Manager IT Application Operations

Who We Are

At Academy Sports + Outdoors our vision is to be the best sports + outdoors retailer in the country — but what truly sets us apart is our people. We’re a passionate, purpose-driven team that’s as committed to each other as we are to our customers. We’ve spent over 80 years building a culture that puts people first. We believe in creating opportunities for growth, fostering meaningful connections, and supporting every Team Member’s journey.

What fuels us? Our belief in the power of fun. Here, you won’t just help customers gear up for their next adventure — you’ll launch one of your own. Whether you're starting out or leveling up, Academy is a place where fun can’t lose!

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study or equivalent years of related work experience required.

• At least 8 years of related management experience in the retail industry IT field.
• Prior people leadership experience, including management of employees, contractors, and/or managed service providers.
• Experience supporting enterprise‑scale applications across one or more business domains (e.g., Supply Chain, Retail Operations, Finance, Digital, Corporate Systems).

• Possess the capability to manage direct reports who may be contractors as well as employees in a managed services environment.
• Experience managing a technical staff with a variety of technical skills, administering and supporting a portfolio of enterprise applications and systems.
• Experience managing a technical team providing 24/7 on‑call support.
• Experience supporting enterprise application platforms across one or more business domains, with oversight to related support towers such as Stores, BI/Reporting, Financials, or Digital as required.
• Experience in building and maintaining a comprehensive Application Catalog of applications and business customers.
• Working knowledge of the latest technological trends, including observability, automation, and AI.
• Coordinate with project managers, business analysts, development managers, and the Infrastructure teams on new application projects, and ensure application and database performance and stability.
• Provide regular and proactive communication to senior IT management on project status, potential risks, concerns, team successes and challenges, as well as the progress of individual performance.
• Maintain current knowledge on new IT tools, hardware, software, and technology, and make recommendations to meet current and future business challenges.
• Must possess excellent customer service, inter‑personal, leadership, conflict resolution, and problem‑solving skills.
• Must be able to work in a fast‑paced environment and ensure Business SLA’s and project deadlines are met.
• Experience in product‑based IT Operations and SRE principles is a plus.
• Acceptable level of hearing and vision to perform job duties.
• Communication - effective listening, speaking, and writing.

• Provide leadership across assigned enterprise application support teams and platforms.
• Manage the application lifecycle for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Transportation Management Systems (TMS), and Labor Management Systems (LMS).
• Oversee the IT interface with automated Material Handling Equipment (conveyors, sorters, robotics, and ASRS).
• Ensure high availability for mission‑critical distribution center hardware/software interfaces.
• Maintain the  source of truth  for inventory data as it moves through the supply chain into Merchandising and Store systems.
• Maintains smooth and efficient operation of assigned departments.
• Responsible for service reliability, cross‑functional incident/problem/change governance.
• Performs general managerial duties, including hiring, training, coaching, reviewing, performance, compensation, and termination for regular and contract associates as applicable.
• Able to enumerate and assign tasks to staff and establish metrics to assess performance.
• Mentor team members to ensure continuous learning and engagement, maximizing individual talents and strengths where they serve the team(s) best, and report on these to management.
• Maintains budget including project expenses, salaries, training, travel & entertainment.
• Own…