Founding COO (Dirty Water Brand)

About the job

Launched in May 2024 with an industry, on-premise focus in NYC, Dirty Water is what lighter beer wants to be. The perfect sessionable balance between a beer and a seltzer, we are category defining it as “beer-seltzer.” Lightest in taste. Lightest in macros. Endlessly crushable. The perfect answer for "what's the lightest thing you got?" while still going strong at 4.5%.

It's for the people that love drinking classic light beers but don't love the carbs and calories. It's for the people who love the macros of a hard seltzer but don't love the artificial fruity flavors or the variety packs. Pure leisurely drinking.

We just recently launched our second SKU which targets the single serving, grab-n-go format. A 24oz can called “Dirties Menthol.” It is a lemon-ice flavor with a mentholated cooling effect, 7% ABV. The packaging looks like a cigarette.

Dirty Water in nature has counter-culture roots while still able to hit the mass market.

@dirtywaterworld

The Real Talk

This role will require a lot of time and effort with possibility of very little in return. But there is also a possibility for this to be the most important work of your career with an incredibly high upside. Things that may feel remedial may be necessary. Nothing is beneath any of us. We're a young brand with a very focused vision and people who aren't afraid to get dirty, ruffle some feathers and stand shoulder to shoulder with the big macro brands.

The Role

We're looking for a Founding COO to build the operating engine of this company alongside the founder. Not an advisor. Not a consultant. We're looking for a partner who has done this before, knows where the bodies are buried in this industry, and wants to do it again with a brand worth betting on.

You have taken new beer brands from a single market to national relevance. You know what a distributor actually responds to. You've sat in the truck on ride-alongs, walked the back bar, argued about shelf sets, sweated a production run, and built the forecast that told everyone whether any of it was working. You've done the glamorous parts and the unglamorous parts, and you know the unglamorous parts are where brands are actually won.

You'll be responsible for growing national/key accounts while also working with the founder on operations, production, forecasting and whatever else is necessary. Then you'll go get in the market too, because that's the job at this stage.

Location: Open. Preference for the Midwest or New England. NYC presence is not required, but regular travel to market is.

Compensation: Salary plus meaningful equity.

Experience and Requirements

• 10+ years in the beer, seltzer or broader alcoholic beverage industry, with significant time inside emerging or challenger brands rather than only large established portfolios.
• Proven experience building and managing national account relationships, including chain presentations, category reviews, and the annual cycles that come with them.
• Deep distributor experience. You've built wholesaler relationships from the ground up, run crew drives and GSMs, done ride-alongs, and know how to earn mindshare from reps who have 200 other brands in the bag.
• Both on-premise and off-premise sales experience, with a clear point of view on how the two feed each other.
• Experience building trade and marketing strategy, including pricing and promo architecture, POS programs, and activation calendars that actually move volume.
• Hands-on production experience. You've managed co-packing relationships, planned and attended production runs, and dealt with the reality of QA issues, supply timing, and inventory that arrives late.
• Strong command of budgets, forecasting and unit economics. You can build a plan, defend it, and tell the difference between a bad month and a bad model.
• Comfortable with early-stage ambiguity, thin resources, and doing the work yourself before there is anyone to delegate it to.
• Willing to work non-traditional hours and travel regularly.

Key ResponsibilitiesNational Accounts and Commercial Strategy

• Build the national account roadmap - which chains, in what order, on what timeline, and what has to be true before we walk in the door.
• Own chain presentations, category review cycles, and the follow-through that keeps placements alive after the win.
• Develop pricing and margin architecture that works across markets and doesn't box us in as we scale.
• Identify which markets we open next and build the case for each one.

Distributor Management

• Own the wholesaler relationship end to end, starting with our NYC metro partners and extending into new markets as we expand.
• Set goals, priorities and incentives with distributor leadership, then hold the line on execution.
• Run crew drives, general sales meetings, ride-alongs and market work with rep teams.
• Build the reporting and depletion tracking cadence that tells us the truth about what's happening in market.

Trade and Marketing Strategy

• Build the annual trade calendar - programs, promotions, POS, incentives, activations.
• Work with the sales team to translate brand strategy into things that happen at the account level.
• Make sure our spend goes where it compounds, and kill the stuff that doesn't.

Production and Operations

• Manage co-packing relationships, production scheduling and run oversight.
• Own raw materials, packaging and inventory planning across SKUs.
• Build the operational systems this company will need at 10x volume, and keep them simple enough to actually use today.
• Solve the logistics problems that come with a growing footprint - freight, warehousing, keg programs, DTC fulfillment.

Finance and Planning

• Own budgeting, forecasting and cash planning alongside the founder.
• Build and maintain the operating model that connects production, inventory, depletions and cash.
• Support fundraising with the numbers, the plan and the credibility that comes from having done this before.

Partnership

• Be a real thought partner to the founder on strategy, hiring, and the hard calls.
• Help build a culture that stays scrappy and honest as the team grows.
• Represent Dirty Water anywhere it needs representing, from a distributor boardroom to a bar at 11pm on a Tuesday.

What We're Not Looking For

Someone who needs a fully built org to be effective. Someone who wants to run this from a distance. Someone whose best work is behind them.

‍

Apply