Operations Associate
About Our Company
HOJIA is a California-based company focused on bringing high-quality Asian food and beverage brands to the U.S. market. We work across brand development, retail operations, and cross-border partnerships. Our first U.S. launch, GUIJI, is a premium Taiwanese tea brand known for its commitment to freshness and craftsmanship.
As we continue expanding into new markets, we are looking for an experienced operations professional who can grow with the company and help build strong, consistent operations across our brands.
Job Summary
HOJIA is seeking an experienced Field Operations Associate to support store openings, management training, and ongoing operational performance across HOJIA-managed brands and locations.
The ideal candidate has strong restaurant or food and beverage operations experience and is ready to step into a broader, multi-location support role. The ideal candidate is comfortable working in stores, walking new Store Managers through HOJIA's systems and playbooks, solving day-to-day operational issues, and traveling for temporary assignments. This position may require travel to and temporary assignments in markets such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Arizona, Las Vegas, and other future locations for several weeks at a time.
Key Responsibilities
- Train, onboard, coach, and develop Store Managers and store leadership teams, including identifying performance gaps and improvement opportunities.
- Support new store openings on-site, setting up operating routines, running through opening checklists, and helping the store team get comfortable with day-to-day workflows.
- Conduct store visits to ensure compliance with company policies, brand standards, service expectations, product quality, cleanliness, and operational procedures.
- Monitor store performance, including staffing, scheduling, labor, inventory, waste, customer experience, and overall operational efficiency.
- Provide hands-on, in-store support for underperforming, transitioning, or newly opened locations, working alongside the Store Manager rather than in place of them.
- Help maintain and update SOPs, training materials, and checklists so they stay accurate and easy for store teams to follow.
- Serve as the operational connection between HOJIA leadership and Store Managers, providing regular updates on store performance, training progress, openings, and operational issues.
- Collaborate with HR, marketing, supply chain, and other cross-functional teams to support company and brand goals.
Qualifications & Skills
- 1-2 years of restaurant, food and beverage, hospitality, retail, or related operations experience.
- Comfortable coaching frontline staff and new managers through established playbooks and systems (prior team lead or training experience a plus).
- Strong communication, organization, and problem-solving skills; able to work independently while traveling.
- Must be willing and able to travel frequently within California and to other states, including temporary assignments of several weeks when required.
- Bilingual English/Mandarin Chinese is a strong plus, but not required.
Additional Information
Job Type: Full-time
Compensation: $24 per hour, plus a travel bonus/per diem for out-of-market assignments
Primary Work Location: Santa Fe Springs, CA
Travel: Frequent travel within California and to other U.S. markets is required.
Candidates must be able to commute to our Santa Fe Springs office. Relocation assistance for moving to the Santa Fe Springs area is not provided. Company-required business travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with company policy.
HOJIA is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants and do not discriminate based on any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance