Director of Distribution Jobs
Director of Distribution jobs are open across retail, food and beverage, manufacturing, and third-party logistics, covering specializations in warehouse operations, transportation management, and supply chain strategy, from regional manager to VP-level roles. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find Director of Distribution JobsLooking for remote work? View remote director of distribution jobs →Overview
Showing 5 of 43+ Director of Distribution jobs
“We’re not in the shipping business; we’re in the information business” -Peter Rose, Expeditors Founder
We take care of our employees, and they take care of our customers!
Become a member of a global community! The international logistics industry is an integral piece of the global trade puzzle; we make the world go round. Global supply chain management is what we do, and at the heart of Expeditors you will find professionalism, leadership, and a friendly environment, all of which foster an innovative, customer service-based approach to logistics. Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. As a Fortune 500 company, we employ over 19,000 trained professionals in a worldwide network of over 350+ locations across six continents. Expeditors satisfies the increasingly sophisticated needs of international trade through customized solutions and seamless, integrated information systems.
Our Mission
We recruit, train, and retain the very best logistics and technical experts the world over. We love to promote from within - more than 50 percent of our employees have been at Expeditors for five years or more. Our high retention rate is influenced by a unique compensation program for positions that are more than just jobs - they're chances to grow, do what you love and build a career with us!
www.expeditors.com
Job Description
The Distribution Operations Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day execution and performance of Distribution operations, ensuring safe, efficient, accurate, and customer-focused service across warehouse and customer-facing activities.
This position provides leadership to operational supervisors, leads, warehouse personnel, and customer service functions while maintaining accountability for service performance, inventory accuracy, labor utilization, process compliance, employee development, and continuous improvement.
The Operations Manager serves as a key link between Distribution leadership, customers, Customer Service, Inventory Control, warehouse operations, and other Expeditors departments. The successful candidate will be a hands-on leader who can balance daily execution with longer-term operational improvement and business growth.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership
- Provide daily leadership and direction for Distribution operations.
- Oversee receiving, put-away, inventory management, picking, packing, staging, shipping, RMA, and other value-added services.
- Ensure customer requirements, service commitments, and operational cutoff times are consistently achieved.
- Establish daily priorities and ensure supervisors and leads have clear direction.
- Monitor workload, capacity, staffing, and operational constraints throughout the day.
- Identify potential service failures early and drive timely corrective action.
- Maintain strong communication between warehouse operations, Customer Service, Inventory Control, and leadership.
- Support implementation and execution of customer-specific SOPs and work instructions.
People Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop Operations Supervisors, Warehouse Leads, and operational team members.
- Establish clear expectations for ownership, accountability, communication, and performance.
- Conduct regular one-on-one meetings and employee development discussions.
- Identify training and cross-training requirements.
- Develop bench strength and succession opportunities within Distribution.
- Promote an environment where employees are empowered to identify problems and recommend solutions.
- Partner with leadership to evaluate staffing requirements based on workload, customer volume, and business growth.
- Ensure effective utilization of permanent and temporary labor.
Customer Service & Account Performance
- Maintain a strong understanding of operational requirements for assigned customer programs.
- Partner with Customer Service teams to provide timely and accurate communication regarding operational status, exceptions, and customer requests.
- Participate in customer business reviews and operational meetings as required.
- Lead operational response to escalations and service failures.
- Ensure commitments made to customers are communicated clearly to the operational teams responsible for execution.
- Support onboarding and implementation of new Distribution customers and services.
Inventory Control & Quality
- Maintain a strong culture of inventory accuracy and transactional discipline.
- Ensure physical material movement aligns with system transactions.
- Partner with Inventory Control on cycle counts, inventory reconciliations, audits, and root-cause investigation.
- Monitor inventory discrepancies and establish corrective and preventive actions where appropriate.
- Reinforce customer-specific handling, serialization, lot control, RMA, high-value product, or other special requirements.
- Ensure documentation and operational records are maintained accurately.
KPI & Performance Management
-
Establish and monitor operational KPIs covering areas such as:
- Receiving performance
- Order processing and shipping performance
- Inventory accuracy
- Productivity
- Labor utilization
- Customer service performance
- Quality/error rates
- Safety
- Review performance trends and identify areas requiring corrective action.
