Distribution Center Operations Manager

Distribution Center Operations Manager

Fringe Sport | Austin, TX | Full-Time | On-Site

About the Role

Fringe Sport is looking for a Distribution Center Operations Manager to own the day-to-day execution of our Austin distribution center.

This isn't a traditional warehouse management role focused primarily on storage, receiving, and warehouse administration. We operate a fast-moving e-commerce fulfillment environment where order volume, staffing, inbound workload, and priorities can change quickly.

We need someone who can lead people, make good decisions under pressure, and keep the operation moving every day.

You'll lead the DC through our Inventory/Inbound Lead and Outbound Lead, ensuring orders ship accurately and on time, inventory remains accurate, inbound work keeps moving, labor is deployed effectively, and problems are identified and addressed before they become larger issues.

You'll have established processes, operating standards, metrics, and leadership support. Your job is to own daily execution, hold the team accountable, solve problems, and continuously improve how the operation performs.

What You'll Own

Daily DC Execution

• Own daily performance across inbound, inventory, picking, packing, and shipping.
• Set priorities based on order volume, backlog, inbound workload, staffing, and business needs.
• Monitor execution throughout the day and adjust when conditions change.
• Ensure customer orders move through fulfillment accurately and on time.
• Identify operational problems early and take action before they become larger issues.
• Maintain strong visibility on the floor and understand what's actually happening in the operation.

People Leadership

• Lead and develop the Inventory/Inbound Lead and Outbound Lead.
• Set clear expectations and hold leads and team members accountable for performance.
• Coach employees and provide direct, timely feedback.
• Address performance issues rather than allowing them to linger.
• Build a culture of urgency, accountability, accuracy, and teamwork.
• Delegate effectively through the leads without losing visibility into execution.

Labor & Staffing

• Plan daily labor based on workload and available staffing.
• Respond quickly to callouts, volume changes, and unexpected constraints.
• Reallocate labor between priorities when necessary.
• Partner with recruiting to maintain appropriate DC staffing levels.
• Use temporary labor effectively when needed.

Performance & Operational Control

• Monitor shipping volume, backlog, productivity, inventory accuracy, and other operational KPIs.
• Use data to identify problems and determine where management attention is needed.
• Maintain strong shipping and inventory accuracy.
• Ensure SOPs and operating standards are consistently followed.
• Escalate issues early when they cannot reasonably be resolved within the DC.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify recurring operational problems and help eliminate their root causes.
• Improve processes when there is a clear business reason to do so.
• Strengthen operating standards and documentation as the business evolves.
• Balance improvement work with the first priority of keeping daily execution strong.

What We're Looking For

We're less concerned with whether you've held the exact title of "Distribution Center Manager" or "Warehouse Manager" and more interested in whether you've successfully led people and delivered results in a high-tempo operating environment.

You might come from e-commerce fulfillment, distribution, logistics, parcel operations, manufacturing, retail operations, military logistics/operations, or another environment where daily execution matters.

You should have

• Demonstrated experience directly leading frontline employees or teams.
• Experience holding people accountable for measurable results.
• Strong judgment and the confidence to make decisions without waiting for someone else to solve every problem.
• Experience operating where workload, staffing, and priorities can change quickly.
• The ability to prioritize competing operational needs and reallocate resources accordingly.
• Strong follow-through and personal accountability.
• The ability to give clear feedback, coach employees, and address poor performance.
• Comfort using operational metrics to manage performance.
• Strong attention to accuracy without becoming paralyzed by perfection.
• Comfort learning and working in WMS, ERP, and other operational systems.
• A willingness to remain close to the floor, the team, and the actual work.

Helpful, but not required

• E-commerce fulfillment experience.
• Warehouse or distribution center experience.
• ERP/WMS experience.
• Inventory management experience.
• Experience managing frontline leads or supervisors.
• Military leadership or logistics experience.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first 90 days, you should be independently owning the daily DC operating cadence, effectively managing both leads, making sound labor and prioritization decisions, using operational KPIs to manage performance, addressing people issues consistently, and escalating problems appropriately.

Over time, success means the DC operates predictably without routine executive intervention. Leads own their areas, staffing is proactively managed, backlogs and service risks are identified early, productivity and accuracy expectations are consistently enforced, and normal changes in volume or staffing don't create unnecessary chaos.

The ultimate goal: a DC that executes reliably every day because the right people, processes, and management rhythm are in place.