Terminal Manager

Forward Air Corp.; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan

Employee stock purchase

PTO + holidays

Job summary

Forward Air Corp. is seeking a Terminal Manager to lead multimodal terminal operations across ground, air, ocean, and rail workflows. The role emphasizes strategic leadership and daily execution to meet safety, service, and regulatory commitments.

The candidate will drive workforce planning, capacity management, and cost control while partnering with carriers, customers, and internal teams to ensure seamless handoffs and optimized performance.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a related field preferred; strong leadership experience in multimodal transportation and operations.
• Certification in Lean, Six Sigma, or DOT compliance is advantageous.
• Experience with dashboards, scorecards, and KPI reporting to manage terminal performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead all terminal operations across multimodal transport flows from inbound to final delivery.
• Ensure safety, quality, cost, and regulatory adherence across all modes.
• Coach teams to maintain discipline and accurate multimodal processes.
• Own P&L and cost-to-serve across modes with labor and capex oversight.
• Forecast demand, manage capacity, and align resources to network needs.
• Monitor performance, identify variances, and implement corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement using data and transportation analytics.
• Collaborate with carriers, providers, and regulators to ensure smooth operations.
• Lead regular performance reviews and employee development initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Multimodal logistics

Cost control

Forecasting

Data analysis

KPI reporting

Team coaching

Safety compliance

ERP

Education

Bachelor's degree

Lean Six Sigma training

Tools

TMS

WMS

ERP

MS Office

Job description

• Locations 2501 W Rosecrans Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90059, US


• Job Category Operations: Leadership


• Job Category Logistics and Transportation


• Job Function Operations

Job Description

Terminal Manager

Compensation: $175,000 - 190,000 Annually

The Terminal Manager is responsible for leading all aspects of multimodal transportation terminal operations, including ground, air, ocean, and rail workflows. This role provides strategic and day‑to‑day leadership to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient movement of freight from inbound receipt through final delivery. The Terminal Manager ensures operational performance aligns with contractual, service, financial, and regulatory commitments across all supported modes. They drive workforce planning, multimodal capacity management, cost control, and terminal productivity through strong operational discipline and data‑driven decision‑making. They partner with transportation providers, carriers, customers, and internal teams to ensure seamless multimodal handoffs and service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead all operations across the terminal’s transportation flows, including ground, air, ocean, and rail processes from inbound receipt through final delivery.


• Ensure service, financial, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements are met across all transportation modes.


• Coach operations and support teams to drive consistent execution, operational discipline, and multimodal process accuracy.


• Own terminal P&L performance, including labor, variable costs, period expenses, and cost-to-serve across modes.


• Lead workforce planning, volume forecasting, transportation capacity alignment, and cross‑mode resource allocation based on network and customer demand.


• Monitor terminal operational and financial performance, identify variances, and implement corrective actions.


• Manage terminal capital expenditures tied to approved investments, terminal improvements, and multimodal handling needs.


• Sponsor and lead initiatives that improve productivity, quality, velocity, safety, and multimodal cost performance.


• Establish and manage terminal KPIs aligned with safety, regulatory compliance, on‑time performance, mode accuracy, cost, and productivity.


• Lead regular operational, transportation, and performance reviews to assess results and identify improvement opportunities.


• Proactively manage employee relations through communication, coaching, performance feedback, and team development.


• Ensure robust safety practices and full compliance with DOT, OSHA, TSA, FMC, IATA, rail, and other mode‑specific regulations.


• Collaborate with carriers, drayage providers, freight forwarders, brokers, linehaul partners, and regulatory authorities to ensure smooth multimodal operations.


• Support and promote continuous improvement methodologies using data, structured problem‑solving, and transportation analytics.


• All other duties as assigned to meet evolving business needs.

Qualifications

• Education: Undergraduate degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Transportation, Logistics, or a related field preferred; High School Diploma or GED/equivalent required.


• Certification/Licensure: Valid forklift certification/licensure (or ability to obtain before operating equipment) required, including operation of applicable material handling equipment (MHE) such as sit‑down/stand‑up forklifts, reach trucks, order pickers, pallet riders, or other specialized MHE as required by the site. Additional equipment certifications may be required depending on facility needs.


• Training in Lean, Six Sigma, DOT compliance, IATA/IMDG familiarity, or similar is preferred.


• Experience: 5+ years of leadership experience in multimodal transportation, 3PL, contract logistics, or operational environments involving ground, air, ocean, or rail.


• Strong working knowledge of multimodal transportation processes, carrier operations, freight flow management, and terminal/linehaul coordination.


• Strong functional understanding of TMS, WMS, ERP (McLeod, SAP, Oracle, etc.), and reporting/data tools.


• Proven ability to manage operational KPIs, labor planning, transportation capacity, and cost performance.


• Experience developing and using dashboards, scorecards, and transportation KPI reporting to manage terminal performance.


• Ability to create, track, and interpret safety, quality, delivery, cost, and productivity metrics across multiple transportation modes.


• Demonstrated discretion and confidentiality in handling and protecting sensitive information.


• Technical: Proficient with common office technologies, including Windows PCs, Microsoft O365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and web conferencing (Teams, Zoom, Webex, etc.).


• Environment: Comfort commuting to/from and working in a 100% on‑site setting (listed in this posting), with travel for related meetings/events.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Compensation: Competitive base pay based on experience, industry/geographic benchmarks and internal equity. Some positions may be eligible for incentive pay programs and/or equity-based incentives. Pay ranges published on job boards are not provided nor verified by the Company.


• Health: Medical and Pharmacy insurance; Health Savings Account (HSA); Vision; Dental; Life and Disability; Critical Illness; Accident Indemnity; Hospital Indemnity; On‑demand telehealth via Teladoc; Employee Assistance Program (counseling and financial/lifestyle coaching).


• Wealth: 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match; Employee stock purchase program; Flexible Spending Account (FSA); Commuter Benefits; LegalEASE legal coverage.


• Time: 7 paid holidays and generous Paid Time Off (PTO) tiers ranging from 10–25 days annually.


• Culture: A collaborative, transformation-driven, solutions‑first environment full of \"can do\" attitude and \"will do\" work ethic.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Work Authorization: Within the United States, the Company is an E‑Verify employer. Unless otherwise indicated, U.S.-based workers must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship, including but not limited to F‑1, H‑1, H‑2, L, J, and TN visas, etc.


• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): The Company is proud to be an equal opportunity employer . Applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or veteran status.


• Reasonable Accommodations: Physical/mental requirements are listed only to identify where potential accommodations may be needed, not as qualification standards. In compliance with applicable laws and regulations (including ADA, ADEA, and FMLA), accommodations may be available to qualified individuals unable to perform essential duties without them. Additional requirements may apply to meet legal, regulatory, and Company standards.