- Use operational data to support staffing, capacity, and process decisions.
- Develop action plans when performance falls below established targets.
- Communicate operational performance, risks, and improvement activities to Distribution leadership.
Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve productivity, accuracy, safety, and customer experience.
- Drive standardization of warehouse processes and work instructions.
- Champion 5S, visual management, standard work, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement practices.
- Reduce unnecessary manual processes and improve workflow efficiency.
- Partner with systems and technical resources on warehouse technology improvements.
- Support warehouse layout, capacity, racking, equipment, and process-flow improvements.
- Lead or participate in corrective action and process-improvement initiatives.
Systems & Technology
- Develop strong working knowledge of Distribution warehouse management and customer systems.
- Ensure employees receive appropriate system training and understand the relationship between physical warehouse activity and system transactions.
- Participate in system testing, implementation, upgrades, and operational readiness activities.
- Identify opportunities to improve reporting and operational visibility through technology.
- Support customer system integrations and warehouse technology initiatives when required.
Safety, Security & Compliance
- Maintain a safe, organized, and professional warehouse environment.
- Reinforce established safety requirements and immediately address unsafe conditions or practices.
- Ensure appropriate handling and security controls are maintained for customer inventory.
- Maintain operational readiness for internal, customer, regulatory, and quality audits.
- Reinforce housekeeping and 5S expectations throughout the facility.
- Partner with appropriate internal teams on security, facility, and compliance requirements.
Location:SFO District Reno, NV
Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience in warehouse, distribution, logistics, fulfillment, or supply-chain operations.
- Previous experience leading employees in an operational environment.
- Strong understanding of warehouse processes including receiving, inventory management, order fulfillment, and shipping.
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple customers, priorities, and operational issues simultaneously.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Proven ability to investigate problems, determine root causes, and implement corrective actions.
- Strong customer-service mindset with the ability to manage escalations professionally.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 applications.
- Comfortable working directly within warehouse operations and not exclusively from an office environment.
Preferred
- Experience within a third-party logistics (3PL) environment.
- Experience managing high-value, technology, semiconductor, healthcare, or other complex customer programs.
- Experience with warehouse management systems and ERP platforms such as SAP EWM or SAP S/4HANA.
- Experience supporting inventory audits, cycle-count programs, or formal inventory-control processes.
- Experience with Lean, 5S, continuous improvement, or structured root-cause analysis.
- Experience leading supervisors and/or warehouse leads.
- Experience supporting new customer implementations, facility expansions, system implementations, or operational startups.
Leadership Competencies
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- Ownership: Takes accountability for results and follows issues through resolution.
- Operational discipline: Establishes clear processes and ensures consistent execution.
- Customer focus: Understands that warehouse performance directly impacts the customer experience.
- Communication: Provides clear, timely, and direct communication across functions and levels.
- Leadership: Sets expectations, develops employees, and holds teams accountable.
- Problem solving: Uses facts and data to identify root causes rather than simply treating symptoms.
- Adaptability: Effectively manages changing volumes, priorities, staffing, and customer requirements.
- Continuous improvement: Consistently looks for safer, faster, simpler, and more accurate ways to operate.
- Collaboration: Builds strong working relationships across operational and support functions
Technical Skills
- Strong understanding of software development principles.
- Experience with automation platforms such as Power Automate.
- Experience with Microsoft Copilot and M365 technologies.
- Familiarity with data structures, APIs, integrations, and system architecture.
- Basic understanding of AI, machine learning, LLMs, and prompt engineering.
- Ability to troubleshoot technical issues independently.
Business Skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to understand complex operational processes.
- Experience translating business requirements into technical solutions.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience developing automations, applications, or digital solutions.
- Experience leading cross-functional projects.
- Experience working in operations, logistics, finance, or enterprise shared services environments.
- Certifications in Microsoft Power Platform, Azure AI, Microsoft Copilot, or related technologies.
