AmazonSenior Program Manager, Prepared Foods, Whole Foods Market
Amazon is hiring a Senior Program Manager, Prepared Foods, Whole Foods Market in Austin, United States. It pays $116k-$160k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include program management, menu strategy and culinary development.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 21,000+ other open roles at Amazon.
- The role was posted within the past two weeks.
AI in this role
Lead menu strategy and concept pipeline development for Whole Foods Market in-store restaurants.
Key job responsibilities
• Own the definition and prioritization of new in-store restaurant concepts and menu platforms, grounded in consumer insight, food trends, and the competitive fast casual landscape.
• Set the strategic framework (positioning, priorities, success criteria) that guides culinary development, and partner with WFM Culinary Development, who own item-level creation.
• Build test, pilot, and scaling plans for new concepts and menu platforms, with clear readiness gates before broader rollout.
• Drive execution of program deliverables across internal stakeholder teams and external supplier partners.
• Manage the multi-year concept and menu-strategy pipeline, identifying white space and platform-level opportunities.
• Establish metrics to monitor concept and menu performance and recommend improvements to quality, guest satisfaction, and profitability.
• Prepare executive-ready deliverables and manage alignment and communication with key stakeholders.
• Earn trust and build partnerships with senior leaders across the organization and with external partners.
• Operate as a change agent, with resilience, emotional intelligence, and the ability to navigate ambiguity.
Travel Requirements: Approximately 25% travel may be required.
• Proven track record developing menu strategy and driving execution to deliver business results.
• Understanding of how restaurant menu strategy works: consumer insight, menu architecture and positioning, food cost and margin, and menu-platform lifecycle.
• Strong quantitative background; connects consumer and menu analytics to financial outcomes.
• Ability to think beyond the P&L to arrive at true value and drive impactful decisions.
• Strong oral, written, and formal presentation skills, including Amazon-style business writing.
• Experience operating in a large, complex retail or multi-unit restaurant organization.
• Strategic mindset with strong critical thinking and the ability to craft compelling business cases.
• Aligned to Whole Foods Market’s Higher Purpose, Core Values, and Leadership Principles.
A day in the life
A typical day for the Program Manager on this team blends strategic thinking with hands-on cross-functional collaboration. You might start the morning reviewing consumer insights and menu performance data to identify white-space opportunities, then join a working session with Culinary Development to evaluate a new in-store restaurant concept moving from ideation to pilot readiness. By midday, you could be leading a stakeholder alignment meeting with Category Management, Culinary Operations, and Product Quality to pressure-test a scaling plan, ensuring clear readiness gates and success criteria are in place. Afternoons may shift to building an executive-ready document for senior leadership that connects menu-platform performance to financial outcomes, or partnering with external supplier teams to refine a concept positioning strategy. No two days look exactly the same, but every day centers on translating culinary innovation into scalable, operationally executable programs that shape how customers experience prepared food at Whole Foods Market.
About the team
Our team is at the heart of transforming how customers experience fresh, prepared food at Whole Foods Market. We set the culinary and menu strategy that shapes what lands on shelves and in shopping baskets across hundreds of stores nationwide. We work at the intersection of food, data, and retail, partnering closely with culinary, suppliers, operations, merchandising, and finance to bring innovative, high-quality food programs to life. Our culture rewards curiosity, deep ownership, and creative problem-solving. If you’re passionate about food and want your work to directly shape what customers eat every day, this is the team for you.
Basic qualifications
- 6+ years of program or project management experience
- Experience using data and metrics to determine and drive improvements
- Experience owning program strategy, end to end delivery, and communicating results to senior leadership
- Experience in menu strategy, concept development, or product strategy within a fast casual, quick service, or restaurant environment.
Preferred qualifications
- Master's degree, or MBA in business, operations, human resources, adult education, organizational development, instructional design or related field
- Knowledge of general AI tools
- Experience working in a physical store
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, TX, Austin - 115,600.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Senior Program Manager, Prepared Foods, Whole Foods Market at Amazon rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where program management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where menu strategy was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where culinary development was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where cross functional leadership was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Program Management, Menu Strategy, Culinary Development, and Cross Functional Leadership. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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