OPERATIONS MANAGER - Finance, Systems & Scale

OPERATIONS MANAGER

The Nordstick (HepPros LLC) | Remote | Full-Time

ABOUT THE NORDSTICK
The Nordstick is a fast-growing DTC fitness equipment brand built around premium functional products like the NordBench Pro. We have grown 400%+ year over year and are scaling aggressively. Our operation runs on Shopify with a pre-sale model, a manufacturing partner in Hong Kong, and a 3PL network across multiple U.S. warehouse locations.
Operations at The Nordstick is not admin work. It is cash flow management, inventory intelligence, execution speed, and margin protection.
We are looking for an elite Operations Manager who can think like a CFO, execute like an operator, and build systems that scale.

WHAT THIS ROLE IS (AND IS NOT)

This role is not:
--> Updating spreadsheets without context
--> Reacting to problems after they happen
--> Overbuying inventory "just in case"
--> Managing ops without understanding cash flow

This role is:
--> Owning the 13-week cash flow forecast
--> Making inventory decisions tied to demand and capital
--> Using Shopify, data, and AI to stay ahead of issues
--> Coordinating across multiple 3PLs for speed and margin
--> Turning CX signals into product and process improvements
--> Being the connective tissue between our manufacturer in Hong Kong, our 3PL partners, our CS team, and leadership

WHO YOU ARE
You are not just operationally great. You understand money. You know what cash on hand means, why contribution margin matters, and how inventory decisions ripple into the P&L. You have built financial models before, not just maintained them, and you can walk a founder through a cash flow forecast without needing a finance team behind you.

You think in systems. You do not chase fires. You build the infrastructure that prevents them. When something breaks, you fix the root cause, not the symptom.

You are comfortable with AI tools, not just as a user but as a builder. You have used Claude Code, Cursor, or similar tools to ship actual working systems, and you can maintain and improve what already exists.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

CASH FLOW AND FINANCIAL PLANNING
--> Build and own a rolling 13-week cash flow model, updated weekly, covering in-stock and pre-sale scenarios
--> Forecast inventory buys, marketing spend impact, loan repayments, and shipping and fulfillment costs
--> Model best-, base-, and worst-case scenarios
--> Model inventory financing decisions: Shopify Capital, working capital loans, supplier payment terms, and loan vs. payback rate tradeoffs
--> Know cash on hand, weekly burn, weekly contribution margin, and profitability to one decimal at all times
--> Ensure The Nordstick stays in stock without overbuying or locking up cash

INVENTORY AND DEMAND FORECASTING
--> Forecast demand using Shopify sales data, growth rates, seasonality, and marketing plans
--> D ---------- when and how much to reorder to prevent stockouts that kill ---------- ntum and overstock that traps capital
--> Manage POs from factory confirmation through container receipt, including ETD/ETA tracking and customs clearance via our freight forwarder
--> Track batch-level inventory counts and maintain the allocation sheet as the source of truth for CS order messaging
--> Monitor warehouse storage costs and manage dead inventory decisions in coordination with leadership
WORKING CAPITAL AND GROWTH FINANCING
--> Leverage Shopify Capital, working capital loans, and supplier terms strategically
--> Provide units-on-hand and container count data for leadership's negotiations with the manufacturing partner
--> Participate in tariff strategy decisions with the customs broker, including PSC filings and Section 232 duty refund coordination
--> Balance growth speed with financial safety; capital is used strategically, not emotionally

SHOPIFY AND SYSTEMS OWNERSHIP
--> Be deeply fluent in Shopify Admin: order-level actions, SKU management, fulfillment status, and operational data
--> Own operational data: orders, refunds, shipping costs, and inventory
--> Build and maintain dashboards, Google Sheets models, and custom reports
--> Bonus: ability to build custom dashboards or internal tools using Python, SQL, JavaScript, or Google Apps Script

3PL AND SHIPPING OPTIMIZATION
--> Manage our 3PL relationships across multiple U.S. warehouse locations using ShipHero and ShipStation
--> Maintain FIFO allocation rules across warehouses, manage priority-adjusted orders, and approve or deny partial shipments based on fulfillment logic
--> Manage the warehouse-level approval process for inbound POs, including specifying which SKUs go to which warehouse location based on velocity and buffer strategy
--> Track average shipping cost per unit weekly, by zone, and blended; reduce average shipping zones over time
--> Evaluate per-unit carrier cost tradeoffs for bulk freight and individual shipments
--> Maintain and update landed cost per unit as COGS, freight, and tariff conditions change
--> Escalate and track fulfillment errors through to resolution

