Senior Director, Inventory and Merchandise Planning

Wantable; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Flexible schedules

50% merchandise discount

Paid parental leave

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401K options

Job summary

A leading retail company based in Los Angeles is seeking a Senior Director of Inventory and Merchandise Planning. This key role focuses on redefining planning through AI, driving automation, and leading a high-performing team. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in merchandise planning and inventory management with a passion for innovation. Additional benefits include flexible schedules, paid parental leave, and a casual work environment with ample parking. Join us and make a significant impact in the retail world.

Qualifications

• Deep experience in merchandise planning or inventory management.
• Strong analytical and financial skills.
• Hands-on familiarity with AI tools like ChatGPT.
• A builder mindset for creating planning tools.
• A love for fashion and product.

Responsibilities

• Build forecasting and planning systems using AI and ML.
• Lead inventory and merchandise planning strategies.
• Develop a high-performing planning team focused on data.
• Coach a high-performing, AI-fluent planning team.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Inventory management

Financial planning

AI innovation

Analytical skills

Tools

ChatGPT

Tableau

Looker

Job description

Senior Director, Inventory and Merchandise Planning

Reports To: Chief Commercial Officer

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

Employment Type: Full-Time, Salaried, Exempt

About Wantable

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.

We're seeking a Senior Director of Inventory & Merchandise Planning who is obsessed with using AI, automation, and unconventional tools to reinvent how planning is done in modern retail. This role is perfect for a builder who knows planning fundamentals but is most energized by breaking old processes, experimenting with new AI-powered workflows, and scaling smarter, self-learning systems.

About The Role

As the Senior Director of Merchandise Planning, you will own Wantable's end-to-end planning strategy, forecasting methodology, and inventory optimization—and you'll also push the discipline into the future, driving automation, rapid experimentation, and next-generation decision systems. Curiosity, hands-on innovation, and a willingness to rethink everything are more important than a traditional resume.

This is a high-ownership role with direct impact on growth, profitability, and customer experience. You will work in a fast-moving, low-bureaucracy environment where independent decision-making is expected and where your build-what-you-need mindset is highly valued.

What You'll Do

Reinvent Planning Through AI & Automation

• Build the next generation of Wantable's forecasting and planning system using AI, ML-powered demand models, LLM-based decision tools, and automated workflows
• Prototype and test unconventional planning approaches such as agent-based simulations, predictive replenishment triggers, automated OTB updates, LLM-assisted scenario planning, and more
• Design AI-driven tools that increase forecasting accuracy, compression speed, and planner productivity
• Identify manual or repetitive planning tasks and aggressively replace them with automation or AI copilots

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 Wantable's Data & Insights 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

Requirements

What We're Looking For

• Deep experience in merchandise planning, inventory management, or financial planning paired with a genuine passion for AI innovation
• Strong analytical and financial skills; comfortable designing and evaluating AI-enhanced modelsDemonstrated ability to manage complex OTB plans, margin performance, and inventory strategy in dynamic, high-growth environments
• Hands‑on familiarity with AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), BI platforms (Tableau, Looker), and modern data workflows
• A builder mindset—comfortable creating your own planning tools, KPIs, automations, and models when existing solutions are inadequate
• A bias toward action, independent decision-making, and low-bureaucracy execution
• A love for fashion, product, and the art + science of retail

Nice to have

• Experience with ML forecasting frameworks or LLM workflow automation
• Experience leading teams through rapid tooling transitions or tech-driven process reinvention
• Comfort collaborating with data engineers and data scientists

How We Work At Wantable

• High ownership. You are trusted to make decisions that directly impact customers and financial performance
• Hard‑working and hands‑on. We move fast, stay scrappy, and focus on impact
• Independent thinkers. We value leaders who confidently make data-driven decisions without layers of approvals
• Low bureaucracy. We avoid committees, long processes, and unnecessary steps
• Love of fashion & product. We combine data with intuition to create experiences customers love
• Results over pedigree. What you've built matters more than where you've been

Benefits

• Be part of a dynamic, fast-growing company that has innovation and creativity embedded in its DNA
• A chance to shape our customers' journey and leave a lasting impact on their self-confidence, one order at a time
• Join a collaborative environment where your ideas matter, your efforts are rewarded and you can see results in real time
• We have a laid‑back, casual environment in a state‑of‑the‑art HQ in Walkers Point.
• We offer flexible schedules, paid parental leave (mothers AND fathers), and a private room for nursing mothers.
• Even more exciting: paid vacation and seven paid holidays per year, plus a 50% discount on all merchandise. You'll be eligible for the discount on your first day.
• We provide ample parking, medical (traditional and high deductible), dental and vision insurance, as well as a 401K (both pre‑tax and Roth options).