Brand Operations Manager - Seattle, Washington - Job

Outdoor Research, LLC; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holidays

Floating holidays

Health plan

PTO

Transit benefits

Volunteer time

401(k) match

Bouldering wall

Outdoor benefit

Product discounts

Interest groups

Job summary

Outdoor Research, LLC is seeking a Brand Operations Manager to coordinate creative workflows across DTC and Wholesale marketing. This hybrid Seattle role starts with four days in office, moving to three after 12 months, and focuses on intake, prioritization, and trafficking of work to keep timelines honest.

You will own the project management system, align calendars with launches, and partner with design, product, and sales teams to ensure seamless production and clear briefs.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years in a brand, agency, or marketing operations environment managing multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Strong project management instincts, has built systems, not just followed them.
• Creative literacy to write clear briefs, give useful feedback, and identify off-brief issues.
• Familiarity with wholesale/retail cycles and sell-in/sell-through timelines for creative production.
• Experience across wholesale/retail and DTC contexts is a plus.
• Comfortable in a fast-moving environment with shifting priorities.
• Low ego, high ownership, improves others' work.
• Proficiency with project management tools (Asana) and creative workflows.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the first point of contact for all creative requests from DTC & Wholesale.
• Own and evolve the team's project management system and adoption.
• Maintain the master brand calendar and align timelines with launches.
• Assist in briefing seasonal creative needs with Production.
• Manage DTC intake (email, web, paid social, promos).
• Oversee Wholesale creative trafficking (seasonal, tools, events).
• Communicate across teams and ensure calendar accuracy.
• Maintain awareness of sell-in/sell-through timelines.

Skills

Project management

Asana proficiency

Creative literacy

Stakeholder coordination

Wholesale & DTC knowledge

Tools

Asana

Job description

About the Organization
Since 1981, Outdoor Research has been building award-winning outdoor clothing and gear. We stand behind every product we make with the Outdoor Research Infinite Guarantee® warranty. Find out how we were born from our founder Ron Gregg's research‑led approach to problem solving, and discover the origins of our first products in Our Story. Discover our roots in U.S. manufacturing, our legacy in Made in the USA tactical gloves, and our response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the development of face masks and medical‑grade personal protective equipment in Protection. Learn about our product processes using recycled materials, how we enforce the safety and wellbeing of our workplaces, and our commitment to all people and the planet in Responsibility. Meet some of our community members who work to create safe, accessible, and equitable outdoor spaces in our Community Partnerships and our Ambassadors. We'd be thrilled to have you join the team and find your Career at Outdoor Research.

Outdoor Research Values
Curiosity: We are constantly striving to learn and improve ourselves. In our products, as a brand, as a team, and as individuals.
Passion: We love what we do and take pride in sharing our work with others.
Innovation: We are complex problem solvers.
Collaboration: We are better together.
Community: We embrace the collective impact we can have from our diverse perspectives; on each other, society, and our environment.

Position Brand Operations Manager

Description

Location Hybrid – Seattle, WA (4 days in office to start, moving to three, after 12 months.)

Rate: $100,000 – $115,000k

The Role:
The Brand Operations is responsible for intake, prioritization, and trafficking of creative work across Outdoor Research's DTC and Wholesale marketing functions. The role serves as the primary operational partner to the Design and Production teams keeping work moving, briefs clear, and timelines honest.

This is not a campaign ownership role. It is the organizational infrastructure that allows an 8‑person brand team to execute at full capacity. The person in this role must carry enough commercial literacy to understand how sell‑in and sell‑through cycles shape wholesale creative timelines and enough cross‑functional range to coordinate across brand, sales, finance, and planning without losing the thread. Understanding Outdoor Performance categories is also a must.

The role requires genuine ambition around operations, process, and organizational craft not a temporary tolerance for it.

What you’ll do

• Serve as the first point of contact for all creative requests from DTC & Wholesale stakeholders
• Own the team's project management system, maintain it, enforce adoption, and evolve it as the team's needs change
• Support GTM planning by maintaining the master brand calendar, ensuring all workstreams are accounted for and production timelines ladder up correctly to launch dates
• Assist in briefing seasonal creative needs across photo/video, design, and content in partnership with the Production team.
• DTC intake ownership (email, web, paid social, promotional)
• Wholesale creative trafficking (seasonal, sales tools, buyer events)
• Stakeholder communication across both teams
• Sell‑in/sell‑through calendar awareness

What This Role Is Not:

This role does not own campaigns, set brand strategy, manage athletes, or direct creative work. It does not serve as a substitute for clear stakeholder briefs or act as an account manager for external agencies. It is not an entry‑level coordinator position, and it is not a stepping stone for someone who ultimately wants to be a creative director or brand strategist.

What Success Looks Like

• Brief quality and completeness at intake (reduction in revision cycles caused by unclear direction)
• Team capacity utilization: work is sequenced, not piled
• On‑time delivery rate across DTC and Wholesale workstreams
• Stakeholder satisfaction across DTC and Wholesale on responsiveness and process clarity
• Project management system adoption and accuracy

Position Requirements

Qualifications

• 4–6 years in a brand, agency, or marketing operations environment managing multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Strong project management instincts, has built systems, not just followed them
• Enough creative literacy to write a clear brief, give useful feedback, and know when something is off‑brief.
• Familiarity with wholesale and retail commercial cycles understands how sell‑in and sell‑through timelines connect to creative production needs.
• Experience working across both wholesale/retail and DTC contexts is a genuine advantage.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑moving, resource‑constrained environment where priorities shift
• Low ego, high ownership, takes pride in making other people's work better, not in getting credit.
• Proficiency in project management tools (Asana); familiarity with creative production workflows.

What do we bring to the table?

• 11 paid holidays each year and 3 floating holidays
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans
• PTO/PSST
• Transportation benefits
• Paid volunteer time
• 401(k) with discretionary company match
• Bouldering wall and work out rooms
• Ron Gregg – annual get outdoors benefit
• Product discounts
• Employee interest groups including various sports activities

Exempt/Non‑Exempt Exempt

Full‑Time/Part‑Time Full‑Time

Location Seattle, WA

EOE Statement OR is committed to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment in an unlawful manner. Employment‑related decisions are made based on an individual’s qualifications without regard to race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or military status, genetic information, political ideology or other applicable protected class status. This commitment extends to all employment practices including selection, hiring, placement, recruitment advertising, promotion or transfer, rate of pay or other forms of compensation, selection for training, demotion, layoff, or separation. All employment decisions are based upon the qualifications of the individual and the job requirements.
OR supports this commitment with an affirmative action program, which is updated annually. The objectives of the affirmative action program are to ensure that our team reflects the diversity of our local community. We fully support affirmative action to include women, ethnic minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities throughout our workforce. The OR affirmative action program is available for review by all employees and is maintained in the Human Resources Department.

This position is currently accepting applications.