Shipping Supervisor

For over four decades, Big Top has manufactured and installed high-performance fabric structures in the United States, delivering American-made quality, innovation, and reliability. We don't just build shelters - we engineer solutions that optimize operations, safeguard assets, and provide a competitive edge for companies worldwide. With the support and financial backing of Altamont Capital Partners, we are in an exciting phase of growth, expansion, and innovation.

Location: Flower Mound, TX

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises Shipping, Material Handling, Yard, Loading, and Finishing Department personnel. Responsibilities include workforce planning, interviewing, hiring recommendations, onboarding, training, coaching, work assignment, performance management, corrective action, employee development, succession planning, and accountability practices in partnership with Human Resources and plant leadership.

Job Summary: The Shipping Supervisor owns the operating results of the Shipping, Yard, Logistics, and Finishing departments, including safety, quality, delivery, inventory accuracy, logistics effectiveness, labor utilization, employee capability, standard work, ERP discipline, continuous improvement, and customer shipment performance. This role leads department execution by setting priorities, aligning labor and resources, removing constraints, developing team capability, enforcing standards, and using performance data to drive decisions. The Shipping Manager is accountable for building a reliable, disciplined, and scalable shipping and finishing operation that supports current production requirements and future business growth. This position reports directly to the Plant General Manager.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Owns Shipping, Yard, Logistics, and Finishing department performance for safety, quality, delivery, inventory accuracy, logistics effectiveness, labor utilization, cost control, customer requirements, and employee capability.

• Leads Shipping, Material Handling, Yard, Loading, and Finishing employees by setting clear expectations, assigning work, coaching performance, addressing gaps, and enforcing consistent accountability.

• Plans and adjusts daily execution by aligning labor, carriers, trailers, yard space, loading capacity, finished goods, materials, priorities, and constraints to meet shipment commitments.

• Owns inbound and outbound shipment execution, including carrier sourcing and scheduling, load planning, shipment readiness, pickup coordination, driver communication, loading and unloading direction, and on-time departure.

• Owns yard traffic flow, trailer positioning, staging locations, parking controls, space utilization, congestion prevention, and safe movement of vehicles, equipment, employees, and visitors.

• Ensures customer, order, packaging, labeling, documentation, delivery, and carrier requirements are clearly communicated, verified, and completed before shipment release.

• Confirms orders are complete, correctly staged, accurately loaded, properly protected and secured, and supported by required shipment documentation before leaving the facility.

• Owns safe execution of shipping, finishing, loading, unloading, yard, and material-handling activities through compliance with PPE, equipment authorization, traffic controls, loading practices, documented procedures, inspections, and escalation requirements.

• Ensures shipments comply with company requirements and applicable transportation, export, customs, hazardous-material, and other regulatory requirements within the scope of the operation.

• Owns final product and shipment quality through finishing standards, inspection readiness, loading verification, packaging controls, documentation accuracy, handoff verification, and corrective action on damage, shortages, errors, or recurring defects.

• Owns Finishing Department execution, including work priorities, labor alignment, employee capability, product presentation, final preparation, quality requirements, schedule performance, and handoff to Shipping.

• Develops workforce capability through onboarding, training, cross-training, equipment authorization, qualification tracking, skills matrix maintenance, development planning, and succession and bench-strength preparation.

• Supports full-cycle talent management for assigned departments, including workforce planning, recruiting support, interviewing, selection input, onboarding, performance reviews, corrective action, and retention in partnership with Human Resources.

• Creates, tracks, monitors, and improves department KPIs tied to safety, on-time shipment, shipping accuracy, inventory accuracy, damage and claim reduction, carrier performance, finishing throughput, labor effectiveness, training completion, housekeeping, and continuous improvement.

• Uses ERP, CRM, shipment, carrier, labor, inventory, quality, and employee-capability data to identify risks, set priorities, allocate resources, solve constraints, and communicate department performance to plant leadership.

• Owns ERP and system discipline for shipment processing, inventory transactions, order status, transfer activity, production and finishing completion, labor reporting, shipment confirmation, freight documentation, and employee transaction compliance.

• Identifies and corrects transaction gaps, inventory discrepancies, shipment errors, carrier issues, staging breakdowns, inaccurate status reporting, and data integrity concerns that affect operational reliability or customer delivery.

• Owns department SOPs, work instructions, standard work, training requirements, and operating procedures by ensuring they are implemented, followed, audited, updated, and improved as conditions change.

• Converts tribal knowledge and undocumented shipping, finishing, yard, loading, and logistics practices into repeatable standards in partnership with Quality, Safety, Operations, Finance, Sales, Customer Service, and plant leadership.

• Ensures trailers, forklifts, material-handling equipment, loading tools, docks, yard equipment, and supporting assets are inspected, maintained, available, and escalated before risks affect safety, quality, or delivery.

• Owns housekeeping and 5S expectations for assigned departments and supports facility-wide standards through clear ownership, routine inspection, issue escalation, and timely corrective action.

• Maintains accurate records for shipments, carriers, freight documentation, inventory, labor, training, employee performance, equipment checks, quality findings, safety concerns, damage, claims, and corrective actions.

