Office Manager

Washington Shoe Company; Renton (WA); On-site; USD 64,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Footwear purchase credit

Casual environment

Job summary

Washington Shoe Company, a 135-year-old fourth-generation family footwear business in Renton, seeks an Office Manager to keep the CEO, leadership team, and the office running smoothly. You will own the day-to-day operations, onboarding, vendor relations, and the experience that supports everyone to do their best work.

This role is not generic: you will partner with the Operations Director on safety, manage the CEO's calendar and travel, and help coordinate AI-enabled workflows so the team stays

Qualifications

• 3+ years in executive support, office management, or operations.
• Proficient with MS 365 tools (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel).
• Able to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Comfort with event setup, office logistics, and vendor coordination.

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day operation of the Renton office: supplies, spaces, vendors.
• First impression for visitors, candidates, vendors, and team members.
• Support CEO and leadership calendars, meetings, travel, and to‑do lists.

Skills

Executive support

Office management

Operations coordination

Tools

Outlook

Teams

Word

Excel

Job description

Salary: $64,000–$80,000 depending on experience

Start ASAP. Current Office Manager available through October 15 for overlap and handoff.

About this role:

This is not a generic office-manager post.

You sit next to the CEO of a 135-year, fourth-generation family footwear company. You keep him, the leadership team, the office, and the everyday WSC experience running smoothly so everyone else can do their best work.

We’re small, hands-on, and fast. Plans change. Everyone pitches in. Culture is not a poster on the wall here. It is one of the foundations we measure ourselves against. Since 2018 we have run quarterly employee engagement surveys. Leadership is held to a 4.25 out of 5 goal, and we routinely clear it. The CEO also hosts monthly skip-level coffee roundtables, so he hears the real pulse of the company, not a filtered version from a corner office.

We are also all-in on using AI the right way. We run NVIDIA DGX Spark systems on-prem so the team can learn and work with leading-edge tools. We are not replacing people with AI. We are giving everyone better leverage so they can do the work only they can do. These are interesting years to be in a company that is actually on that wave — and this role helps the whole place stay organized enough to ride it.

The person in this seat now grew into the role and became indispensable. We’re looking for someone who can do the same: notice what others miss, remember what others forget, and act before anyone has to ask. You don’t need to know everything on day one. You do need to be curious enough to learn a little about everything and then own it.

Bring ideas. Make the role yours. Become the person people mean when they say, \"Ask the Office Manager. They’ll know.\"

What you’ll own:

The office

• Day-to-day operation of the Renton office: supplies, spaces, vendors, and the small things that become leadership’s problem if they’re ignored


• First impression for everyone who walks in: visitors, candidates, vendors, and our own team


• Partner with the Operations Director on safety, security, first-aid, emergency info, and required workplace postings

Culture and gatherings

• Own the moments that pull the company together: all-hands, holidays, and the occasional excuse to throw a party


• Food, setup, cleanup, swag


• Day-to-day support for charitable giving and community events


• Help keep culture visible and real, not just surveyed once a quarter

People coming and going

• New-hire first days: desk, equipment, access, and a welcome that actually feels like one


• Clean wrap-up when someone leaves


• Run the internship program and be the person interns come to

Keeping the company in the loop

• SharePoint intranet, calendars, and company announcements


• Everyday Microsoft 365 and Teams questions; hand the hard ones to IT

Supporting the CEO and leadership (this is the heart of the job)

• Calendar, meetings, travel, and the running to-do list


• Track plans, deadlines, and next steps so nothing slips


• Help the CEO and leadership solve problems, protect private information, and keep work moving


• Be close enough to the work that you can anticipate, not just react


• Comfort using AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, and what we run on our on-prem NVIDIA systems) as part of how you work and helping others get comfortable too

How you work:

• Proactive and resourceful. You see what needs doing, think ahead, and act without waiting to be asked.


• Good judgment and discretion. You know what you can handle, what needs a flag, and what stays confidential.


• Creative and engaging. You look for ways to make ordinary things better and aren’t afraid to go a step further.


• People-focused and clear. Approachable, perceptive, comfortable with all kinds of people.


• Organized and adaptable. Many moving pieces, follow-through, calm when the plan changes.


• Curious about new tools. You don’t have to be an engineer. You do have to be willing to learn how AI can take the grind out of work so people can do higher-value things.

What you bring:

• 3+ years in executive support, office management, administration, operations, or a similar “keep the place and the principal running” role


• Daily fluency with Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel


• Ability to keep private company information private


• Comfort with hands-on work (event setup, moving supplies up to ~25 lbs)


• SharePoint experience is a plus


• Willingness to use tools like ChatGPT or Claude, and to keep learning as the toolkit changes

What we offer:

• Medical and dental: eligible the first of the month after 90 days


• 401(k) with company match: eligible the first of the month after six months


• Paid time off and company holidays


• Employee purchase credit and wholesale pricing on Western Chief, Chooka, and Staheekum


• Casual environment and real exposure to company leadership


• A seat next to a CEO who measures culture, holds skip-levels, and expects this role to grow with the person in it