Warehouse Manager

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.

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

• 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

• 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

• 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.