We are hiring a Director of Operations for our client in footwear to own how their product moves — from overseas factory to US warehouse. To a customer's doorstep, a wholesale account, or an Amazon fulfillment center.
The role spans two connected disciplines:
Global Supply Chain — Demand-informed buy planning, factory purchase orders and capacity, ocean freight and routing, US customs clearance, tariff strategy and refund recovery, international export/import compliance, and the contracts underneath all of it.
Commercial Operations — At-once and futures order fulfillment, 3PL and WMS management, DTC and Amazon order flow, product data across systems, returns and damages, and the customer service partnership.
What you'll own in Year 1
These are outcomes, not activities. We care about results you can point to.
1. A buy plan that keeps us in stock without drowning us in inventory. Build the seasonal essentials buy off blended DTC, Amazon and wholesale demand signal, in alignment with Sales and Product. Work with cross-functional partners to manage months-on-hand, in-stock levels, minimizing excess and obsolete inventory. Bring foresight on inventory concerns and flag the styles and sizes that deserve attention.
2. Landed cost and duty exposure managed as a lever, not an afterthought. Own freight routing, container utilization, customs clearance, and tariff strategy. Risk-mitigation for potential customs holds or penalties, bond and registrations always current, and an active refund-tracking discipline. (Note: FOB and material cost sit with Product; this outcome covers everything downstream of it.)
3. Orders that ship on time and correct, in every channel. Manage outbound across DTC, Amazon, and wholesale. Full routing compliance with key accounts and zero chargebacks.
4. Product data that's right the first time. Every SKU correctly built and connected across Shopify, WMS, and Amazon at launch. No oversells at launch moments, no orphaned listings, no sync drift.
5. Partners held to their agreements. Factory, freight forwarders, 3PLs, customs broker, CS agency, Loop, Treet. Audit their invoices, hold their SLAs, and renegotiate when the terms stop making sense. We've moved outbound shipping to a materially better rate — do that again somewhere else.
6. A customer experience that matches the brand. Hold the CS partnership to agreed response, resolution, and satisfaction targets across DTC and Amazon. Close the loop with the factory on quality issues rather than absorbing them ticket by ticket.
7. Operational continuity that doesn't depend on you being reachable. Within 90 days, a documented operating calendar and SOP set covering every recurring and event-triggered process — so a two-week absence isn't a business risk.
What the job actually involves
Buy planning and factory purchasing
Build the essentials buy plan from blended DTC, Amazon, and wholesale demand forecasts
Place PO packages to factory spec — quantities, packing instructions, GTINs, barcodes, UPC and UCC labels
Manage factory open capacity and ex-factory dates; adjust for launches and wholesale demand
Optimize container loads for ocean freight utilization
Freight and logistics
Manage logistics contracts and select ocean carriers and routes on capacity and rate
Own export documentation and commercial-document compliance between factory and carrier
Coordinate inbound trucking on customs release, and outbound trucking for wholesale orders
Customs and trade compliance
Oversee US customs clearance and commercial documentation
Maintain the customs bond, product registrations, and country-specific footwear labeling compliance
Manage tariff classification, exposure, and the refund application process
3PL and warehouse
Manage inbound containers, product and inventory data in the WMS, and warehouses
Create compliant carton labels for 3PL and Amazon inbounding
Oversee returns, damaged product, and damaged packaging workflows
Review shipping rates and methods; keep DTC and B2B pack-out efficient
Optimize inventory positions across multiple warehouses
Optimize cost efficiencies with 3PL partner
DTC and Amazon
Ensure timely outbound from both warehouses across Shopify and Amazon
Manage fraud orders, chargebacks, and order or inventory exceptions
Run the operational side of promotions and loyalty, in sync with customer service
Manage Amazon listings, Seller Central connections, FBA outbound and compliance, and required insurance
Wholesale and international
Process at-once orders and hand off to AR for invoicing; execute futures orders to account routing requirements
Calculate global duty and VAT for MSRP and wholesale pricing
Ensure export documentation compliance on international B2B orders
Product setup and data
Optimize and implement inventory, fulfillment and warehouse systems as needed.
Create GTINs and build every product in Shopify, connected to the WMS and Amazon
Keep inventory in sync across all systems
Contracts and brand protection
Audit partner invoices: factory, logistics, 3PL, customs broker, Amazon
Oversee trademark renewals across all markets
Who we're looking for
You've done this at a small company. You've been the whole department, not a specialist inside a large one. You can fly at 50,000 feet — building the plan, negotiating the contract, making the case to leadership — and at 5,000 feet, chasing a container number.
You figure things out. New tariff, new market, new platform, new compliance requirement? You don't wait for someone to hand you the process; you build it.
You get things done. Scrappy, decisive, and comfortable being the person the answer comes from.
You're fluent in the details. HTS classification, country-of-origin and footwear-specific labeling, export documentation, customs bonds, routing guides — precision work you actually enjoy rather than tolerate.
You negotiate. You've moved rates, terms, or SLAs with freight, 3PL, or agency partners, and you can tell us the number.
You build systems, not heroics. Somewhere in your history is a mess you replaced with a process that outlived you.
Requirements
- 7-10+ years in operations, supply chain, or logistics leadership, ideally in footwear, apparel, or consumer products
- Direct experience with international import/export, US customs clearance, and duty/tariff management
- Hands-on fluency with Shopify, a WMS, and Amazon Seller Central; EDI and wholesale routing portals a plus
- Track record managing 3PL, freight, and agency relationships
- Experience at a growth-stage or founder-led company strongly preferred
Salary Range $150-165K