• Builds a disciplined and engaged work environment by promoting teamwork, addressing conflict early, reinforcing accountability, and correcting performance or behavior issues promptly.

• Leads continuous improvement actions that improve safety, shipment reliability, inventory accuracy, yard flow, finishing throughput, labor utilization, standard work, employee capability, cost, and customer service.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Required Skills & Abilities

• Strong leadership skills with the ability to build accountability, coach employees, manage conflict, develop talent, and guide a diverse team.

• Ability to lead through clear expectations, timely feedback, documented follow-up, and consistent accountability.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to coordinate employees, carriers, drivers, vendors, customers, and internal departments.

• Strong organizational, time-management, prioritization, and execution skills in a fast-paced manufacturing and logistics environment.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, root-cause analysis, and decision-making abilities.

• Ability to balance immediate shipment demands with long-term employee development, training, standard work, data accuracy, cost, and process improvement priorities.

• Ability to create, track, interpret, and improve departmental KPIs and performance measurements.

• Working knowledge of shipping, receiving, freight, carrier management, load planning, yard management, material handling, finished goods, inventory control, packaging, and shipment documentation.

• General understanding of Incoterms, international shipping practices, export compliance, transportation requirements, customs documentation, and hazardous-material requirements as applicable.

• Ability to accurately use ERP/MRP, CRM, transportation or shipment systems, inventory transactions, order records, labor reporting, quality records, and related operational documentation.

• Ability to use ERP and operational data to identify constraints, evaluate performance, improve data accuracy, and support decision-making.

• Working knowledge of on-time shipment, shipping accuracy, inventory accuracy, freight cost, damage claims, labor efficiency, schedule attainment, 5S, Lean manufacturing, and continuous improvement practices preferred.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and related business systems.

• Reasoning ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, interpret requirements, evaluate options, and draw valid conclusions.

• Mathematical ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and apply fractions, percentages, ratios, proportions, dimensional information, weight, quantity, and freight calculations to practical situations.

• Language skills sufficient to read and interpret procedures, customer requirements, technical instructions, transportation documents, safety standards, reports, business correspondence, and regulatory guidance; ability to write reports, procedures, correspondence, and employee documentation as required.

Education & Experience

• High school diploma or equivalent required.

• Minimum 5 years of shipping, logistics, warehouse, distribution, material handling, or related manufacturing-support experience required.

• Minimum 2 years of demonstrated leadership, supervisory, lead, or equivalent operational leadership experience preferred.

• Experience hiring, coaching, developing, managing performance, and addressing employee accountability preferred.

• Experience developing employees, leading training, maintaining qualification expectations, and building bench strength preferred.

• Experience managing carrier relationships, freight scheduling, yard activity, shipment documentation, finished goods, or inventory accuracy preferred.

• Experience implementing process improvements, solving recurring operational problems, and improving department performance preferred.

• Experience using ERP/MRP, CRM, shipping systems, inventory transactions, labor tracking, quality records, or manufacturing data systems preferred.

• Experience with international shipping, export documentation, Incoterms, customs, DOT, or hazardous-material requirements preferred where applicable.

• Experience in a quality-driven manufacturing environment preferred.

Physical Demands

• Must be able to operate in a production, warehouse, yard, and shipping environment with exposure to noise, moving equipment, vehicle traffic, and varying temperatures.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to use hands to handle or feel.

• The employee is occasionally required to stand and sit.

• Must be able to accurately exchange information with subordinates, co-workers, customers, carriers, drivers, vendors, and management.

• Must be able to lift 50 lbs. on a regular basis.

• Must be able to traverse facilities, yard areas, trailers, docks, and machinery by climbing, balancing, lifting, walking, stooping, bending, pushing, pulling, and carrying materials.

• Must be able to visually review shipment documents, order records, computer or tablet screens, labels, finished goods, load conditions, inventory, trailers, and equipment conditions.

• Must be able to work in production, warehouse, shipping, finishing, and outdoor yard areas for extended periods while monitoring employees, equipment, carriers, materials, and operational activity.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts, vehicle and material-handling traffic, and risk of electrical shock. The employee is occasionally exposed to high, precarious places with appropriate safety precautions; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; outside weather conditions; extreme heat; and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually loud. Hearing protection is required.

Accommodations

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements and physical demands described herein are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and work conditions necessary to perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

At Big Top, our actions are guided by a strong set of core values; a pursuit of excellence, a commitment to teamwork, a sense of ownership and a focus on being solution-oriented. We believe each team member plays an important role in helping us achieve our shared goals and we are continuously striving to build a workplace where employees are empowered to contribute in new ways.

After 60 days, employees are provided with health, dental and vision insurance at no cost - the premiums are 100% employer-paid! Other benefits include 401(k) with company match, free short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, and an employee assistance program. We also offer a generous vacation allowance to support work-life balance and employee wellbeing.

Big Top does not discriminate based upon race, religion, gender, disability, veteran status, or other protected characteristics. We comply with all federal and state disability laws and make reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our Human Resources department.

Drug-Free Workplace.