Founding General Manager
ember seattleSavannah (GA)
Founding General Manager
Posted 3 days ago
ember seattleSavannah (GA)
SENIORITY
Director
About the role
Ember is a social thermal bathhouse opening in Seattle in fall 2027: 8,800 SF in South Lake Union. The circuit is built on contrast — a 50-seat event sauna, a smaller soft sauna, a steam room, a hammam lounge, hot and warm pools, and two cold plunges — plus a wellness bar and lounge designed for staying, not just passing through. We're looking for the person who will open it and run it.
What you'll do:
- Build the operating playbook from zero: guest flow, session timing, service standards, opening and closing routines, and the first-visit experience
- Assist in recruiting, training, and leading a team of 12–20
- Own water quality, sanitation and safety under WA pool and spa rules (WAC 246-260) and Public Health – Seattle & King County, plus the wellness bar's food permit
- Help choose and launch the booking, membership and POS systems; manage linen, chemical and maintenance vendors
- Own the P&L after opening: labor, cost of sales, throughput, membership retention
- Pre-opening: work with the founders and the design team on back-of-house, mechanical and operational decisions What you bring
- 2+ years in a leadership role at a bathhouse, thermal spa, or high-volume wellness or hospitality venue
- Hands-on knowledge of commercial pool and spa operations (CPO or AFO certification is a plus)
- A record of building teams people stay on
- Warm, calm and organized, and you take heat-and-cold practice seriously without being precious about itDetails
- Seattle, on site
- Full-time from June 2027; paid advisory involvement possible before then
- $80,000–$115,000 base + founding equity
- Benefits: [health/dental, PTO, Ember membership, etc.]
Before you apply
Applying takes about a minute. These four things decide how fast it moves after that.
Your profile is current
It's what we read first. Occupations, seniority and locations matter more than a long history.
Two examples you can talk through
Not a portfolio — just two pieces of work where you can explain the decisions and what you'd change.
A number in mind
What you're on now and what would make you move. We negotiate better when we know both.
Your notice period
Employers plan around it, and it's the question that stalls offers most often.
Once you apply, someone reads it and calls you before anything reaches the employer — usually within two working days.