DIRECTOR, RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY

POSITION SUMMARY: 

This role provides visionary leadership and hands-on management of all technology systems within both franchised and corporate restaurants. This role oversees the full spectrum of restaurant technology, including front-of-house (FOH) systems such as POS, KDS, kiosk, and payment solutions, as well as the configuration of POS; including menus and pricing. The scope 

also encompasses back-of-house (BOH) technology, covering timekeeping, employee management, inventory control, and all related integrations. Key responsibilities include developing and executing strategies that streamline operations, drive guest experience, and grow profitability through technology solutions. This role maintains strong, collaborative relationships with Jack’s IT executives, proactively identifying opportunities for innovation and solving complex challenges at the intersection of people, process, and technology. This leader drives the strategic and operational planning for restaurant technology, ensuring alignment with overall objectives by prioritizing initiatives, managing the evaluation and deployment of new and existing technologies, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement to support the brand’s growth and success.

KEY DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Designs complex engineering solutions covering technical aspects such as end-to-end integration, platform architecture, scalability and availability, performance, reliability, stability and administration of the environment.

• Documents architectural designs, considering deployment constraints and dependencies which includes topologies, hardware specifications, server configurations, capacity planning, availability, performance, administration processes, operational metrics, network impacts and client impacts.

• Assesses customer requirements, analyzes the architecture of the business events and data that supports the architecture, evaluates possible solutions and decides course of action.

• Works with Technology and Ops Innovation Leadership to strategically identify optimal restaurant solutions.

• Assesses and communicates risks associated with restaurant systems and makes recommendations to mitigate risk appropriately.

• Re-engineers and maintains processes to promote efficiency and minimizes impact to Corporate and Restaurant Teams with a 3-to-5-year future-proofing strategic mind set.

• Serves as the in-house expert on architecture, features, functions, and integrations for the front of house systems, as well as additional complementary systems.

• Works closely with other restaurant support center team members such as Operations, Marketing, and Finance to build or configure systems and solutions which meet their requirements and exceed their expectations.

• Collaborates with external vendors and other in-house technical staff members to integrate the programming, hardware, networking, operational and support requirements. 

• Participates with other IT members, customers, and business partners in new product reviews, tests and pilots. 

• Partners with executive leadership to define long-term department goals and strategies; recommends and implements new processes and procedures. 

• Guides new technology projects from inception to implementation.

• Facilitates the development of team and individual staff goals, monitors performance, coaches toward achieving goals, and evaluates individual performance of goal achievement.

• Mentors direct and indirect reports, with excellence as the goal.

• Performs other related duties, tasks and responsibilities as required, assigned and directed.

QUALIFICATIONS: 

Education – Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information System, or related field. Master’s Degree in related field preferred. 

Experience - 15+ years in Quick Service Restaurant or related industry, with 7+ years in management or supervisory capacity.

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities 

• Experience leading strategic process re-engineering initiatives.

• Documented track record of implementing new systems and managing the project pipeline using a clearly defined systems development lifecycle.

• Demonstrated track record of influencing change, communicating and interacting with senior management and ability to interact with all levels of staff across a wide range of disciplines.

• Experience in strategic initiatives from conception to implementation and support.

• Experience mentoring teams both within and outside of Technology Organizations.

• Experience working directly with Technology Leadership.

• Results-driven with specific quantifiable successes.

• Substantial exposure to data processing,