Restaurant General Manager at sweetgreen in Irvine, CA

A Healthier Future Starts With You

As a Head Coach (General Manager), you're the leader, strategist, and mentor of your store. You'll inspire your team, drive operational excellence, and deliver exceptional guest experiences using data-driven insights to build healthier communities through real food.

What You’ll Do

Lead your team by balancing people, operations, and business performance. Build an inclusive culture while coaching talent, using technology to optimize operations and drive profitability. Maintain high standards of food quality, safety, and cleanliness while adapting to a dynamic environment.

Essential Functions

• People + Team Leadership: Lead the full employee lifecycle while fostering a culture of trust, transparency, and inclusion. Ensure compliance, deliver timely feedback, and develop a strong, diverse talent pipeline.
• Food Safety + Operations: Maintain high standards for food safety, cleanliness, and equipment maintenance, resolving facility, supply, and food quality issues while prioritizing team safety.
• Customer Experience: Deliver clean, hospitable, and brand-aligned experiences, acting on guest metrics and making data-informed business decisions.
• Financial + Business Acumen: Drive sales and profit by analyzing reports, managing costs, executing strategic plans, and creating effective schedules aligned with business goals.
• Systems, Process + Technology: Operate and support all systems, troubleshoot issues, and prioritize daily operations to ensure smooth business and guest experiences.
• Execute Head Coach Career Path Duties: Perform all essential functions outlined in the Assistant Coach role, including those from the Shift Leader, Kitchen Lead, and Team Member roles.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Experience in high-volume, fast-paced restaurants.
• Hands-on experience with local, organic, and sustainable products
• ServSafe Manager or Regional Manager Food Safety Certification
• Tech-savvy and comfortable using digital tools for operations, reporting, and team communication
• Strong financial acumen: managing budgets, labor, and P&L effectively
• Proven experience hiring, coaching, and developing high-performing teams
• Exceptional adaptability and problem-solving in fast-paced, dynamic environments
• Data-driven mindset with curiosity to identify and implement operational improvements
• Commitment to operational excellence, hospitality, and team engagement
• Experience in fast-casual or retail operations is a plus

Minimum Requirements

• Meet all physical requirements of all roles within the career path of the Head Coach including Assistant Coach role, Shift Leader, Kitchen Lead, and Team Member.
• 3+ years in food service, with at least 2 years in hands-on management
• Experience hiring, developing, training, and motivating team members
• Skilled in planning, managing, and forecasting financials, labor, and inventory
• Hands-on experience managing and optimizing processes in a fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to lead and mentor teams collaboratively

What Perks You’ll Get

• Competitive base salary + 20% bonus potential
• Medical, dental, + vision plans
• Paid vacation + wellness time
• 401(k) program
• Paid family leave
• Complimentary greens and Sweetgreen swag
• Opportunities to impact your team, community, and business
• A collaborative team that lives our core values
• Clear career path for personal and professional development

Who We Are

Sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Every day, our team members make food from scratch with fresh ingredients delivered that morning. We are committed to leaving people better than we found them and redefining what it means to feed people.

Salary range for this role:

Starting salary range based on experience

$75,000—$95,000 USD

Sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for all employees and applicants, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service in the uniformed services of the United States, or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.

California residents: Review our applicant privacy notice HERE.

sweetgreen participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.