Sr. Manager, Product Management - Merchandise Operations

Foot Locker; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Foot Locker seeks a Sr. Product Manager to lead technology capabilities across Merchandise Operations, driving pricing, promotions, localization, and inventory optimization with data-enabled strategies.

You will partner with Engineering, Data Science, and Analytics to evolve forecasting capabilities, inventory health metrics, and decision support tools that empower merchants and planners to make smarter, faster decisions.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Product Management experience in retail, merchandising, planning, allocation, supply chain, pricing, or analytics-driven environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and manage the product strategy and roadmap for Merchandise Operations capabilities, including pricing, promotions, markdown optimization, allocation, inventory transfers, localization, and inventory optimization.
• Align roadmap priorities to business outcomes such as margin improvement, sell-through, inventory productivity, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
• Translate business problems into product opportunities, measurable outcomes, and prioritized delivery plans.
• Lead end-to-end product development processes from concept to launch ensuring on-time and high-quality delivery of advanced data products.
• Establish robust frameworks for data governance, accuracy, and standardization to support enterprise decision-making and operational efficiency.
• Support agile methodologies, focusing on delivery and value creation against aligned objectives and OKRs.
• Partner with stakeholders to identify business needs and translate them into measurable outcomes.
• Lead discovery with merchants, planners, allocators, supply chain, analytics, and technology partners to identify pain points, validate opportunities, and define solutions.
• Deeply understand internal and external customer behaviors through user research, data analysis, and direct interactions and translate insights into actionable product improvements.
• Translate requirements into clear user stories, acceptance criteria, process flows, and product decisions.
• Apply structured prioritization frameworks to balance business value, user needs, technical feasibility, and long-term scalability.
• Own product delivery from discovery through launch, adoption, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Product management

Merchandising operations

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Data-driven

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Tools

APIs

System integrations

Data governance

Reporting

Job description

Overview

Foot Locker Inc. is seeking a strategic and execution-oriented Sr. Product Manager to lead technology capabilities across the Merchandise Operations domain. This role will focus on optimizing in-season merchandising capabilties and inventory performance through scalable technology, data, and analytics-enabled solutions. The Product Manager will own capabilities across pricing, promotions and markdown optimization, localization, allocation, inventory transfers, and related inventory optimization initiatives. This role will partner closely with Engineering, Data Science, and Data & Analytics teams to evolve forecasting capabilities, inventory health metrics, and decision intelligence that help merchants, planners, and allocators make faster, smarter, and more profitable decisions. Great brands reflect culture. The best ones help shape it. At Foot Locker, we’re rooted in sport, powered by style, and driven by the communities that move both. From Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker to Champs Sports, WSS, and atmos, our brands sit at the intersection of sport, style, and self-expression. As part of the DICK’S Sporting Goods family, you’re backed by the resources, reach, and career opportunities of a world-class sports company. That unleashes Foot Locker to keep pushing forward with the agility and edge that define the brand. We’re looking for great people who want to influence culture and the generation that is shaping what’s next. Whether you’re building strategy, shaping innovations, or creating unforgettable customer moments, you’ll contribute to decisions and experiences that define our brands’ impact in the communities we serve. Come change the game with us.

Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and manage the product strategy and roadmap for Merchandise Operations capabilities, including pricing, promotions, markdown optimization, allocation, inventory transfers, localization, and inventory optimization.
• Align roadmap priorities to business outcomes such as margin improvement, sell-through, inventory productivity, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
• Translate business problems into product opportunities, measurable outcomes, and prioritized delivery plans.

Discovery & Product Development

• Lead end-to-end product development processes from concept to launch ensuring on-time and high-quality delivery of advanced data products. Establish robust frameworks for data governance, accuracy, and standardization to support enterprise decision-making and operational efficiency.
• Support agile methodologies, focusing on delivery and value creation against aligned objectives and key results (OKRs). Partner with stakeholders to identify business needs and translate them into measurable outcomes.
• Lead discovery with merchants, planners, allocators, supply chain, analytics, and technology partners to identify pain points, validate opportunities, and define solutions.
• Deeply understand internal and external customer behaviors, preferences, and pain points through user research, data analysis, and direct interactions and translate insights into actionable product improvements.
• Translate requirements into clear user stories, acceptance criteria, process flows, and product decisions.
• Apply structured prioritization frameworks to balance business value, user needs, technical feasibility, and long-term scalability.
• Own product delivery from discovery through launch, adoption, and continuous improvement.

Merchandise Operations Enablement

• Build capabilities that improve in-season decision-making across pricing, promotion, markdown, allocation, inventory balancing, and localization workflows.
• Partner with business teams to reduce manual work, improve visibility, and enable more consistent decision-making across markets and channels.
• Ensure solutions support both enterprise standardization and localized business needs.

Data, Forecasting & Advanced Analytics

• Partner closely with Data & Advanced Analytics teams to evolve forecasting, optimization models, decision support tools, and inventory health metrics.
• Ensure products are grounded in high-quality data, transparent metrics, and scalable data governance practices.
• Translate analytics capabilities into usable product experiences that drive adoption and measurable business impact.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the bridge between business and technology teams, aligning stakeholders on priorities, tradeoffs, timelines, and outcomes.
• Partner with Engineering, Program Management, Merchandising, Planning, Allocation, Supply Chain and Analytics teams to drive integrated delivery.
• Effectively communicate product updates, progress and insights to executive leadership, stakeholders and relevant teams within the organization. This includes communicating roadmap direction, progress, risks and buisness value clearly to senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Product Management experience, preferably in retail, merchandising, planning, allocation, supply chain, pricing, or analytics-driven product environments.
• Strong understanding of in-season merchandising operations, including pricing, promotions, markdowns, allocation, inventory transfers, localization, and inventory health.
• Experience defining product strategy, managing roadmaps, leading discovery, and delivering enterprise-scale technology solutions.
• Ability to translate complex business needs into clear product requirements and measurable outcomes.
• Strong analytical mindset with experience partnering with data, analytics, or forecasting teams.
• Working knowledge of APIs, system integrations, data governance, reporting, and optimization capabilities preferred.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence business, technical, and senior leadership audiences. Ability to convey complex concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, manage tradeoffs, and drive outcomes in a matrixed organization.
• A track record of delivering successful product launches and achieving measurable results.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams and build strong working relationships across the organization. Act as the primary advocate for inventory optimization capabilities within the organization, ensuring alignment and buy-in from all key stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.

At Foot Locker, We Value Innovation, Authenticity, And Integrity In All That We Do. To Uphold The Security And Fairness Of Our Hiring Process, We Ask That Candidates Refrain From Using AI Tools, Including ChatGPT, During Interviews And Assessments. To Ensure a Smooth And Secure Experience, Please Review The Following Guidelines

• Cameras must be on for all virtual interviews.
• AI tools are strictly prohibited during interviews or assessments.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work together to create a transparent and equitable hiring experience.