Retail Operations Project Manager Jobs in California

Bidbus is building the modern marketplace for selling used vehicles.

Our platform enables consumers to list their vehicles and receive competitive offers directly from licensed dealerships through a fast, transparent auction process. We combine software, AI-powered workflows, and hands-on operational support to make selling a car easier for consumers while helping dealerships acquire better inventory.

Bidbus has raised over $18 million from leading investors and is rapidly expanding across California, Texas, and additional markets nationwide. We are looking for highly capable operators who want to build the operational infrastructure behind a fast-growing marketplace.

As an Operations Project Manager, you will lead initiatives that improve how Bidbus executes vehicle transactions and scales its core business processes.

You will initially work hands-on across the business to understand how transactions move from auction through delivery and payment. You will identify operational bottlenecks, analyze performance, coordinate cross-functional projects, and implement workflows that improve speed, accuracy, customer experience, and transaction completion.

This is an individual-contributor role with a clear path toward managing a key business process. As you demonstrate strong execution and develop expertise in the business, the goal is for you to assume end-to-end responsibility for an important operational function, build the supporting systems, establish performance standards, and eventually manage the team responsible for that process.

• Lead operational projects from problem definition through implementation, measurement, and iteration.

• Develop a hands-on understanding of vehicle transactions from auction completion through delivery, documentation, and payment.

• Identify bottlenecks, recurring issues, and opportunities to improve transaction completion, customer experience, and operational efficiency.

• Analyze operational data, define success metrics, and use findings to prioritize improvements.

• Design and implement scalable workflows, policies, trackers, and internal operating procedures.

• Coordinate projects across Operations, Sales, Product, Engineering, and other internal teams.

• Establish clear project scopes, owners, timelines, dependencies, and deliverables.

• Maintain visibility into project progress, operational performance, risks, and unresolved issues.

• Communicate effectively with consumers, dealership employees, company leadership, and other stakeholders.

• Translate operational requirements and frontline feedback into actionable product and engineering requests.

• Support the rollout of new processes, tools, and markets while ensuring teams are properly trained and execution remains consistent.

• Take increasing ownership of a key operational function and develop the systems, metrics, and team structure required to manage it at scale.

• You take full ownership of projects and follow problems through to measurable resolution.

• You can move between strategy and hands-on execution without losing momentum.

• You are proactive about identifying problems and developing practical solutions.

• You can turn ambiguous business needs into structured plans, workflows, and deliverables.

• You use data to diagnose problems, prioritize initiatives, and evaluate results.

• You communicate clearly and professionally with both frontline operators and senior leaders.

• You can coordinate multiple stakeholders while maintaining accountability and forward progress.

• You are comfortable making judgment calls and know when an issue should be escalated.

• You are confident working with spreadsheets, trackers, dashboards, and multiple data sources.

• You maintain strong attention to detail while understanding the broader business objective.

• You are motivated to develop into the leader of an important business process.

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.

• Three or more years of experience in operations, project management, product operations, strategy and operations, consulting, or go-to-market roles.

• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional projects from planning through execution.

• Experience analyzing operational data and implementing process improvements.

• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with stakeholders ranging from frontline employees to dealership owners and executives.

• Ability to work from our Costa Mesa, California office.

• Experience working at an early-stage or high-growth startup.

• Experience building or scaling a business process, operational function, or team.

• Experience in automotive retail, marketplaces, logistics, or transaction operations.

• Familiarity with dealerships, vehicle titles, registration documents, or vehicle delivery processes.

• Experience partnering with Product and Engineering teams to develop internal tools or automate workflows.

• A low-ego, hands-on approach and willingness to do what is reasonably necessary to move the business forward.

• Competitive salary.

• Medical and dental insurance support.

• Retirement-plan contribution.

• Paid time off.

• The opportunity to join a rapidly growing, venture-backed company at an early stage.

• Direct exposure to company leadership and meaningful ownership over critical operational initiatives.

• A defined opportunity to grow into managing a key business process based on performance, business needs, and organizational growth.

Compensation range: $90,000–$120,000, depending on experience.

Location: Costa Mesa, California