Workplace Operations & Experience Manager

Whatnot; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance (Medical, Dental, Vis

Work From Home Support

401k with employer match

Parental Leave

Job summary

Whatnot in San Francisco is seeking an experienced Workplace Operations & Experience Manager to lead operations for the West Coast hub and to scale programs across multiple locations. You’ll design standards, build scalable operating models, and partner with Security, IT, and building partners to create safe, engaging workplaces.

This role blends strategy with hands‑on execution, requiring 8+ years in office operations at high‑growth tech companies, a hospitality mindset, and strong vendor

Qualifications

• 8+ years in office operations, facilities, or workplace experience at high-growth tech companies.
• Ability to build scalable workplace programs and operate with rigor.
• Experience negotiating contracts and managing vendor relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead workplace operations for the SF hub and scale programs regionally.
• Design standards, playbooks, and procedures for facilities across the portfolio.
• Partner with Security, IT, and building partners to ensure safe, reliable workplaces.
• Develop workplace programs that strengthen culture and collaboration.

Skills

Office operations

Facilities management

Vendor management

Hospitality in operations

Strategic thinking

AI tools for workplace

Tools

AI tools for workplace support

Job description

Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest live shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether its trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We re building live commerce at a scale thats never been done in the West, and theres no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops.

As a remote co-located team, we re inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact.

We re one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Role

Whatnot s Real Estate & Workplace team is looking for an experienced Workplace Operations & Experience Manager to help shape and scale workplace operations across our West Coast portfolio. You ll lead operations for our San Francisco hub while driving operational consistency, workplace programs, and regional initiatives across Seattle, Los Angeles, Tempe, and other locations as we grow. You ll do much more than keep offices running- you ll help build the operating model, programs, and standards to create a consistent, safe and engaging workplace experience.

This role blends strategy with execution. You re comfortable moving between long-term planning and day-to-day execution, create structure where none exists, thrive in ambiguity, and know that exceptional workplace experiences arent accidental- they re built through thoughtful systems, strong partnerships, continuous improvement, and relentless attention to detail. You care deeply about creating environments where employees can do their best work while building scalable operations that will support Whatnot as we continue to grow.

What You ll Drive

Workplace Operations

• Lead workplace operations for our San Francisco hub while establishing and implementing operational standards, playbooks, and procedures that create consistent and effective facilities operations across the regional U.S. office portfolio.

• Design and implement a regional vendor support strategy-from sourcing and contract negotiation to ongoing performance management-and evolve flexible support models.

• Manage workplace operating budgets, identify opportunities to improve efficiency, and continuously raise the bar for service, efficiency, and employee experience.

• Partner with Security, IT, and building partners to keep our workplaces safe, resilient, and running smoothly.

Workplace Experience

• Be the face of Workplace in San Francisco, setting the standard for hospitality and operational excellence, anticipating employee needs, and continuously improving the workplace experience.

• Build workplace programs that strengthen culture and support intentional collaboration and connection while reflecting Whatnot s values and honoring our remote-first culture.

• Create thoughtful in-office experiences across food & beverage, employee events, and key company moments in partnership with internal stakeholders.

• Build clear workplace communications and resources that make our offices easy to navigate and enjoyable to use.

Strategy & Partnership

• Act as a strategic and operational partner to the Head of Real Estate & Workplace, helping prioritize initiatives and translate long-term strategy into scalable execution across the workplace portfolio.

• Support strategic workplace decisions, helping to define our workplace operating model by developing systems across the portfolio and bringing operational rigor to vendor frameworks, standards, and best practices that scale while respecting local nuances.

• Partner across People, IT, Security, Finance, Legal, Communications, and other teams to ensure successful workplace operations and deliver exceptional workplace experiences.

• Leverage workplace utilization, occupancy, and operational data to inform space planning and help shape strategic real estate decisions.

• Drive operational readiness for office expansions, relocations, new site launches, and workplace projects from planning through execution.

• Identify risks and opportunities early, bring forward thoughtful recommendations, and continuously improve how our workplace function evolves as we grow.

• Represent the Real Estate & Workplace function in cross-functional initiatives, confidently driving decisions and influencing outcomes across the business when needed.

Location & Travel

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. Expected in-office cadence: 3-5 days per week, with flexibility to be on-site frequently and off-hours to support operations, events, and other facilities needs. This role includes regular domestic travel (~25-40%) to other offices to support operations as needed.

You

Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We re found that low ego, a growth mindset, and leaning into action and high impact goes a long way here.

As our next Workplace Operations & Experience Manager, you should have 8+ years of experience in office operations, facilities, or workplace experience across multiple office locations at high-growth tech companies, plus:

• A track record of building scalable workplace programs and operations, not simply maintaining existing ones.

• Proficiency with AI tools for workplace related support.

• Experience leading complex vendor relationships, negotiating contracts, and managing operational planning and budgets.

• A hospitality-first mindset paired with operational rigor and high standards for execution.

• Strong judgment and the confidence to make thoughtful decisions independently.

• The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution and thrive in ambiguity.

• You re equally comfortable discussing long-term strategy with executives and solving operational challenges on the office floor.

Benefits

• Generous Holiday and Time off Policy

• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision

• Work From Home Support

  • Home office setup allowance

  • Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet

• Care benefits

  • Monthly allowance for wellness

  • Annual allowance towards Childcare

  • Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses

• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally

• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app

  • All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We re passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).

• Parental Leave

  • 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

EOE

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.