Senior Director, Inventory and Merchandise Planning; AI + Automation Focused

Overview

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Location: Milwaukee, WI (Hybrid) or Los Angeles, CA (Hybrid)

Employment Type: Full-Time, Salaried, Exempt

At Wantable, we're redefining retail through personalization. Our membership-based model and proprietary technology empower us to curate products that help customers discover confidence and joy through style. As a data-driven fashion company, we combine human intuition with algorithmic intelligence to deliver personalized assortments — balancing creativity, analytics, and operational precision.

The Senior Director, Inventory and Merchandise Planning role is designed for the independent thinker who is equally comfortable architecting a forecasting engine as they are managing a seasonal buy. You are hyper-in-tune with the latest tools and possess the "build-what-you-need" mindset required to break outdated, manual processes in favor of smarter, self-learning systems. If you are energized by high-stakes data puzzles and want to lead a high-growth transformation in a low-bureaucracy environment, you belong here.

Reinvent Planning Through AI & Automation

• Architect the Future of Merchandising:
  Build a self-correcting forecasting engine that handles traditional OTB (Open-to-Buy) management and inventory targets using LLM-based decision tools and automated workflows to eliminate "busy work"
• The Planning Sandbox:
  Approach seasonal planning and demand modeling like an engineer; prototype agent-based simulations and predictive replenishment triggers to ensure we never miss a trend
• High-Efficiency Planning Workflows:
  Identify manual or repetitive tasks within the planning cycle—from margin analysis to allocation—and replace them with automation or AI copilots
• Applied Mathematics & Optimization:
  Design tools that compress decision cycles, evaluate complex margin models, and maximize the team s productivity
• Tool-Building for Planners:
  Develop custom planning tools and KPIs when off-the-shelf solutions aren t fast or smart enough for our growth

Own Inventory & Merchandise Planning

• Lead and own all merchandise planning, allocation, and inventory management strategies to maximize revenue and margin
• Build and maintain financial and unit-level forecasts using AI-enhanced modeling to align merchandising, product development, and operations
• Oversee seasonal and long-range OTB plans and deploy predictive algorithms to balance growth with inventory productivity
• Drive in-season agility using real-time data and automated alerts for reorders, markdowns, and product flow adjustments
• Partner with Merchandising and Product Development to support Wantable's expanding private brands using AI-powered sell-through forecasting and attribute-level demand modeling

Lead a High-Performing, AI-Fluent Team

• Develop and coach a planning team that embraces experimentation, autonomy, and data-driven decision-making
• Promote a culture of curiosity—where planners feel empowered to build tools, run rapid tests, and challenge legacy processes
• Ensure the team is skilled in AI copilots, prompt engineering fundamentals, analytics tools, and automated reporting systems

Drive The Data Evolution

• Oversee creation of AI-optimized dashboards, predictive analytics, and self-updating reporting tools
• Collaborate closely with Data Science and Engineering to deploy new algorithms and ensure model performance is measurable and stable
• Use AI-assisted analysis to uncover new opportunities to improve margins, reduce inventory waste, and accelerate product flow

What We re Looking For

• The Creator Mindset:
  You are a builder ther you have a background in Engineering, Mathematics, or Data Science, you have the "outside the box" thinking required to reinvent retail
• Retail Fluency:
  You understand the fundamentals of merchandise planning and inventory strategy but view them through a technical lens
• Technical Literacy:
  Hands-on experience with modern data workflows and AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) along with BI platforms like Tableau or Looker
• Analytical Rigor:
  You love the math behind the business and are comfortable designing and evaluating complex, AI-enhanced models
• Bias for…