Warehouse Manager

Job description

Our Story: Short Story is an award winning, technology powered retailer dedicated to petite women 5'4" and under. Our mission is to create a seamless shopping experience for millions of petite women so they can dress with effortless confidence. As a fast-growing startup, we're revolutionizing retail with a data driven learning system that leverages customer feedback to create tailored products. We've been recognized by top publications like Forbes, Fortune and are backed by leading investors who share our vision of building the world's next great consumer brand. Our Values: We're building a company with intention and purpose. Our culture thrives on data insights, exceptional commitment to fit, and the urgency to move quickly on what matters. - ✨ Transform Lives. We're customer-first. Everything we create exists to give her confidence. - ⚡️ Demand Excellence. We deliver only our best work, in Fit and Finish. We obsess about details others overlook. - 💪 Embrace Challenges. We see obstacles as opportunities to invent better solutions. - 💡 Think Differently. We get a thrill from finding better solutions others haven't seen. The Role Short Story is seeking a Warehouse Manager to lead operational performance within our fulfillment center in South San Francisco. This is a critical leadership hire as we are scaling our team significantly. You'll sit between our operational leadership and floor-level supervision — driving accountability, enforcing standards, and building the systems and team bench that will allow us to grow without losing quality. You are a hands-on operator who is as comfortable setting KPIs as you are walking the floor. You've seen what "good" looks like at scale, and you know how to build it from the inside out. What You’ll Own Operations & Standards - Own operational performance across outbound, returns, new merchandise, and support functions - Align our functional areas around clear priorities and a commitment to quality. - Develop and improve warehouse systems, including product handling, storage, equipment utilization, and workflow design - Review daily and historical performance data, identify trends, and make fast, informed decisions in response to changing operational needs People Leadership - Directly manage Team Leads and Supervisors; develop them into stronger operators and future leaders - Hold the team accountable to clear standards — you are not afraid to have difficult conversations and follow through on expectations - Build a culture of discipline, pride, and urgency on the floor - Partner with HR on labor planning to ensure the right staffing levels for weekly and monthly goals Scaling & Process - Identify and eliminate bottlenecks as we expand our footprint and headcount - Build repeatable, documented processes that don't rely on tribal knowledge - Proactively surface risks and propose contingency plans before they become problems - Serve as the operational voice in cross-functional conversations about capacity, hiring, and tooling Functional Areas You’ll Oversee - Outbound: Every aspect of the outbound shipping process — picking, folding, packing, and shipping orders. This team also handles client exchanges. - Returns: Ensuring all returned items meet quality standards before re-entering inventory. - New Merch: Receiving, tagging, categorizing, and binning new vendor inventory at 100% accuracy. - Support: Solving fulfillment issues, maintaining equipment, and enabling a smooth overall operation. Minimum Qualification - 5+ years of experience in warehouse or fulfillment operations management - Demonstrated track record managing teams of 50–150 people, including managing supervisors or leads. - Strong floor presence — you lead from where the work happens, not from a desk - Experience enforcing quality standards and holding teams accountable to measurable outcomes - Proven ability to build or improve operational processes in a scaling environment - Proficient in Microsoft Office or G Suite; comfortable with WMS or operations tooling - Ability to use operational data for forecasting, labor planning, and basic cost modeling to support timely decisions based on daily performance trends - 100% on-site in South San Francisco — this is a floor-first role - Eligible to work in the United States What We're Looking For - Startup adaptability: You've thrived in environments where priorities shift and resources are finite. You don't wait for perfect conditions to execute. - High accountability leader: You can set and sustain firm standards and have the emotional intelligence to bring people along with you. - Systems thinker: You build for repeatability. You see the process failure behind every individual mistake. - Clear communicator: You give direct, actionable feedback. Your team always knows where they stand. - Bias for ownership: You don't escalate what you can solve. You bring solutions, not just problems. - Bilingual English & Spanish: a strong plus given our team composition What’s Exciting, and Why This is a Unique Opportunity - We’re a profitable, fast-growing company reinventing retail for a massively underserved audience. Our unique model blends fashion, data science, and operational excellence to create a truly personalized shopping experience. With strong traction and a passionate customer base, we’ve built a sustainable, defensible business without chasing hyper-growth at all costs. - We’ve reached meaningful scale, but the opportunity ahead of us is even larger. We’re entering a critical inflection point: expanding our product offering, deepening personalization, and evolving how we operate as a company. This is your chance to help shape that journey from the inside out—before we become 5x or 10x the size. - If you’re hungry to grow into a senior leadership role over time - Join a mission-driven company redefining fashion for millions of underserved women - Partner directly with the CEO and leadership on company-defining work - Gain exposure to all aspects of scaling a high-growth consumer startup - Competitive salary, meaningful equity, and comprehensive benefits - A culture of excellence, ownership, and thinking differently Short Story is committed to providing equal employment opportunity and a work environment free of discrimination and harassment for all employees and applicants. We work diligently to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics.