What Makes a Food Travel Expert

No matter what kind of career you’re looking for, it’s available at SSP America. We are the food travel experts who bring a taste of place to every airport we serve. 

At the helm of our organization are restaurant, hospitality, and food service industry veterans and leaders with expertise in specialized fields like marketing, business development, human resources, and more. Whether in an airport or the support center, all of us are PASSIONate food travel experts. Our team is made up of people with diverse backgrounds, aspirations, names, and faces, dedicated to our seven PASSION Principles™.

• Passion for every detail
• Authentic experiences
• Service from the heart
• Sincerity every step of the way
• Innovation every day
• Open to new ideas
• Noble at all times

SSP America has three main areas of employment: airport team members, airport managers, and support center team members.

Airport team members are part of a tight-knit team in a busy environment. There is never a dull moment! Airport managers are invested in airport team members’ development and encourage them to pursue their chosen career paths. It’s important to SSP America to develop team members’ skills and help them achieve their dreams, whether within or outside of the airport community. Airport team members fill roles like barista, bartender, cashier, host, cook, server, warehouse associate, utility associate, and more.

Airport managers lead teams committed to creating an incredible restaurant experience for travelers. Positions include director of operations, restaurant general manager, assistant restaurant manager, commissary manager, kitchen manager, operations manager, and more.

In addition to our airport teams, we have talented individuals who work either in our Ashburn, Virginia-based support center or across the Western Hemisphere. From information technology to finance to communications to purchasing and more, our company is filled with people who understand the importance of their roles and are committed to quality. 

In all areas of the company, we are focused on growing and developing our team. For those hoping to join SSP America, we have some tips from our hiring team! 

Our hiring team is looking for potential team members with an eagerness to learn more about the company and what we do. Not many people know how the food travel industry works—candidates looking to join SSP America should be curious about that. Candidates should have a PASSION for their area of expertise and be willing to learn and grow.

Our team is looking for people who are collaborative and work well in high-energy, fast-paced environments. They’re also looking for job-specific expertise. For example, if a candidate is applying for a people development role, they should have strong leadership skills and a track record of mentoring and promoting employees. For a safety and sanitation-focused role, they should have knowledge of relevant health codes, training, and compliance enforcement.

Most importantly, a positive attitude, excellent communication skills, and a customer-focused mindset—whether it be external customers, like travelers in our restaurants, or internal customers, like other team members in the support center—are critical.

Do you have what it takes to be a food travel expert? Check out our job openings here!