Staff Engineer - Planning Systems

AEO; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous employee discount

Summer Fridays

Casual dress code

Hybrid schedule

FOMO events

Job summary

A major retail brand in Pittsburgh is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the Merchandise Planning and Allocation (MP&A) Engineering team. This role involves a strong technical background in Enterprise Retail Systems and modern Data Flow architectures. The ideal candidate will serve as the primary technical authority, leading design and integration efforts, while also tackling hands-on development and mentorship of engineers. This position offers a hybrid work environment and benefits that support work-life balance.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of IT experience in retail systems.
• Strong preference for Planning & Allocation experience.
• Proven experience in technical architecture for retail solutions.
• Hands-on experience with integration between retail applications and data warehouses.
• Strong understanding of retail data models and applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and architecture of MP&A applications.
• Define and implement integration strategies for the MPA team.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers.
• Own the end-to-end engineering lifecycle.
• Build and maintain ETL data pipelines.

Skills

Technical leadership

Integration experience

Expert-level SQL skills

Cloud platform experience

Agile/DevOps proficiency

Communication skills

Tools

Python

PL/SQL

Oracle

PostgreSQL

Apache Airflow

Control-M

Blue Yonder/JDA

JIRA

Bitbucket/Git

Job description

Title: Staff Engineer - Planning Systems

Reports To: Manager -

Location: Pittsburgh, PA

American Eagle is a youth culture brand grounded in denim. Our purpose extends beyond making the best jeans–we embrace self expression, culture, optimism and connection. Through the brand platform Live Your Life, we empower our community to be who they want to be all while wearing the clothes that make them most confident.

Get to Know the Role

We are seeking a Staff Engineer to join our Merchandise Planning and Allocation (MP&A) Engineering team. This is a Technical Lead / Architect position. We are looking for someone that has a strong technical background in Enterprise Retail Systemsand modern Data Flow [cloud/data] architectures. This candidate will lead the MPA team in Solution and Integration architecture for key initiatives while contributing individually with builds and support. This is a blended role, evenly split between architectural/leadership and hands‑on development.

What You Will Do

• Serve as the primary technical authority for the MP&A team.
• Lead the design and architecture of MP&A applications: MFP, Allocation, and Assortment Planning.
• Define and implement integration strategies for the MPA team across key initiatives in Assortment Planning, Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP), Fulfillment, and enterprise systems including Core Merchandising, WMS, Production & Sourcing, and Data Platforms.
• Ensure scalability, security, and high performance across all MP&A solutions.
• Partner with business users, functional leads, and vendors to translate requirements into effective technical solutions and troubleshoot any issues.
• Establish and promote best practices in coding, testing, integration, and version control (Bitbucket/Git).
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and analysts on the team.
• Own the end‑to‑end engineering lifecycle: design, development, QA/SIT/UAT, performance testing, and deployment.
• Provide Level 3 production support, including root cause analysis and permanent fixes.
• Drive technical solutions across MP&A applications, writing performant code in SQL, PL/SQL, Python, Java, Shell and others as needed to support integrations, features, and enhancements on underlying databases like Oracle, PostgreSQL or Big Query.
• Build and maintain ETL data pipelines and other automation processes, adapting to evolving business needs and technologies.
• Tackle diverse technical challenges across systems and applications, learning new tools or technologies as required to deliver robust solutions.

What you will bring

• 10+ years of IT experience in retail systems, with a strong preference for Planning & Allocation. Having a retail IT background is a must.
• Proven experience in technical architecture for enterprise retail solutions.
• Strong understanding of the retail application ecosystem and their relationships (e.g., Core Merchandising, Planning, Allocation/Fulfillment, PLM, WMS).
• Proven track record of leading technical teams, including cross‑functional groups and vendor partners.
• Hands‑on integration experience between retail applications, data warehouses, and external SaaS‑based applications.
• Strong technical proficiency with retail data models and databases (Oracle, PostgreSQL).
• Expert‑level SQL skills.
• Hands‑on coding ability in languages like Python, PL/SQL, Java, or Linux Shell scripting.
• Hands‑on experience development with modern integration architectures like dataflow pipelines, preferably with Apache Airflow or similar orchestration frameworks.
• Solid understanding of integration patterns (batch, APIs, and real‑time).
• Proficiency with Agile/DevOps tools (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket/Git).
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem‑solving skills.
• Experience with cloud platforms and data warehouses like BigQuery or Snow Flake.
• Knowledge of batch scheduling tools like Control‑M, plus
• Specific experience with Blue Yonder/JDA applications (Fulfillment, Enterprise Planning, Assortment Planning), plus
• Familiarity with Core Merchandising (RMS/Island Pacific), WMS, or OMS systems, plus

Perks

• Generous employee discount
• Summer Fridays
• Casual dress code
• Hybrid schedule
• FOMO events (Exciting company‑wide events)

Pay/Benefits Information

• Actual starting pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to relevant experience and location.
• Subject to eligibility requirements, associates may receive health care benefits (including medical, vision, and dental); wellness benefits; 401(k) retirement benefits; life and disability insurance; employee stock purchase program; paid time off; paid sick leave; and parental leave and benefits.
• Paid Time Off, paid sick leave, and holiday pay vary by job level and type, job location, employment classification (part‑time or full‑time / exempt or non‑exempt), and years of service. For additional information, please click here.
• AEO may also provide discretionary bonuses and other incentives at its discretion.