Outova Warehouse - Returns Specialist San Marcos, CA · Full time Company website

Apply for Warehouse - Returns Specialist

Outova is the ultimate destination for transforming outdoor spaces. As a collective of eight industry-leading companies, we offer exclusive products, including furniture, turf, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, grills, and heaters. Our mission is to provide cutting-edge, high-quality solutions that redefine outdoor living. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, with operations in California and New York, we serve customers nationwide, helping them bring their dream outdoor spaces to life. From humble beginnings, we've grown into a premier distributor of hearth and outdoor living products, setting the industry standard for quality, innovation, and design. To learn more about us and the products we offer, visit www.outova.com.

Position Overview:

The Warehouse Returns Specialist plays a critical role in maximizing inventory recovery and delivering an exceptional customer experience by managing the inspection, processing, and disposition of returned merchandise. This position is responsible for evaluating product condition, documenting findings, refurbishing eligible products, organizing replacement parts, and supporting warehouse operations.

 

Working in a fast-paced warehouse environment, the Returns Specialist ensures returned products are accurately assessed for resale, refurbishment, parts recovery, internal transfer, or disposal. This role also supports outbound shipments, inventory accuracy, and continuous improvement of the returns process.

Key Responsibilities:

• Receive, process, and identify returned customer orders in a timely and accurate manner.
• Open, inspect, photograph, and document returned products to evaluate condition and disposition.
• Assess returned merchandise to determine whether items are unused, damaged, missing components, repairable, incorrectly returned, potentially fraudulent, or unsellable.
• Provide detailed inspection notes and supporting documentation to assist with customer refund and warranty decisions.
• Sort and organize returned inventory based on disposition, including resellable, refurbishable, parts recovery, scrap, internal transfer, or disputed items.
• Repackage and prepare products that meet quality standards for resale.
• Perform basic refurbishment of fireplace hearth products by replacing damaged logs, components, packaging, and other parts to restore products to sellable condition.
• Maintain accurate inventory of replacement parts, harvested components, boxes, and packaging materials used in the refurbishment process.
• Pick, pack, and ship replacement parts to support customer service and warranty requests.
• Pick, pack, and ship finished products directly to customers as needed from available warehouse inventory.
• Build, label, and prepare pallets for internal inventory transfers between warehouse, refurbishment, and fulfillment locations.
• Accurately label, stage, document, and track outbound shipments and internal inventory movements.
• Communicate recurring product defects, damage trends, return patterns, inventory transfer needs, workflow bottlenecks, and process improvement opportunities to the Operations team.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work environment while following all company safety procedures and warehouse best practices.
• Assist with other warehouse, inventory, and operations duties as assigned to support business needs.

Qualifications:

• Previous experience in warehouse operations, returns processing, inventory control, shipping and receiving, product inspection, refurbishment, or a related field preferred.
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to identify damaged, incomplete, or defective products.
• Ability to follow established procedures and accurately document inspection results.
• Comfortable working independently while managing multiple priorities.
• Basic computer skills, including email, spreadsheets, inventory systems, and order documentation.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to safely lift, move, and handle large or bulky products.
• Mechanical aptitude or experience with product assembly and repair is a plus.

Physical Activities:

Daily activity includes but is not limited to:

• Lifting, carrying, sitting, grasping, reaching, standing, kneeling, walking, bending, twisting.
• Reading, communication, simple math.
• Standing on a fatigue mat in a specific area throughout a 10 hour+ shift.
• Be able to regularly lift/move up to 40–70 lbs. with appropriate assistance or equipment when needed.
• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to above moderate.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Hourly: Competitive hourly pay (non-exempt) commensurate with experience.
• Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement savings plans, and paid time off.
• Work Environment: Onsite 

Outova and its affiliates are equal opportunity employers and maintain affirmative action plans to recruit, retain, develop, and promote qualified individuals without unlawful consideration of race, gender, gender identity, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. The company strives to maintain a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, where associates are treated with respect and dignity.