Cafe NPD & Operations Manager

About noon

We're building an ecosystem of digital products and services that power everyday life across the Middle Eastfast, scalable, and deeply customer-centric. Our mission is to deliver to every door every day. We want to redefine what technology can do in this region, and we're looking for a Cafe NPD & Operations Manager who can help us move even faster.

Noon's fastest hyper-local delivery platform, Noon Minutes, offers a localized assortment of FMCG & grocery products with delivery within 15-minutes. Currently live across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, offering thousands of products to customers in record time.

noon's mission: Every door, every day.

What you'll do:

noon has some of the fastest, smartest, and hardest-working people we've encountered. With a young, aggressive, and talented team, we're driving major missions forward.

In this role, the ideal candidate combines sensory expertise with hands-on operational experience someone who can taste, test, and transform the quality and consistency of every cup we serve. We're not just after someone who knows coffee we're looking for someone who can scale coffee excellence.

If you've helped open multiple cafs, built barista training programs from scratch, and/or transformed beverage quality across a brand, you'll fit right in.

Coffee quality & NPD:

• Drive new beverage R&D by working closely with the broader team on (coffee and non-coffee beverages), including drafting beverage-making SOPs.
• Maintain quality control logs, taste sheets, and feedback loops with operations and supply teams.

Barista Training & Development:

• Design and document structured barista training programs from making beverages as per required customizations, to inventory-taking to opening and closing shift SOPs.
• Track quality KPIs through structured reporting.

Running Operations:

• Manage a large team of baristas and area supervisors across several locations.
• Troubleshoot problems with area supervisors.
• Work with the operations team to implement process improvements.

What you'll need:

• 35+ years of experience in cafe operations, new product development and/or quality control.
• Certified Q-graders are preferred.
• Proven experience in managing large teams of baristas is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to create SOPs, training documents, and structured audit systems.
• Comfortable with Google Workspace (Sheets, Docs, Drive, Gmail) for daily reporting and documentation.
• Strong communication and leadership skills; fluent in English.
• Must be proactive, willing to take initiative and a problem-solver.
• Must be based in, or willing to relocate to, Dubai.

Who will excel

• We're looking for people with high standards, who understand that hard work matters.
• You need to be relentlessly resourceful and operate with a deep bias for action.
• We need people with the courage to be fiercely original.
• noon is not for everyone; readiness to adapt, pivot, and learn is essential.