Operational Systems and Automation Manager (Part-Time)

Spikeball is looking for a PART-TIME Operational Systems and Automation Manager 

About Spikeball

Our mission is to bring people together and help them find their circle. Our products inspire connection—getting people outside, staying active, and building friendships, all while playing a game they love.

For 17+ years, we haven’t just improved an existing game—we’ve built an entirely new category and community. And we’re just getting started.

With a passionate global community, strong brand recognition, and products people genuinely love, we see massive growth opportunities ahead. To accomplish that—we need a highly capable operator who can connect systems, streamline processes, and bring clarity to complexity behind the scenes.

At Spikeball, we live by five core values, and we’re looking for someone who embodies them:

✅ Motivated – You’re driven to improve, optimize, and push boundaries.
✅ Proactive – You don’t wait for direction; you identify problems and solve them.
✅ Collaborative – You work effectively across teams and communicate clearly.
✅ Challenge the Status Quo – You question inefficiencies and build better systems.
✅ Disciplined – You take a structured, thoughtful approach to problem solving.

The Role

We’re hiring an Operations Systems and Automation Manager to own and optimize the systems that power our entire internal technology stack; Direct-to-Consumer, Wholesale, Warehousing, Financial, Internal Communications, etc. Yes, it's part-time. No, it's not a check-the-box gig. We're not looking for an external consultant knocking out requests — we're adding a teammate who will understand our people and our needs. This will involve recurring team conversations and discovery work.

This role sits at the intersection of automation, systems architecture, ecommerce operations, and IT. You’ll ensure orders flow seamlessly from checkout to fulfillment, systems talk to each other reliably, find opportunities for AI to improve Spikeball, and help team members automate their work.

You will manage and improve the connections between Shopify, Amazon, NetSuite, and our broader tech stack—while driving automation, improving visibility, and eliminating operational friction across the business. 

This is a role for someone who enjoys untangling complexity, building clean systems, seeking out untapped potential, applying new learnings, and solving problems thoughtfully—not just reacting to them.

STOP READING, If This Isn’t You:

• You have highly relevant knowledge in operations systems, ecommerce operations, or experience in a similar role involving integrations.
• AI is exciting and brimming with potential to you. You can’t wait to find new ways to gain efficiency.
• You are not just reactive—you think in systems, root causes, and long-term solutions rather than quick fixes.
• You are comfortable working across multiple tools (Netsuite, Shopify, Celigo, Claude, etc.) and can troubleshoot issues independently.
• You are a self-starter who can manage your own workload, learn new systems quickly, and collaborate across departments.
• You are interested in being a true part of the team. Getting to the root of the issue through conversation and exploration with other team members.

What You’ll Do

Drive automation and process improvement
Respond to and identify inefficiencies across all departments in the company and implement scalable solutions using automation, integration, and AI tools. Replace manual work with reliable, repeatable systems.

Maintain and optimize our operations tech stack
Troubleshoot issues, identify root causes, and implement long-term fixes. Continuously improve how our systems work together (NetSuite, Shopify, Celigo, Make.com, and more). Increase supply chain visibility and reduce friction across workflows. 

Own Direct-to-Consumer system connections
Manage the flow of ecommerce orders across Shopify, Amazon, and NetSuite—ensuring orders are processed, fulfilled, and billed accurately.

Build reporting and operational visibility
Develop and maintain reporting that gives the team clear insight into order flow, inventory, and operational performance.

Own fundamental IT for the business
Manage users, permissions, and licenses across systems. Support onboarding and offboarding. Handle basic IT needs like logins, 2FA, and hardware coordination.

Support cybersecurity and system hygiene
Help maintain secure access, manage password systems, and ensure best practices across tools and users.

What This Role Is Not

• This is not a pure IT helpdesk role. While you will support IT basics, the majority of your work is systems optimization and operations.
  
• You are not a software engineer. Light coding knowledge is helpful, but this role is about understanding and utilizing systems—not building them from scratch.
  
• You are not a “ticket closer.” This role is about solving root problems and building long-term solutions, not just addressing issues as they come up.
  
• One more time for the people in the back: this is not a full-time role (we'd rather over-repeat it than surprise you later).

Tools You’ll Work With

• NetSuite
• Shopify
• Amazon Seller Central
• Celigo
• Make.com
• Monday.com
• LastPass
• Basecamp

Thoughts from Our VP of Operations

“We need someone for this role who finds satisfaction from things working the way they should—clean systems with simplified and intentional optimization. This role is about making life easier for everyone on the team.

There is a tendency in operations to play whack-a-mole with issues as they pop up. That’s not this role. We need someone who can step back, understand the full picture, and thoughtfully build solutions. It doesn’t mean treating symptoms, but healing the patient.

Even though this role is part-time, we are looking for someone who can really be a part of our team as opposed to an external consultant that executes requests.

We will rely on you to bring new knowledge and skills to the team to make us better. If you are motivated by quality work, figuring out how things should work, as well as actually making that a reality—you will love this role.”

Next Steps

If your experience aligns with what we’ve outlined and you’re excited about building and optimizing the systems behind a growing brand, we’d love to hear from you!

We will review your profile and application answers (helpful tip: We’re a remote company and most of our communication is written. Strong written communication skills are critical. Take your time and answer thoughtfully so we can get an idea for how you think and approach your work). From there we will let you know any additional information we need and potential next steps.