About Pilot R&D

We are known for tackling the biggest challenges in food and turning ambitious ideas into reality. To make things happen, we navigate a wide range of relationships — from our clients to ingredient suppliers to co-packers and beyond — while doing rigorous product development work in our Berkeley kitchen and lab. We are a small, talented team that takes the work seriously and treats one another with respect.

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Role Mission

Own the operational coordination of all active Pilot R&D client projects — scheduling, tracking, logistics, and documentation — so that the Relationship Manager can manage a larger portfolio of engagements without working at overcapacity, and the founding partners have zero involvement in day-to-day project operations.

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Outcomes: What Must Be True at 12 Months

1. Project momentum is owned end-to-end. No active project sits idle for more than 48 business hours without a documented next action and an owner. The coordinator tracks every open item across all active projects in a shared system — not email — and updates it daily. The Relationship Manager and founding partners can see the current status of every project at any time without having to ask.

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2. The Relationship Manager's coordination burden is measurably reduced. She can point to specific tasks she no longer touches — scheduling, milestone tracking, sample logistics, document prep — that this person now owns reliably. Target: she recaptures at least 8 hours/week of time currently spent on tasks a coordinator could handle. (target: by month 6)

 

3. 15+ concurrent projects tracked in real time with no gaps. The project tracker reflects current status, next steps, and outstanding items for every active engagement at all times. The Relationship Manager never discovers a status she didn't know about or a deadline that wasn't flagged. (target: by month 4)

 

4. Client tastings are supported such that one rather than 2 founders need to attend. Project Coordinator is able to attend all client tastings, in-person and remote, to assess client reactions and needs, take notes, capture next steps, answer questions, and ensure smooth run-of-show such that only one founder need to be present to lead tastings vs. two. (target: by month 9)

 

5. Average project duration is improved by 10% with path to 20%. Project Coordinator is ushering projects to completion and keeps things moving during the highest risk points in the projects, namely when third-parties have greater influence on timeline. The Project Coordinator is also preparing Final Deliverables timely upon completion of the trial run to ensure Final Deliverables are packaged and presented to clients within 2 weeks of the scope being completed.

 

6. Every client-facing meeting has a prep package delivered 24 hours in advance — unprompted. Agendas, prior session notes, open items, and any relevant documents ready before every call. Zero instances of the team walking into a client meeting underprepared due to coordination failure.

 

7. Sample logistics run without founder or Relationship Manager involvement. All Client sample requests, shipment tracking, and follow-ups for all active projects are owned and executed by this person from day one of ownership (target: by day 60).

 

8. Five or more core coordination SOPs documented. The five most repeatable coordination workflows (e.g., new project kickoff, client status update cycle, sample request process, proposal handoff, project closeout) are written up as clear SOPs that any future coordinator could follow without shadowing.

 

9. Client communication is professional and reflects well on Pilot. All routine written communication to clients (meeting confirmations, document requests, status check-ins) sent on behalf of the team is clear, warm, and accurate. Zero instances of a client complaint about responsiveness or communication quality originating from this role.

 

What You Bring

Required:

• 1–3 years of professional experience in a coordination, project support, operations, or client-facing administrative role

• Exceptional organizational skills — you use a system, not your memory, to track tasks and deadlines

• Proactive communication style — you send updates before people have to ask, and you follow up without being reminded

• Comfortable managing external relationships with vendors, suppliers, or clients — including when they're unresponsive

• Strong written communication — clear, professional, and typo-free

• Experience managing multiple concurrent priorities without things slipping

• An adventurous palate; a passion for food!

• Ability to work from our office at least several days a week, including for client tastings

Preferred:

• Experience in a professional services, consulting, or agency environment

• Exposure to food and beverage, CPG, manufacturing, or supply chain (helpful but not required)

• Familiarity with project management tools and Google Suite, including Google Sheets

Competencies

• Proactive follow-through: Doesn't wait to be asked. Sends reminders unprompted. Tracks every open item and chases it.

• Project coordination discipline: Uses a system — not memory — to manage tasks, deadlines, and handoffs across multiple active projects.

• Relationship tenacity: Comfortable calling a co-packer or supplier for the fifth time. Knows when to escalate vs. when to push harder.

• Written & verbal communication: Writes clear, professional client and vendor emails. Communicates status without being asked.

• Accountability ownership: "My job is to make the project move" — doesn't hide behind excuses, unresponsive third parties, or unclear instructions.

• Learning agility: No F&B background required, but must have a passion for food, absorb technical context quickly, and use it to have credible conversations with co-packers and suppliers.

• Organizational precision: Typo-free, deadline-aware, detail-oriented. Catches things others miss because they pay attention.

• Energy and initiative: Sees a stalled project as a problem to fix, not someone else's fault. Acts, then reports.

 

What We Offer

• Full benefits: medical, dental, vision, 401k with match

• A small, talented team that takes the work seriously, but not themselves. We respect each other and laughter is a regular feature of our day

• The opportunity to taste all manner of delicious and weird food and beverages

• Real ownership from day one — you'll matter immediately, not after a two-year ramp up