Additional Information
Expected base salary: $70,304.00
Eligible for bonus
Expeditors offers excellent benefits:
- Paid Vacation (first year prorated based off month of hire then eligible for 15 days)
- Holidays (10)
- Flexible Days (2)
- Paid Sick Time (accrual rate of 1 hour of sick time per 30 hours paid)
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with employer match
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
- Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental & Vision Coverage
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Life and Disability Insurance
- Paid Parental Leave (additional eligibility criteria)
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA)
- Commuter Benefit
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Learning & Development Program
- Educational Assistance and Reimbursement
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO Guidelines.
“We’re not in the shipping business; we’re in the information business” -Peter Rose, Expeditors Founder
We take care of our employees, and they take care of our customers!
Become a member of a global community! The international logistics industry is an integral piece of the global trade puzzle; we make the world go round. Global supply chain management is what we do, and at the heart of Expeditors you will find professionalism, leadership, and a friendly environment, all of which foster an innovative, customer service-based approach to logistics. Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. As a Fortune 500 company, we employ over 19,000 trained professionals in a worldwide network of over 350+ locations across six continents. Expeditors satisfies the increasingly sophisticated needs of international trade through customized solutions and seamless, integrated information systems.
Our Mission
We recruit, train, and retain the very best logistics and technical experts the world over. We love to promote from within - more than 50 percent of our employees have been at Expeditors for five years or more. Our high retention rate is influenced by a unique compensation program for positions that are more than just jobs - they're chances to grow, do what you love and build a career with us!
www.expeditors.com
Job Description
The Distribution Operations Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day execution and performance of Distribution operations, ensuring safe, efficient, accurate, and customer-focused service across warehouse and customer-facing activities.
This position provides leadership to operational supervisors, leads, warehouse personnel, and customer service functions while maintaining accountability for service performance, inventory accuracy, labor utilization, process compliance, employee development, and continuous improvement.
The Operations Manager serves as a key link between Distribution leadership, customers, Customer Service, Inventory Control, warehouse operations, and other Expeditors departments. The successful candidate will be a hands-on leader who can balance daily execution with longer-term operational improvement and business growth.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership
- Provide daily leadership and direction for Distribution operations.
- Oversee receiving, put-away, inventory management, picking, packing, staging, shipping, RMA, and other value-added services.
- Ensure customer requirements, service commitments, and operational cutoff times are consistently achieved.
- Establish daily priorities and ensure supervisors and leads have clear direction.
- Monitor workload, capacity, staffing, and operational constraints throughout the day.
- Identify potential service failures early and drive timely corrective action.
- Maintain strong communication between warehouse operations, Customer Service, Inventory Control, and leadership.
- Support implementation and execution of customer-specific SOPs and work instructions.
People Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop Operations Supervisors, Warehouse Leads, and operational team members.
- Establish clear expectations for ownership, accountability, communication, and performance.
- Conduct regular one-on-one meetings and employee development discussions.
- Identify training and cross-training requirements.
- Develop bench strength and succession opportunities within Distribution.
- Promote an environment where employees are empowered to identify problems and recommend solutions.
- Partner with leadership to evaluate staffing requirements based on workload, customer volume, and business growth.
- Ensure effective utilization of permanent and temporary labor.
Customer Service & Account Performance
- Maintain a strong understanding of operational requirements for assigned customer programs.
- Partner with Customer Service teams to provide timely and accurate communication regarding operational status, exceptions, and customer requests.
- Participate in customer business reviews and operational meetings as required.
- Lead operational response to escalations and service failures.
- Ensure commitments made to customers are communicated clearly to the operational teams responsible for execution.
- Support onboarding and implementation of new Distribution customers and services.
Inventory Control & Quality
- Maintain a strong culture of inventory accuracy and transactional discipline.
- Ensure physical material movement aligns with system transactions.
- Partner with Inventory Control on cycle counts, inventory reconciliations, audits, and root-cause investigation.
- Monitor inventory discrepancies and establish corrective and preventive actions where appropriate.
- Reinforce customer-specific handling, serialization, lot control, RMA, high-value product, or other special requirements.
- Ensure documentation and operational records are maintained accurately.
