Director of Operations

Build the operations behind the next generation of collectibles.

Pulse Trading Cards is hiring a hands‑on Director of Operations to own the execution of our product pipeline from production planning through final delivery.

You will be responsible for making sure every product moves through the process on time, to specification, and at the planned margin
. This includes coordinating manufacturing, autograph operations, quality control, logistics, inventory, retail requirements, and product launches.

This is a highly cross‑functional role for someone who is comfortable getting into the details, building processes from scratch, solving problems with vendors, and holding multiple teams and partners accountable.

You’ll report to the COO and work closely with Athlete Relations, Creative, Licensing, Sales, project managers, and our internal development team.

Since launching in late 2023, Pulse has expanded across baseball, football, and basketball with products including Aura, Foundry, Meridian, Stratos, and Big League Chew
. Our business serves hobby distributors, specialty shops, mass‑market retailers, and collectors directly.

This is an opportunity to help build the processes, systems, and team that will support Pulse through its next stage of growth.

• Own the operational lifecycle of each product from production kickoff through final delivery.
• Build and maintain detailed production plans, timelines, and critical paths.
• Coordinate artwork, approvals, manufacturing, autograph returns, quality control, packaging, and shipping.
• Identify risks and bottlenecks early and drive them to resolution.
• Maintain reliable production timelines and communicate changes to Sales and leadership.
• Hold internal teams, vendors, and manufacturing partners accountable to agreed timelines and specifications.

• Manage domestic and overseas printing and manufacturing partners.
• Coordinate production specifications, quantities, timelines, and packaging requirements.
• Negotiate manufacturing costs and manage vendor performance.
• Oversee specialty finishes, materials, packaging, and other production requirements.
• Establish and enforce quality standards and inspection procedures.
• Ensure collation, pack‑out, hit rates, card counts, and product configurations match approved specifications.
• Manage production samples, proofs, inspections, and final approvals.

• Oversee fulfillment for major retailers, club accounts, hobby distributors, and specialty shops.
• Coordinate retailer‑specific routing guides, EDI requirements, advance shipping notices, labeling, palletization, and delivery windows.
• Ensure products are shipped accurately and in compliance with customer requirements.
• Work proactively to prevent avoidable chargebacks, compliance issues, and delivery failures.
• Manage logistics partners and resolve shipping and receiving issues.

• Build and maintain a single operating calendar across all active products.
• Coordinate critical milestones across Creative, Licensing, Athlete Relations, Manufacturing, Sales, and Logistics.
• Establish clear dependencies and deadlines for each product.
• Identify schedule risks early and develop contingency plans.
• Provide leadership and Sales with reliable, data‑driven delivery commitments.

• Coordinate licensor submissions, approvals, and production requirements.
• Track royalty obligations and minimum guarantees.
• Maintain accurate records of licensed product commitments.
• Coordinate applicable product safety, compliance, and testing requirements.
• Ensure licensed products meet all contractual and operational requirements before release.

• Own landed cost and COGS tracking by…