Customer Experience Specialist

Hyperlite Mountain Gear; Biddeford (ME); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial discount on everything we

Brand discounts

Paid holidays, PTO, and vacation

Health, vision, and dental insurance

Job summary

Hyperlite Mountain Gear seeks a customer-focused team member to be the front line of support, handling inquiries by email, chat, and phone, guiding orders, shipping, sizing, and gear recommendations. This role touches multiple teams and helps translate customer feedback into product and policy improvements.

You’ll manage returns, exchanges, and bulk order intake, inspecting gear, handling refunds or replacements, and identifying recurring issues to drive systemic improvements.

Qualifications

• At least 1 year in customer service, retail sales, or operations, ideally direct-to-consumer.
• Clear, polished written communication that’s warm and concise at the same time.
• Sounds judgment within guidelines and knows when to elevate.

Responsibilities

• Answer customer questions by email, chat, and phone, covering orders, shipping, sizing guidance, account issues, and gear recommendations for specific trips and conditions.
• Meet first-response and resolution targets while giving accurate and thorough answers.
• Escalate complex or sensitive cases with full context and route inquiries to the right team.
• Manage product reviews and customer Q&A on our site.
• Manage return and exchange requests, from approval through refund, store credit, or replacement.
• Receive and inspect returned gear for wear and determine restockability.
• Monitor return reasons and flag recurring issues to the teams.
• Respond to first-contact outreach for bulk and government/military orders, coordinating fulfillment.

Skills

Customer service

Written communication

Lightweight hiking

Pattern recognition

Organization

Google Workspace

Microsoft Office

Tools

Shopify

Gorgias

Loop

Okendo

Job description

Purpose of the Role

Hyperlite Mountain Gear packs, shelters, and accessories have been deep in the Grand Canyon, to the summits of Everest and K2, and along the world’s most iconic thru-hikes. Customers contact us because their trip depends on this gear, and this role treats every message accordingly.

You’ll be the front line of communication with Hyperlite customers and the day-to-day owner of returns and bulk order intake. Because you’re closest to what customers experience, you’re also the source of the insight that improves our products, communications, and policies.

This role touches nearly every part of the business. You’ll work alongside Marketing, Shipping, R&D, and Wholesale, build deep knowledge of our gear and materials, and see firsthand how customer feedback shapes what we build.

Core Responsibilities

Customer support (~80%)

• Answer customer questions by email, chat, and phone, covering orders, shipping, sizing guidance, account issues, and gear recommendations for specific trips and conditions.
• Meet first-response and resolution targets while giving answers that are accurate and thorough.
• Escalate complex or sensitive cases with full context and route inquiries to the right team.
• Manage product reviews and customer Q&A on our site.

Returns & exchanges (~10%)

• Manage return and exchange requests, from approval through refund, store credit, or replacement.
• Receive and inspect returned gear for use, wear, and damage, and determine whether each item can be restocked.
• Monitor return reasons and flag recurring issues, like sizing confusion or a common defect, to the teams who can address them.

Bulk order & wholesale support (~10%)

• Respond to first-contact outreach from prospective retail partners before handing off to the Wholesale team.
• Handle intake and quoting for standard bulk, government, and military orders, and coordinate fulfillment across teams.

What You Bring:

You genuinely like helping people get outside, and you’d rather solve a problem fully than close a ticket fast. You’re friendly with customers and teammates alike, you notice when something could work better and say so, and you’re eager to keep learning—about gear, about the job, and about how to provide a better backcountry experience.

• Practical, firsthand knowledge of lightweight hiking, camping, and backcountry skills. This role can’t be learned from a product sheet.
• At least 1 year in customer service, retail sales, or operations, ideally direct-to-consumer.
• Clear, polished written communication that’s warm and concise at the same time, including in public-facing responses.
• Sound judgment within guidelines, and the discernment to elevate rather than improvise when something falls outside them.
• An eye for patterns, plus the instinct to bring what you notice in customer questions, complaints, and returns to the teams who can fix the root cause.
• Organized and thorough in managing a varied workload; comfortable handling a high volume of open items without letting any slip.
• Quick to learn new platforms; proficient in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office.

Bonus points

• Hands-on experience with Hyperlite Mountain Gear products.
• Experience with Shopify, Gorgias, Loop, or Okendo.
• Advanced backcountry experience such as thru-hiking, alpine climbing, packrafting, or expedition travel.

Benefits

• Substantial discount on everything we sell
• Discounts with other outdoor gear brands
• Paid holidays, PTO, and vacation
• Health, vision, and dental insurance, available the first of the month after 60 days of employment respectively. Company participated.

Equal Opportunity

We created Hyperlite Mountain Gear with a commitment to providing jobs and career paths in Maine. It is our policy to consider all applicants for employment on the basis of his or her qualifications for the job without regard to age, sex, race, religious creed, color, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual preference, national origin, or citizenship. We actively pursue this policy in all aspects of employment including hiring, promotion, transfer, termination, recruitment, rates of pay, and selection for training, and general treatment during employment. We do reserve the right to refuse to hire or continue the employment of undocumented workers. Being an equal employment opportunity employer is not only a legal principle; it is a moral commitment as well.