Freight Handler Lead

This role is mission-critical to maintaining on-time, damage-free throughput across our Charlotte terminal. The Freight Handler Lead ensures freight moves predictably and safely from dock to staging, directly impacting transit times, customer satisfaction, and cost-to-serve.

The business challenge is operational scale: higher density long-haul lanes, tighter schedules, and fewer touches demand disciplined execution, consistent handling standards, and real-time problem resolution. Success means measurable reductions in damage and rehandling, faster dock cycle times, and a reliable, accountable crew that executes to our Smart Network standards.

You will translate strategic service commitments into repeatable dock-level systems, lead a small team to deliver flawless handling, and be the on-site owner of safety, quality, and throughput.

What you’ll do1. Lead operational execution

Supervise daily dock activities to ensure loads are moved, staged, and secured for transit with minimal rehandling.

Own shift priorities, assign tasks, and verify completion against work orders and oral instructions.

Escalate and resolve exceptions that threaten on-time departure or shipment integrity.
2. Protect freight integrity and safety

Enforce handling standards and observe, correct, and report unsafe practices; own incident prevention.

Ensure loads are stacked, banded, and secured to ride without damage; validate pallet and trailer integrity.

Maintain hazardous materials compliance and verify forklift and hoist operations meet safety protocols.
3. Improve systems and processes

Standardize dock workflows, checklists, and handoffs to reduce touches and cycle time.

Drive continuous improvement by documenting root causes for damage and implementing corrective actions.

Coordinate with operations and maintenance to keep equipment and work areas operational and clean.
4. Develop people and capability

Coach freight handlers on safe, efficient techniques and cross-functional expectations.

Monitor performance, provide feedback, and support training for forklift qualification and hazardous materials handling.

Build a resilient shift team that can execute under limited structure and changing priorities.
5. Influence business performance

Track and report key metrics (damage rates, cycle time, load accuracy) and use data to prioritize actions.

Partner with Operations Supervisor, dispatch, and OTR teams to align dock throughput with network schedules.

Own shift-level accountability for customer-facing outcomes and operational cost drivers.

What you bring

Experience:

High school diploma or GED; 1–3 months related experience or equivalent combination of education and hands-on experience; prior supervisory or lead experience preferred.

Functional expertise:
Proven ability to read work orders, interpret safety and operating instructions, and prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced dock environment.

Technical skills:
Forklift driver qualification;
Hazardous Material Training; basic arithmetic competency (add, subtract, multiply, divide with whole numbers, fractions, decimals).Leadership:
Demonstrated judgment in solving problems with limited structure; ability to influence peers and coordinate cross-functionally.

Preferred:
Experience in LTL or long-haul freight operations; familiarity with custodial control practices and shipment visibility systems.

How you operate

You think in systems, not tasks.

You own outcomes, not activity.

You move quickly without creating chaos.

You challenge assumptions constructively and surface risks early.

You communicate clearly and decisively with operators and supervisors.

You prioritize safety and quality as non-negotiable business drivers.

About Roadrunner We’re not just moving freight; we’re reimagining long-haul shipping. Our Smart Network offers more direct long-haul metro-to-metro routes than any other nationwide LTL carrier in the United States, with service extending into Canada and Mexico and terminals across 40+ metro markets. Powered by AI and machine learning, our operations platform ensures real-time tracking, custodial control, and full shipment visibility.

With driver teams executing over-the-road (OTR) moves — and…