US Retail Lead

Open Vision Engineering Inc; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 162,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary $180K

Job summary

Pocket is seeking a results-driven leader to own the US retail business, from selecting retailers to securing shelf space and optimizing pricing. You will build the strategy, pitch buyers, negotiate terms, manage launches, and drive sell-in and sell-through.

Collaborating with operations, marketing, and finance, you’ll forecast demand, oversee inventory, and ensure margins across retail, Amazon, and Pocket’s store. This is a high-autonomy, impact-driven role.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in retail sales, channel management, or key account management for consumer products.
• Track record launching a product with at least one major national US retailer and growing the business after launch.
• Existing relationships with buyers at major US retailers.
• Strong understanding of retail economics: margins, MDF, co-op, returns, chargebacks, deductions.
• Experience with sell-through analysis, forecasting, and inventory planning.
• Strong negotiation skills and commercial judgment: know which deals to pursue.
• Comfort working independently in a small team.
• Consumer electronics experience is a strong plus.
• Experience taking a DTC brand into retail for the first time is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Pocket’s US retail strategy: which retailers to pursue, in what order, and with what assortment and pricing.
• Buyer relationships, pitches, and line reviews across national, specialty, and online retailers.
• Commercial terms, including margins, MDF, co-op, payment terms, returns, and allowances.
• Retail launches from end to end, from vendor setup through to the product being available in stores and online.
• Sell-in and sell-through performance, including regular reporting and actions to address issues.
• Forecasting and replenishment with operations to help prevent stockouts and overstock.
• Retailer operations, including vendor compliance, EDI, chargebacks, and deductions.
• In-store merchandising, displays, promotions, and trade marketing in partnership with marketing.
• Pricing consistency across retail, Amazon, and Pocket’s own store.
• Distributors, brokers, or sales reps where they make sense, while remaining accountable for results.

Job description

About the role

You’ll own Pocket’s US retail business. Today, Pocket sells through its own Shopify store and Amazon. Your job is to bring Pocket to retail shelves across the US and build retail into a profitable, growing channel.

You’ll build this channel from the ground up: deciding which retailers to pursue, pitching buyers, negotiating commercial terms, managing launches, and making sure Pocket sells through once it’s on the shelf. You’ll work closely with operations on forecasting and inventory, marketing on in-store presence and launches, and finance on margins and commercial terms.

This is a hands-on role for someone who has already taken a consumer product into major US retailers and can get things done with a high degree of independence.

What you’ll own

• Pocket’s US retail strategy: which retailers to pursue, in what order, and with what assortment and pricing

• Buyer relationships, pitches, and line reviews across national, specialty, and online retailers

• Commercial terms, including margins, MDF, co-op, payment terms, returns, and allowances

• Retail launches from end to end, from vendor setup through to the product being available in stores and online

• Sell-in and sell-through performance, including regular reporting and actions to address issues

• Forecasting and replenishment with operations to help prevent stockouts and overstock

• Retailer operations, including vendor compliance, EDI, chargebacks, and deductions

• In-store merchandising, displays, promotions, and trade marketing in partnership with marketing

• Pricing consistency across retail, Amazon, and Pocket’s own store

• Distributors, brokers, or sales reps where they make sense, while remaining accountable for results

What we’re looking for

• 6+ years of experience in retail sales, channel management, or key account management for consumer products

• A track record of personally launching a product with at least one major national US retailer and growing the business after launch

• Existing relationships with buyers at major US retailers

• Strong understanding of retail economics, including margin structures, MDF, co-op, returns, chargebacks, and deductions

• Experience with sell-through analysis, forecasting, and inventory planning

• Strong negotiation skills and commercial judgment: you know which deals are worth pursuing and which aren’t

• Comfort working independently and getting hands-on while the team is still small

• Consumer electronics experience is a strong plus

• Experience taking a DTC brand into retail for the first time is a strong plus

What we offer

• Full ownership of a new channel at a rapidly scaling consumer hardware and software company

• The opportunity to build Pocket’s US retail presence from the ground up

• High autonomy and direct impact on company growth

• Direct access to the founders and close collaboration with marketing, operations, and finance

• Base salary of $180K

About Pocket

Pocket is a Y Combinator W26 company building a premium hardware and software product in the AI voice recorder space. We’re obsessed with quality and speed, scaling quickly across the US and Europe, and building a device experience that can become the category leader