Director, Product Operations

About The Job

Responsibilities

• Costing Standards & Methodology: Establish and maintain costing methodology, cost driver libraries, and benchmarking standards. Lead a team of costing analyst(s), and develop the guides and training that institutionalize costing rigor and best practice. Partner with Finance on margin governance and target costing to support healthy, predictable product margins.
• Digital Tools & Process Modernization: Serve as a key business partner to Digital & Technology on the tools and platforms that support product development, costing, sourcing, and placement. Translate business needs into clear requirements, and help shape modern, data-driven capabilities that improve speed, accuracy, and traceability. Lead change management, training, and adoption across stakeholder communities, and track the outcomes that measure success.
• Sourcing & Placement Analytics: Lead the analytics that inform production award decisions, balancing the key factors that drive optimal sourcing and placement. Build scenario modeling and what-if analyses that support well-reasoned placement recommendations. Govern the key data inputs that inform sourcing and placement decisions, and deliver clear, decision-ready insights to leadership.
• Systems Support & Stability: Oversee the support of core product and costing systems (e.g., PLM and BOM tools), ensuring reliable performance for global users. Establish triage protocols, service levels, and escalation paths, partnering with IT to resolve issues and protect go-to-market deadlines. Maintain and enhance existing tools to keep product, costing and placement processes running smoothly, supported by user training and super-user networks.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with Product Development, Sourcing, and Finance to align on costing and placement ways of working. Lead workshops and executive readouts, and represent Product Operations in cross-functional governance forums.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead and continue to develop a high-performing team, promoting a culture of ownership and continuous improvement. You will report into our VP, Product Operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required
• 12+ years experience in Product Operations, Sourcing, Supply Chain, Procurement, or Costing in a global apparel, consumer goods, or vertical retail environment.
• Experience leading costing, sourcing, or analytics functions, including building standards, teams, and governance.
• Track record leading process and system improvement, including work with PLM, costing, or sourcing platforms; deep should-cost modeling and eRFX expertise.
• AI-experience, with hands-on experience designing or deploying AI-enabled tools.
• Fluency in applying analytics and modern digital tools — including AI and machine learning — to costing, sourcing, scenario planning, and workflow automation.
• Comfort with modern data tooling — Power BI, Airtable, Power Automate, SQL fundamentals — plus advanced Excel and PLM expertise.
• Deep understanding of the apparel go-to-market calendar, costing lifecycle, RFQ processes, vendor negotiation, and placement decisions.
• Command of the key drivers of total landed cost, and experience codifying costing standards into enterprise tools.
• Proven executive presence and strategic leadership, with the ability to partner effectively with C-suite, SVP, and VP stakeholders, translate complex analysis into actionable business insights, and lead enterprise-wide, P&L-impacting initiatives and business cases.
• Track record of building and developing teams.

Pay & Schedule

• This is a hybrid work schedule based in our San Francisco, CA headquarters. You will be expected in office 3 days per week typically Tuesday-Thursday. Note, time in office can vary depending on business needs.
• The expected starting salary range for this role is $167,300 - $230,000 per year. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range based on the location of the role.

Benefits

Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) offers a total rewards package that includes base pay, incentive plans, 401(k) matching, paid leave, health insurance, product discounts, and more designed to help you and your family stay healthy, meet your financial goals, and balance the demands of your work and personal life. Available benefits and incentive compensation vary depending upon the specifics of the role; details relating to a specific role will be made available upon request.