Digital Operations

Company Description

Frontier Distributing, Inc. is a pet industry distributor focused on building strategic partnerships that benefit neighborhood pet stores, vendors, team members, and the broader community. The company emphasizes exceptional value through attentive, personal service and long-term, meaningful relationships. As a trusted resource, Frontier Distributing supports independent retailers with products, insights, and operational support to help them succeed. Team members join a collaborative environment that values reliability, service, and community impact.

Summary

Digital Operations is responsible for designing, developing, maintaining, and continuously improving Frontier Distributing’s business technology ecosystem. This role serves as a strategic bridge between operations, technology, data, and decision-making across all departments of the organization.

This position oversees business reporting, operational analytics, ERP integrations, process automation, AI implementation initiatives, e-commerce systems, custom application development, and enterprise workflow optimization. The role is heavily involved in identifying inefficiencies, architecting scalable solutions, and leveraging data and technology to improve operational performance, visibility, and decision-making throughout the company.

The Business Systems, Data & Automation Manager partners with leadership and departmental stakeholders to modernize workflows, automate manual processes, improve data accessibility, integrate systems, and drive innovation across the organization.

This role requires both high-level business understanding and strong technical capability, including database management, software development, systems integration, automation technologies, and emerging AI tools.

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who enjoys solving business problems just as much as they enjoy working with technology. The ideal candidate is naturally curious, asks "why" before proposing solutions, and enjoys learning how a business operates—from the warehouse floor to the executive office.

This isn't a role where you'll simply complete assigned tickets or wait for requirements to be handed to you. We want someone who notices opportunities, asks thoughtful questions, and takes ownership from identifying a problem through designing, implementing, and continuously improving the solution.

At Frontier, you'll wear many hats. One day you may be writing SQL queries, building dashboards, or automating a manual process. The next, you may be walking the warehouse with Operations to understand a bottleneck, meeting with Sales to improve reporting, integrating a new business system, researching AI tools, or presenting recommendations to leadership. If you enjoy variety, autonomy, and seeing the direct impact of your work, you'll thrive here.

Success in this role requires someone who is equally comfortable working independently and collaborating across every department. The best candidate will build strong relationships throughout the organization, challenge existing processes when there's a better way, and understand that the best technology solutions begin with understanding the business.

This is not an environment where responsibilities are divided among multiple specialized teams. You'll have the opportunity to own projects end-to-end—from understanding the business need and architecting the solution to implementing it, supporting it, and improving it over time.

Ultimately, we're looking for someone who wants to become an extension of our leadership team—someone who is passionate about understanding every part of the business and using technology, data, automation, and AI to help Frontier make smarter decisions, operate more efficiently, and continue growing.

Responsibilities & Essential Functions

• Design, develop, and maintain enterprise reporting solutions for operational, financial, inventory, sales, logistics, purchasing, and executive reporting.
• Build automated dashboards, reports, and data delivery systems.
• Create and optimize SQL queries, stored procedures, data views, and reporting structures.
• Ensure data accuracy, integrity, consistency, and usability across systems.
• Identify inefficiencies and implement automation solutions to eliminate manual work.
• Design and maintain automated workflows, scheduled jobs, integrations, and data processes.
• Develop custom tools, scripts, and applications to improve operational efficiency.
• Research, evaluate, and implement AI technologies to improve operational effectiveness and decision-making.
• Develop AI-assisted workflows, reporting enhancements, content generation processes, and business tools.
• Manage integrations between ERP systems, databases, e-commerce platforms, third-party applications, and internal tools.
• Support and enhance ERP functionality through custom development and reporting solutions.
• Support and enhance Frontier’s e-commerce platforms, including Shopify and related integrations.
• Develop and maintain internal business applications, utilities, scripts, and automation tools.
• Partner with leadership and department managers to identify operational challenges and technology opportunities.
• Establish and maintain best practices for data governance, validation, consistency, and accessibility.
• Lead or participate in special projects and strategic initiatives.
• Stay current on industry trends, technologies, and best practices related to automation, analytics, AI, and business systems.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of SQL Server, relational databases, and data architecture.
• Strong experience with business intelligence, analytics, and enterprise reporting.
• Experience with automation technologies, scripting, and workflow design.
• Experience integrating business systems, APIs, and third-party platforms.
• Working knowledge of AI technologies, prompt engineering, and intelligent automation concepts.
• Experience with Shopify, e-commerce systems, and operational integrations preferred.
• Proficiency with Python, PowerShell, Excel/VBA, JSON, HTML/CSS, and related technologies preferred.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and priorities.
• Strong understanding of business operations, inventory, purchasing, logistics, sales, and distribution workflows.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly.
• Ability to work independently and drive initiatives with minimal supervision.
• Strong organizational and documentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business problems into scalable technical solutions.

Education & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Business Analytics, Data Management, or related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education, technical expertise, and relevant business experience may be considered.
• 5+ years of experience in business systems, analytics, automation, software development, data management, or related technical roles preferred.
• Experience in distribution, supply chain, wholesale, logistics, or operational business environments preferred.

📌 A few quick notes:

• This is an on-site position based in Oxford, MI.
• Remote and hybrid work arrangements are not available at this time.
• Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.
• Frontier Distributing is unable to provide visa sponsorship now or in the future.