Category Manager, Collectibles Authentication Category Management Remote (US, New York preferre[...]

Legitmark; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Legitmark, Inc. is seeking a Category Manager for Collectibles Authentication, with remote work options (US, NY preferred). You will design authentication standards, build reference libraries, and establish repeatable workflows to support operations.

You will lead a team, partner with Product and Engineering, and own the category launch plan, including staffing and success metrics. The role emphasizes process rigor and scalable systems to counter counterfeit risks.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years of experience in collectibles authentication, grading, or category/merchandising management.
• Deep knowledge of condition standards, counterfeits, reproductions, and authentication conventions.
• Experience with restoration and alteration detection, and familiarity with inspection tools.
• Proven ability to build scalable operational processes from scratch.

Responsibilities

• Design authentication standards for collectibles, including condition criteria and defect taxonomy.
• Define detection standards for counterfeits and reproductions; know when to escalate for multi-reviewer consensus.
• Build structured knowledge systems: reference libraries, taxonomies, exemplar databases, authentication guides.
• Translate standards into repeatable intake and authentication processes for operations.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to inform roadmap decisions and tooling needs.
• Own category launch plan: scope, timeline, staffing, success metrics.
• Maintain and expand the category post-launch: coverage, throughput, quality.
• Hire authentication specialists and build the team as volume grows.
• Train new hires on standards, methodology, and tooling.
• Provide ongoing supervision: quality audits, coaching, performance management.
• Set production goals balancing throughput with accuracy and consistency.
• Stay current on counterfeit trends and update standards accordingly.
• Monitor category metrics and report on health, growth, and risks.

Skills

Collectibles authentication

Category management

Staff management

Cross-functional partnership

Process design

Documentation

Tools

Magnification

UV/IR examination

Authentication tooling

Job description

Category Manager, Collectibles Authentication

Category Management – Remote (US, New York preferred)

About the role

In this role, you'll:

• Design authentication standards for collectibles, including condition criteria, defect taxonomy, and edge‑case rulings across sub‑categories
• Define detection standards for counterfeits, reproductions, restoration, and alterations, including when to ***escalate to*** multi‑reviewer consensus for high‑risk items
• Build structured knowledge systems for the category: reference libraries, exemplar databases, brand and manufacturer taxonomies, and authentication guides
• Translate standards into documented, repeatable intake and authentication processes for the operations team
• Partner with Product and Engineering to inform roadmap decisions and tooling needed to support the category
• Own the category launch plan: scope, timeline, staffing, and success metrics
• Maintain and grow the category post‑launch by expanding coverage, tuning throughput and quality, and responding to demand
• Hire authentication specialists for the category and build out the team as volume grows
• Train new hires on standards, authentication methodology, and tooling
• Provide ongoing supervision of category staff, including quality audits, coaching, and performance management
• Set and manage production goals that balance throughput with authentication accuracy and consistency
• Stay current on counterfeit trends, new reproduction techniques, and market developments across sub‑categories, and evolve standards to counter them
• Monitor category‑level metrics and report on health, growth, and risks

Your first 90 days

• Day 30: Standards and processes set. You've immersed in how Legitmark authenticates today, prioritized which collectible sub‑categories launch first, drafted their authentication standards, and started the reference libraries and repeatable workflows that support them.
• Day 60: Category live. We're authenticating collectibles in production with defined scope, staffing, and success metrics, and hiring for your first authentication specialists is underway.
• Day 90: Growing. Sub‑category coverage is expanding, knowledge systems are deepening against real volume, and you're reporting on category health with a clear plan to scale.

We're looking for someone with:

• 5-8 years of experience in collectibles authentication, grading, or category/merchandising management, ideally with exposure to companies like CGC, PSA/DNA, JSA, Beckett, or comparable grading, auction, and marketplace operations
• Deep working knowledge of condition standards, common counterfeits, reproductions, and authentication conventions across one or more collectible sub‑categories (figures, toys, memorabilia, comics, autographs)
• Experience with restoration and alteration detection, and familiarity with the inspection tools of the trade (magnification, UV/IR examination, and comparison against known exemplars)
• Understanding of provenance, pedigree, and market‑value factors and how they inform authentication risk decisions
• A track record of building or scaling operational processes from scratch
• Experience hiring, training, and managing frontline staff, with real ownership of their performance over time
• Comfort partnering cross‑functionally with Product and Engineering to shape what gets built
• Strong process and documentation skills — you can turn tacit expertise into something a new hire can follow
• Ability to own ambiguous scope and act as the internal domain expert for the category

Nice to have:

• Experience launching a new product category or business line from the ground up
• Existing relationships within the collectibles marketplace and grading ecosystem (Heritage Auctions, ComicConnect, WhatNot, CGC, or similar)
• Background in high‑volume, quality‑controlled physical inspection workflows
• Familiarity with authentication or grading software tooling

You might thrive in this role if:

• You're a category builder. You want to define how an entire category gets authenticated, not just execute someone else's playbook.
• You think in systems. You design standards and processes that scale, not one‑off judgment calls.
• You're a people manager at heart. You genuinely enjoy hiring, training, and developing a team over the long run.
• You're comfortable with ambiguity. You're the expert in the room, and you're ready to make the calls when there's no existing precedent.

About Legitmark