Operations Associate - Order Management

We are a startup, and most of what this job is today is manual: chasing suppliers by phone, re-keying orders when systems don't talk, digging through emails for a tracking number, and fixing things the agents got wrong. If you're looking for a job where the software does the work and you supervise, this is not it. If you like being the person who makes a messy operation actually run, keep reading.

Arbor Home is an AI-native B2B building materials marketplace serving contractors, builders, multifamily operators and designers across the US. Headquartered in Palo Alto with fulfillment centers in Phoenix and Atlanta. A very small core team owns the suppliers, the exceptions and the quality of what the agents do. When a supplier goes silent, freight shows up damaged, or an agent sends a customer the wrong answer, you don't log it — you fix it, that day, usually by phone. You own orders from PO to delivery and the customer from confirmation to "it arrived." You're the link between suppliers, carriers, customers and our Phoenix warehouse team — you don't pick or pack, you make sure the right thing ships and the customer knows what's happening.

Place POs, call when they don't confirm, call again when they don't ship, find an alternate when they're out. Many of our vendors have no portal — it's email and phone. Own the customer side. Keep contractors informed; Phone first, email second, same day. Give the FC team clear priorities, get answers on what's in stock and what shipped, and resolve discrepancies between the system and the floor. Spreadsheets, manual reconciliations, hunting down a missing BOL, calling a carrier three times. 2–4 years running an order desk, logistics coordination or e-commerce ops at a company that moved real volume — 3PL, distributor, marketplace, DTC brand — where you personally called vendors and customers. Five things open, a vendor not replying, a contractor on the line — and you stay organized. Shopify, a ticketing system (Zendesk/Intercom/Gorgias), spreadsheets; Building materials or construction supply experience is a plus; You'll run a real order operation end to end with direct access to the founder and real authority from week one. Hybrid: 3 days/week at our Phoenix location; Pacific business hours. Heavy phone work with vendors and customers.