CX TO OPS TO PRODUCT FEEDBACK LOOP
--> Work closely with Customer Support to identify repeat product issues, confusion points, and return drivers
--> Maintain the product issue and parts request tracker, categorized by defect type: product defect, instruction failure, info/expectation failure, and missing parts
--> Track issue counts weekly and trend over time to surface whether product changes are reducing complaints
--> Fix problems at the source by recommending improvements to instructional videos, setup guides, and product design
--> Serve as the primary source of truth for CS on shipping timelines by product and order date range

AI AND EFFICIENCY LEVERAGE
--> Work hands-on with agentic AI tools, specifically Claude Code, to build, maintain, and improve internal operational systems
--> Build and maintain existing dashboards and reporting tools; this is not a "use AI to summarize" role, it requires actual implementation work
--> Automate reporting, flag anomalies, and reduce manual work across the ops function
--> Identify new automation opportunities and scope them into working tools, not just proposals
--> Follow the principle: AI handles repetition, humans make decisions

WEEKLY REPORTING
--> Produce a Weekly Ops State of the Union for the CEO covering: North Star KPI movement, inventory health, fulfillment dates, shipping zone breakdown, product issue counts, and 13-week cash runway
--> Coordinate with marketing on customer lists tied to batch ship dates for email sends
--> Work with finance on PO creation, payment coordination, and Shopify/ShipHero cleanup ahead of incoming shipments

TOOLS YOU WILL USE DAILY
--> Shopify Admin: order-level actions, SKU management, and fulfillment status
--> ShipHero: warehouse inventory management, FIFO allocation, PO tracking, and partial shipment logic
--> ShipStation: individual order shipment management
--> Google Sheets: 13-week cash flow model, ops dashboard, allocation sheet, reshipment tracker, and shipment timeline tracker
--> Slack: cross-functional coordination with CS, marketing, finance, and leadership
--> Asana: task tracking and project management
--> Richpanel: visibility into CS ticket data related to ops issues
--> Freight forwarder portal: freight tracking and customs documentation
--> Triple Whale: awareness of how ops data (COGS, shipping cost) affects profit reporting

NORTH STAR KPIs
You will be evaluated monthly on three metrics:
--> Average Shipping Cost per Unit: direction: down month over month
--> Average Time to Ship to Customer: direction: down month over month
--> Product Reliability Index (product-related issues per 100 orders): direction: down month over month
If two or more are improving, Ops is winning. If one or fewer are improving, we are not. No debate. No overrides.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Must-Haves:
--> Proven experience in DTC or e-commerce operations, ideally with pre-sale or made-to-order inventory models
--> Strong financial literacy: cash flow forecasting, margin analysis, working capital management
--> Advanced Google Sheets skills; ability to build and maintain financial models with real data
--> Shopify fluency: operations, not just navigation
--> Experience managing inventory and fulfillment across multiple 3PLs
--> Hands-on experience with agentic AI tools, specifically Claude Code; you must be able to build with it, not just prompt it
--> Ability to build and maintain internal dashboards and operational reporting tools
--> Systems thinker: you prevent problems, not chase them
--> Strong communicator who proactively loops in CS, marketing, and leadership without being asked
Strong Bonus Points:
--> Built cash flow dashboards and models before; must be able to show samples
--> Experience scaling fast-growing DTC brands
--> AI-assisted coding experience (Python, SQL, JavaScript, or Google Apps Script using tools like Claude Code or Cursor)
--> Experience working with freight forwarders and customs brokers
--> Familiarity with ShipHero or a comparable WMS

HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS
--> In-stock rate without cash strain
--> Clean, accurate cash flow visibility at all times
--> Lower shipping cost per order month over month
--> Fewer CX issues caused by ops failures
--> Faster decisions with less chaos

HOW TO APPLY
Send the following to ----------
--> Your resume
--> An intro video, under 5 minutes, where you introduce yourself and answer why you believe you are a good fit for this role
--> A link or sample of a cash flow model or financial dashboard you have built and maintained before
--> A Loom or Zoom recording walking us through that sample work

Applications without the sample work and video will not be reviewed.