Principal Enterprise Architect - Product-to-Market

Gap Inc.; South Carolina; On-site; USD 209,700 - 272,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

50% merchandise discount

Competitive Paid Time Off

401(k) plan with matching

Employee stock purchase plan

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Job summary

Gap Inc. seeks a hands-on architecture leader for Product-to-Market operations in South Carolina. You'll influence technology decisions that drive results for Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta.

This role demands strong expertise in retail operations, technology transformation, and effective conflict management. You will lead vendor evaluations and ensure seamless integration of AI within the architecture.

We offer competitive pay and benefits, fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Qualifications

• Experience in a real technology transformation.
• Deep knowledge of PLM, merchandising, sourcing, and inventory management.
• Ability to communicate with diverse stakeholders effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead product selection and vendor evaluation.
• Own end-to-end solution architecture for P2M domains.
• Drive AI and automation adoption to create value.

Skills

Technology Transformation

P2M / Retail Operations

Vendor Evaluation

AI/ML Knowledge

Conflict Management

Job description

About Gap Inc.

At Gap Inc., we create culture as much as we create clothes. Our ambition is to become a high‑performing house of iconic American brands that shape culture. Our portfolio—Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta—each brings a distinct point of view to how we show up in the world and serve our customers. Old Navy democratizes style with quality and value for all. Gap champions originality through essential pieces that celebrate individuality. Banana Republic is rooted in a spirit of discovery, creating modern pieces inspired by craftsmanship and travel. Athleta champions the Power of She through confidence, strength, and movement. We’re driven by a shared purpose: to bridge gaps—between people, perspectives, and possibilities—to create a better world. We’re building a team that performs at a high level—people who think boldly, take ownership, and turn ideas into impact. If you’re ready to learn fast and help shape what’s next, you’ll fit right in.

About The Role

You’re the architecture point of contact for Product‑to‑Market—the entire pipeline from consumer insights and line planning through sourcing, manufacturing, inventory, pricing, and store delivery. That’s not an org chart line on a slide. That’s the revenue engine of four global brands: Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta. You will own the architecture decisions that determine whether these brands can move faster, source smarter, price dynamically, and get product to the right place at the right time. You’re accountable for translating what the business needs into technology choices that actually work—and for killing the ones that don’t. This is a hands‑on architecture role inside a transformation. Not a governance seat. Not an advisory board. You are in the work.

What you’ll do

• Lead product selection and vendor evaluation, actively rationalizing a complex landscape of legacy and SaaS platforms across PLM, sourcing, inventory management, merchandising, pricing, and franchise. Run the methodology, facilitate cross‑functional evaluation teams, build scorecards, present trade‑off analyses, and drive decisions. Build vs. buy is a conversation you have weekly, not annually.
• Own the end‑to‑end solution architecture for your P2M domains—consumer insights, assortment/line planning, digital collaboration (merchants designers vendors), product design, MFP/buy planning, costing, sourcing, PO tracking, inventory visibility, replenishment, pricing optimization, and store planning. Design the target state, sequence the migration, and hold engineering accountable to the architecture.
• Drive AI and automation adoption where it actually creates value—AI‑driven inventory forecasting, attribute‑based buy models, dynamic pricing, size localization, speed‑to‑market acceleration. Identify the high‑value use cases, ensure responsible and compliant implementation, and execute in alignment with our enterprise AI strategy and Office of AI direction.
• Integrate across the enterprise—your domains don’t exist in isolation. Inventory visibility feeds eCommerce. Pricing engines drive promotions across channels. Sourcing data flows through supply chain. Design integration patterns that make systems work cohesively, not just coexist.
• Create architecture artifacts that drive decisions—CDD, SDD, impact assessments, vendor analyses, technology roadmaps. These aren’t shelf‑ware. They’re the documents that move $50M+ investment decisions through our stage‑gate process.
• Govern without being the governance police—participate in design reviews, approvals, standards discussions, and technology evaluations. But the posture is enablement, not gatekeeping. You make teams faster by giving them clarity, not slower by giving them process.
• Mentor and build capability—surrounded by engineers, product managers, and junior architects. Share what you know. Build the architectural maturity of the teams around you.

Who you are

• You’ve been in the trenches of a real technology transformation—not a migration, not a “modernization” that was really just a re‑hosting. An actual business and technology transformation where legacy systems got replaced, business processes got redesigned, and you had to fight through organizational resistance to make it happen.
• You know P2M / retail operations cold—PLM, merchandising, sourcing, inventory management, pricing, supply chain adjacency. You’ve architected in these domains. You understand the business processes, the vendor landscape, and where the technology actually matters.
• You can hold your own in a room with business leaders, data scientists, and engineering leadership—adjust your communication for each audience without losing substance. Translate architecture into business impact and business requirements into architecture decisions.
• You’ve led vendor evaluations with real stakes—multi‑vendor, multi‑million‑dollar platform decisions where you owned the recommendation and stood behind it.
• You’re comfortable with conflict—architecture decisions create winners and losers. Vendors push back. Engineering teams resist change. Product managers want everything yesterday. You navigate this without avoiding the hard conversations.
• You’ve managed offshore teams and MSPs—know the difference between delegating effectively and throwing work over the wall.
• You’re current on AI/ML, composable architecture, and the modern SaaS landscape—evaluated, selected, and implemented these technologies in production.
• Retail/apparel experience is a strong plus but not a gate. If you’ve done this in CPG, manufacturing, or any complex product‑driven business, the translation is straightforward.

Salary Range: $209,700.00 - $272,600.00
Employee pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, experience, skill level, competencies and work location. We will meet minimum wage or minimum of the pay range (whichever is higher) based on city, county and state requirements.

Benefits at Gap Inc.

• Merchandise discount for our brands: 50% off regular‑priced merchandise at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, and 30% off at Outlet for all employees.
• One of the most competitive Paid Time Off plans in the industry.
• Employees can take up to five “on the clock” hours each month to volunteer at a charity of their choice.
• Extensive 401(k) plan with company matching for contributions up to four percent of an employee’s base pay.
• Employee stock purchase plan.
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
• See more of the benefits we offer.

Gap Inc. is an equal‑opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, training and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and make all employment decisions without regard to any protected status. We have received numerous awards for our long‑held commitment to equality and will continue to foster a diverse and inclusive environment of belonging. In 2022, we were recognized by Forbes as one of the World's Best Employers and one of the Best Employers for Diversity.