KPI & Performance Management
-
Establish and monitor operational KPIs covering areas such as:
- Receiving performance
- Order processing and shipping performance
- Inventory accuracy
- Productivity
- Labor utilization
- Customer service performance
- Quality/error rates
- Safety
- Review performance trends and identify areas requiring corrective action.
- Use operational data to support staffing, capacity, and process decisions.
- Develop action plans when performance falls below established targets.
- Communicate operational performance, risks, and improvement activities to Distribution leadership.
Continuous Improvement
- Identify opportunities to improve productivity, accuracy, safety, and customer experience.
- Drive standardization of warehouse processes and work instructions.
- Champion 5S, visual management, standard work, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement practices.
- Reduce unnecessary manual processes and improve workflow efficiency.
- Partner with systems and technical resources on warehouse technology improvements.
- Support warehouse layout, capacity, racking, equipment, and process-flow improvements.
- Lead or participate in corrective action and process-improvement initiatives.
Systems & Technology
- Develop strong working knowledge of Distribution warehouse management and customer systems.
- Ensure employees receive appropriate system training and understand the relationship between physical warehouse activity and system transactions.
- Participate in system testing, implementation, upgrades, and operational readiness activities.
- Identify opportunities to improve reporting and operational visibility through technology.
- Support customer system integrations and warehouse technology initiatives when required.
Safety, Security & Compliance
- Maintain a safe, organized, and professional warehouse environment.
- Reinforce established safety requirements and immediately address unsafe conditions or practices.
- Ensure appropriate handling and security controls are maintained for customer inventory.
- Maintain operational readiness for internal, customer, regulatory, and quality audits.
- Reinforce housekeeping and 5S expectations throughout the facility.
- Partner with appropriate internal teams on security, facility, and compliance requirements.
Location:SFO District Reno, NV
Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience in warehouse, distribution, logistics, fulfillment, or supply-chain operations.
- Previous experience leading employees in an operational environment.
- Strong understanding of warehouse processes including receiving, inventory management, order fulfillment, and shipping.
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple customers, priorities, and operational issues simultaneously.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Proven ability to investigate problems, determine root causes, and implement corrective actions.
- Strong customer-service mindset with the ability to manage escalations professionally.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 applications.
- Comfortable working directly within warehouse operations and not exclusively from an office environment.
Preferred
- Experience within a third-party logistics (3PL) environment.
- Experience managing high-value, technology, semiconductor, healthcare, or other complex customer programs.
- Experience with warehouse management systems and ERP platforms such as SAP EWM or SAP S/4HANA.
- Experience supporting inventory audits, cycle-count programs, or formal inventory-control processes.
- Experience with Lean, 5S, continuous improvement, or structured root-cause analysis.
- Experience leading supervisors and/or warehouse leads.
- Experience supporting new customer implementations, facility expansions, system implementations, or operational startups.
Leadership Competencies
The successful candidate should demonstrate:
- Ownership: Takes accountability for results and follows issues through resolution.
- Operational discipline: Establishes clear processes and ensures consistent execution.
- Customer focus: Understands that warehouse performance directly impacts the customer experience.
- Communication: Provides clear, timely, and direct communication across functions and levels.
- Leadership: Sets expectations, develops employees, and holds teams accountable.
- Problem solving: Uses facts and data to identify root causes rather than simply treating symptoms.
- Adaptability: Effectively manages changing volumes, priorities, staffing, and customer requirements.
- Continuous improvement: Consistently looks for safer, faster, simpler, and more accurate ways to operate.
- Collaboration: Builds strong working relationships across operational and support functions
Technical Skills
- Strong understanding of software development principles.
- Experience with automation platforms such as Power Automate.
- Experience with Microsoft Copilot and M365 technologies.
- Familiarity with data structures, APIs, integrations, and system architecture.
- Basic understanding of AI, machine learning, LLMs, and prompt engineering.
- Ability to troubleshoot technical issues independently.
Business Skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
- Ability to understand complex operational processes.
- Experience translating business requirements into technical solutions.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience developing automations, applications, or digital solutions.
- Experience leading cross-functional projects.
- Experience working in operations, logistics, finance, or enterprise shared services environments.
- Certifications in Microsoft Power Platform, Azure AI, Microsoft Copilot, or related technologies.
