Freight Operations Specialist

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE Passport is looking for a Freight Operations Specialist to join our Daily Operations team. This role supports first-mile and freight operations across our carrier and vendor network, ensuring shipments move efficiently while balancing service, cost, and operational performance. This position will play a critical role in both daily execution and operational planning. In addition to managing day-to-day freight operations, this individual will support routing decisions, carrier performance reporting, peak and holiday readiness, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen our transportation network. This role requires West Coast–based working hours and location. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Monitor daily freight and first-mile operations to identify carrier, terminal, and handoff issues in real time. - Investigate, triage, and resolve shipment delays, pickup failures, and other operational exceptions using internal systems, carrier tools, and shipment data. - Maintain accurate shipment tracking, dashboards, and operational reporting across multiple lanes and concurrent shipments. - Own issues from identification through resolution, ensuring appropriate follow-up and escalation when necessary. - Communicate proactively with cross-functional teams regarding shipment status, operational risks, and mitigation plans. - Assist with shipment routing decisions, carrier selection, and lane optimization while balancing service, cost, capacity, and carrier performance. - Support peak season and holiday planning by forecasting operational needs, identifying capacity risks, and developing contingency plans. - Develop and maintain carrier performance reporting, operational scorecards, KPI tracking, SLA reporting, and trend analysis. - Analyze freight data to identify recurring issues, recommend operational improvements, and support data-driven decision making. - Contribute to SOP development, documentation, training materials, and continuous improvement initiatives as freight processes evolve. - Support network expansion, carrier onboarding, acquisitions, and other operational integration projects as needed. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE - You consistently meet or exceed operational performance metrics and response-time expectations. - You keep freight moving with urgency while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail. - You proactively identify operational risks and communicate mitigation plans before issues escalate. - You build trusted relationships with carriers and internal stakeholders through professionalism and accountability. - You make informed routing decisions that balance customer experience, operational efficiency, carrier performance, and cost. - You identify trends and root causes that lead to measurable process improvements. - You become a trusted resource capable of managing complex operational challenges with minimal supervision. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - This role requires West Coast–based working hours and location. - 3–5+ years of experience in freight operations, transportation, logistics, supply chain, or a related operations role. - Experience working directly with LTL, parcel, truckload carriers, terminals, or 3PL partners. - Experience with transportation management systems (TMS), shipment visibility platforms, or carrier portals. - Strong analytical, investigative, and problem-solving skills. - Ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced, high-volume operational environment. - High attention to detail with a strong sense of ownership and accountability. - Ability to think critically and make sound decisions with incomplete information. - Experience working with operational metrics, KPIs, reporting, and data analysis. - Intermediate to advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheets. - Comfortable working in an environment where priorities shift quickly and not every situation has a documented playbook. WHY PASSPORT At Passport, our Daily Operations team plays a critical role in keeping freight moving and customers informed. We value ownership, transparency, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Every day presents new challenges, and our team succeeds by thinking critically, communicating clearly, and supporting one another. This is an opportunity to join a growing team, influence how freight operations evolve, and make a meaningful impact on the success of our transportation network as Passport continues to scale.