrated ability to translate Ops needs → product outcomes and manage cross functional stakeholders (Ops, Finance, Supply Chain, Legal, Security, IT).
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 direct reports
Competitive Pay $145,305 to $203,427 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.
Saint Louis Support CenterOther facts
About Panera Bread
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.
What you'll do
- The Sr Manager will lead the strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle delivery of cafe technology across multiple systems including POS and KDS. They will manage product discovery, oversee project rollouts, and ensure compliance with security and operational standards.
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