Additional Information
Expected base salary: $70,304.00
Eligible for bonus
Expeditors offers excellent benefits:
- Paid Vacation (first year prorated based off month of hire then eligible for 15 days)
- Holidays (10)
- Flexible Days (2)
- Paid Sick Time (accrual rate of 1 hour of sick time per 30 hours paid)
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with employer match
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
- Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental & Vision Coverage
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Life and Disability Insurance
- Paid Parental Leave (additional eligibility criteria)
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA)
- Commuter Benefit
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Learning & Development Program
- Educational Assistance and Reimbursement
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO Guidelines.
See All 43 Director of Distribution Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Director of Distribution JobsDirector of Distribution Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Airlines
- Distribution & Wholesale
- Investment & Asset Management
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in director of distribution jobs.
- 7 or more years of experience in distribution, logistics, or supply chain management
- Proficiency with warehouse management systems such as Manhattan, SAP, or Oracle
- Demonstrated experience managing large hourly and salaried workforces across multiple shifts
- Bachelor's degree in supply chain, logistics, business, or a related field
- Experience with transportation management systems and carrier contract negotiation
- APICS CSCP, CPIM, or similar supply chain certification preferred by many employers
Tips for Your Director of Distribution Job Search
Quantify your distribution network impact
Hiring managers want numbers: units shipped per day, fulfillment accuracy rates, cost reductions from route optimization, and headcount you managed. Pull those metrics from your last two roles before you update your resume so your scope is clear.
Highlight your WMS and TMS proficiency
Job postings for director of distribution almost always list specific warehouse management and transportation management systems. Name the platforms you have used directly in your resume's skills section, not just in job bullets, so automated screening picks them up.
Target postings by distribution model type
An e-commerce fulfillment director role and a wholesale distribution director role require very different experience. Filter your search by industry vertical and read each posting for clues about the network model before you apply, so your cover letter matches what they actually need.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists director of distribution openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Prepare for a case-based operations interview
Expect interviewers to present a real scenario: a warehouse running at capacity, a carrier shortage, or a sudden spike in returns volume. Practice walking through your decision-making process out loud, naming the stakeholders you would involve and the tradeoffs you would weigh.
Negotiate relocation terms before accepting
Many director of distribution roles require on-site presence at a specific facility, and companies often budget for relocation. Ask about the relocation package during the offer stage, before you accept, because it is rarely offered proactively once you have verbally agreed.
Director of Distribution Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most director of distributions?
The companies hiring the most director of distributions right now include Pavago, Michels, and Shinesty, with the largest share of openings in Texas, Colorado, and Illinois, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Retail, food and beverage, and third-party logistics companies tend to post the most openings at this level.
How many director of distribution jobs are remote?
About 95% of director of distribution openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the hands-on nature of most distribution leadership roles. The sub-areas most likely to offer remote flexibility are network strategy, vendor management, and regional oversight roles that do not require daily floor presence.
How do you become a director of distribution?
Most directors of distribution move up through warehouse supervisor, operations manager, and regional distribution manager roles over roughly a decade. Building experience across inbound, outbound, and returns operations, earning a supply chain certification, and demonstrating measurable cost and efficiency improvements are the steps that consistently accelerate the path to a director-level title.
Can you get hired as a director of distribution without direct director-level experience?
Some companies will consider a strong regional or senior operations manager if that person can show they already functioned at director scope, managing multi-site operations, owning a P&L, and leading large teams. The clearest way to close the title gap is to frame your resume around decisions you owned, not just tasks you completed, and to target smaller companies where the director role is newly created rather than a backfill.
What does the director of distribution interview process look like?
The process typically runs three to five rounds. An initial screen with HR is followed by a behavioral interview with the hiring manager focused on leadership and operations challenges. Later rounds usually include a panel with supply chain peers or a VP, and many companies add a facility tour or an on-site day where you meet the team you would lead. A final conversation with a C-suite executive is common before an offer is extended.
Where can I find and apply to director of distribution jobs?
You can find and apply to director of distribution jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find the roles that match your experience and apply directly to each listing from the page.
See All 43 Director of Distribution Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Director of Distribution Jobs