Category Manager, Watch Authentication Category Management New York View role

Legitmark, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Legitmark is seeking a Category Manager to build and scale our watch authentication facility in New York. You will design standards, procure equipment, hire and train specialists, and own the category's health from launch through growth.

You'll collaborate with Product and Engineering to shape tooling, establish workflows, and define success metrics across throughput and accuracy as volume increases.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years in watch authentication, horology, or related operations management.

Responsibilities

• Design authentication standards for watches across price tiers and brands.
• Identify counterfeit trends and build methodology to counter them.
• Specify and procure equipment for a watch authentication facility.
• Design and build the physical facility layout and workflow.
• Hire, train, and manage authentication specialists.

Skills

Watch authentication

Category management

Operations management

Team leadership

Facility design

Education

Watchmaking certification

Tools

Timegraphers

Loupes

Microscopes

Case-opening tools

Job description

Legitmark is building the trust layer for resale. We believe that authentication should be fast, accurate, and accessible to everyone, from individual sellers to the world's largest marketplaces. Our team of experts and engineers authenticate millions of items annually, helping buyers shop with confidence and sellers maximize value.

About the role

We're hiring a Category Manager to lead Legitmark's expansion into watches, spanning everyday and entry-level brands through high-value luxury watches. This is a build-from-zero role: you'll stand up the facility, specify the equipment, define the standards, and build the team that runs it.You'll design and equip a dedicated watch authentication facility, covering movement testing, timing accuracy checks, case and material inspection, and secure handling for high-value inventory. You'll also set the authentication standards themselves and translate them into repeatable processes for the operations team.Once the category is live, you own its health: throughput, accuracy, and growth across the full range of brands and price points we authenticate. This role also owns the people side of the category, hiring and training the specialists who authenticate watches day to day, and acting as their long-term manager.This role is based onsite in New York, where the authentication facility will be built and run.

In this role, you'll:

• Design authentication standards for watches across price tiers and brands, including movement inspection, case and bracelet material checks, hallmark and serial verification, engraving checks, dial and reference-level detail validation, and papers/box matching
• Identify counterfeit trends across brands and reference variations, including franken-watches, aftermarket parts, and refinished dials, and build authentication methodology to counter them
• Specify and procure the equipment needed for a watch authentication facility: timegraphers, loupes and microscopes, movement demagnetizers, case-opening and watchmaker tools, and other testing and measurement instruments
• Design and build out the physical facility, including layout, intake-to-return workflow, and security for high-value inventory
• Translate standards into documented, repeatable 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, facility readiness, and success metrics
• Maintain and grow the category post-launch by expanding brand and model coverage, tuning throughput and accuracy, and scaling the facility as volume grows
• Hire authentication specialists for the category and build out the team as volume grows
• Train new hires on standards, inspection methodology, and equipment use, and build the reference materials, written assessments, and QC checks that keep the team consistent
• Provide ongoing supervision of category staff, including quality audits, coaching, and performance management
• Implement QC processes for high-risk, high-value items, including escalation paths and multi-reviewer verificationMonitor category-level metrics and report on health, growth, and risk

Your first 90 days

• Day 30: Facility build underway. You've immersed in how Legitmark authenticates today, drafted authentication standards for the first brands and price tiers, specced the facility layout, and have equipment procurement in motion.
• Day 60: Category live. The facility is operational and we're authenticating watches in production with defined scope, staffing, and success metrics, and hiring for your first authentication specialists is underway.
• Day 90: Growing. Brand and model coverage is expanding, throughput and accuracy are tuned 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 watch authentication, watchmaking or horology, or category/operations management within luxury goods, resale, or auction environments
• Deep knowledge of iconic 20th and 21st century watch brands (Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, TAG Heuer, and others), their history, and manufacturing characteristics — plus fluency across everyday and entry-level brands
• Advanced technical expertise in brand, model, movement, and material identification, including reference-level variations and common counterfeiting or refinishing techniques
• Hands-on experience with authentication and testing equipment, including timegraphers, loupes, microscopes, and case-opening tools, and the ability to make accurate adjustments and regulation assessments on both mechanical and quartz movements
• Experience setting up or scaling a physical inspection or authentication facility, including equipment procurement and workflow design
• A track record of building 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
• Ability to own ambiguous scope and act as the internal domain expert for the category
• Ability to work onsite in New York

Nice to have:

• Degree or certification from a relevant watchmaking institution (AWCI, WOSTEP, SAWTA, or CW21), or brand certifications from major watch manufacturers
• Experience with secondary market pricing principles and valuation for watches
• Existing relationships with watch dealers, auction houses, or grading and authentication services
• Experience with high-value inventory handling, insurance, and security protocols
• 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're hands-on. You're as comfortable speccing equipment and laying out a facility as you are setting authentication standards.
• 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.

About Legitmark

Legitmark is an authentication services company that verifies luxury goods and sneakers for the world's largest resale platforms. Our human-powered approach delivers 98-99% accuracy with industry-leading turnaround times, serving over 125,000 businesses globally.