Operations & Logistics Lead

As an Operations & Logistics Lead, you will play a critical role in building and managing the operational backbone of a growing distribution operation. You'll take ownership of day-to-day logistics while also designing the processes and systems required to make the operation more reliable, efficient, and scalable.

This role is ideal for someone who combines strong logistics and supply-chain experience with analytical thinking and a builder's mindset. You'll need to be comfortable working through operational details, solving problems as they arise, managing external partners, and building repeatable processes in an environment where the operating playbook is still being developed.

Logistics & Distribution Ownership

• Own day-to-day logistics and distribution operations.
• Coordinate the movement of products from production partners through fulfillment and final delivery.
• Ensure deliveries are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Maintain visibility across active routes, orders, delivery performance, and exceptions.
• Troubleshoot delivery failures and operational bottlenecks.
• Coordinate with carriers, vendors, production partners, fulfillment partners, and 3PLs.
• Build reliable operating routines around recurring distribution activity.
• Ensure issues are followed through to resolution rather than simply escalated.

Route Planning & Optimization

• Design and continuously improve delivery routes.
• Analyze route density, delivery windows, mileage, capacity, and costs.
• Identify inefficient or underperforming routes.
• Evaluate trade-offs between delivery speed, service levels, capacity, and cost.
• Improve route utilization as customer volume increases.
• Build repeatable route-planning processes.
• Support the development of a distribution model capable of scaling across additional markets and geographies.

Demand & Capacity Planning

• Translate customer demand into operational requirements.
• Forecast route and fulfillment capacity requirements.
• Identify potential capacity constraints before they impact customers.
• Coordinate demand with production availability.
• Maintain visibility into expected volume versus available logistics capacity.
• Determine when routes, partners, or fulfillment capacity need to expand.
• Support planning for seasonal or geographic demand changes.

Cold Chain & Perishable Operations

• Support cold-chain execution across the distribution lifecycle.
• Coordinate time-sensitive movement of perishable products.
• Identify risks that could compromise product quality or delivery reliability.
• Work with partners to resolve cold-chain or fulfillment issues quickly.
• Help establish repeatable procedures for handling perishable products.
• Build operational visibility around time-sensitive handoffs.

Experience with food, beverage, grocery, dairy, or other perishable goods would therefore be highly valuable.

Farm, Vendor & 3PL Management

• Act as a key operational point of contact for production partners.
• Coordinate with fulfillment and logistics providers.
• Manage recurring vendor, carrier, and partner communication.
• Follow up proactively when information or execution is delayed.
• Monitor partner performance.
• Surface recurring operational issues.
• Hold partners accountable while maintaining strong working relationships.
• Support onboarding of new operational partners as the business expands.

Logistics Analytics & Reporting

• Build visibility into how the logistics operation is performing.
• Monitor operational metrics such as:
• On-time delivery rate
• Cost per delivery
• Cost per route
• Route utilization
• Delivery density
• Failed or missed deliveries
• Capacity utilization
• Delivery exceptions
• Partner and carrier performance
• Customer volume by route or geography
• Turn operational data into recommendations and decisions rather than simply maintaining trackers.
• Use performance trends to identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency and reliability.

SOP & Process Development

• Map operational workflows.
• Build SOPs for recurring logistics processes.
• Standardize route-planning procedures.
• Establish escalation paths.
• Document production-to-fulfillment handoffs.
• Build operating controls around cold-chain requirements.
• Identify manual processes that can be simplified.
• Create repeatable systems that future team members can follow.

Operational Scaling

• Help translate the initial operating model into a scalable playbook.
• Assess logistics requirements for new markets.
• Evaluate route and distribution structures.
• Identify fulfillment requirements.
• Support partner and vendor selection.
• Develop repeatable launch processes.
• Adapt operating procedures to higher volumes and additional geographies.
• Identify where the current operating model may break before expansion occurs.

You'll work closely with production partners, fulfillment providers, carriers, vendors, 3PLs, and internal stakeholders to ensure that the different parts of the operation work together effectively. You'll act as a key operational connector across logistics, fulfillment, demand, capacity, and partner management, while communicating clearly and following issues through to resolution.

At Oceans Talent, you'll also receive guidance and support from your Operations Manager, who will help you succeed in the role and ensure that you're continuously growing and developing in your career.

To excel in this role, you should have:

• Experience: 3+ years of hands-on experience managing logistics, supply chain, distribution, or last-mile operations, with ownership of operational performance and process improvement.
• Logistics & Supply Chain: Meaningful hands-on experience across logistics, supply chain, distribution, last-mile delivery, transportation operations, fulfillment, or route operations.
• Operational Ownership: Experience owning operational processes rather than simply providing administrative or coordination support.
• Builder Experience: Comfort working in environments where processes are incomplete or nonexistent, with the ability to design how an operation should work.
• Analytics: Strong analytical capability and comfort working with spreadsheets, operational datasets, logistics KPIs, capacity, demand, and route economics.
• Route & Distribution: Experience with route planning, last-mile operations, distribution, transportation, or logistics optimization.
• Problem-Solving: Ability to identify bottlenecks, investigate root causes, develop solutions, and drive implementation through to resolution.
• Partner Management: Experience directly managing vendors, carriers, production partners, fulfillment partners, or 3PLs.
• Process Development: Experience creating SOPs, operating processes, and repeatable systems.
• Autonomy: Ability to operate independently and make decisions in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Organization: Strong attention to detail, follow-through, and ability to manage multiple operational priorities.
• Perishable Operations: Experience with food, beverage, grocery, dairy, or other perishable products is highly valuable.