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Role : Sr. Technical Program Manager

Location : Seattle, WA (4 Days Onsite)

Position type : Full Time

Experience Required : >15+ Years  

Job description:

We are seeking a Staff Technical Program Manager (TPM) to lead complex, cross-portfolio technology initiatives within Global Product Technology, with a strong focus on Merch Planning, Forecasting, Sizing, and Allocation systems.

This role operates at the intersection of business and technology, owning delivery across multiple interdependent programs. The Staff TPM is responsible for driving end-to-end outcomes, shaping technical and business decisions, and ensuring planning and allocation capabilities deliver measurable business impact.

This role requires deep understanding of retail planning lifecycles, inventory flow, and allocation strategies, combined with the ability to orchestrate complex technology delivery at scale.

Key Responsibilities

1. Portfolio Ownership & Program Leadership

• Own end-to-end delivery outcomes across multiple programs spanning Merch Planning, Sizing, Forecasting, Allocation, and Inventory Optimization
• Drive alignment across Flowstate initiatives that support:
• Forecast-driven size curves
• In-season reforecasting
• Allocation and transfer optimization
• Ensure execution aligns to GTM gates, buy cycles, and merchandising decision timelines

2. Merch Planning & Allocation Business Acumen (Critical)

• Serve as a thought partner to Merch Planning and Allocation leaders, translating business needs into scalable technology solutions
• Deeply understand and incorporate:
• Pre-season planning (assortment planning, size curves, buy quantities)
• In-season management (reforecasting, transfers, sell-through optimization)
• Allocation strategies across DCs and stores
• Evaluate tradeoffs between:
• Forecast accuracy vs responsiveness
• Inventory optimization vs service levels
• Automation vs planner control
• Ensure technology solutions directly improve:
• Forecast accuracy
• Inventory productivity
• Allocation efficiency
• Time-to-decision for planners

3. Technical & Strategic Decision Leadership

• Drive cross-system decision-making (architecture, sequencing, data flows, integration with planning tools like Anaplan, Snowflake, etc.)
• Lead decision frameworks (options, tradeoffs, recommendations) for business and technology leadership
• Ensure solutions reflect end-to-end planning workflows, not isolated system improvements
• Act as a technical and business translator between Planning, Product, and Engineering

4. Release Governance & Delivery Management

• Own and evolve release governance and readiness processes across planning and allocation systems
• Ensure releases align to critical business windows (GTM, buys, peak seasons)
• Drive proactive coordination of:
• Data dependencies (forecast inputs, inventory signals)
• Cross-system releases impacting planners
• Prevent business disruption through tight release discipline and validation rigor

5. Delivery Excellence & Operating Model Design

• Design and scale delivery operating models for planning systems across multiple teams
• Standardize execution practices across:
• Backlog readiness tied to business outcomes
• Planning feature prioritization
• Cross-team coordination
• Lead initiatives to improve:
• Delivery predictability
• Feature adoption by business users
• Quality of outputs used by planners

6. Cross-Functional Orchestration & Dependency Management

• Act as the single-threaded owner connecting Merch Planning, Allocation, Engineering, Data, and Product teams
• Manage dependencies across:
• Forecasting engines
• Sizing logic
• Allocation and transfer systems
• Surface and resolve risks tied to data quality, model outputs, and downstream planning impacts

7. Operational Excellence & Incident Leadership

• Lead response to production issues impacting planning or allocation outcomes (forecast errors, allocation mismatches, data delays)
• Drive root cause analysis with both technical and business context
• Ensure continuous improvements in:
• SLA adherence
• Data accuracy and reliability
• Planning system stability

8. Executive Influence & Stakeholder Leadership

• Deliver executive-ready insights linking technology delivery to business outcomes (inventory, forecast accuracy, allocation effectiveness)
• Influence prioritization decisions based on business value, not just delivery feasibility
• Partner with senior leaders across:
• Merch Planning
• Allocation
• Product
• Engineering

9. Scalable Mechanisms & Organizational Impact

• Build scalable mechanisms tailored to planning and allocation domains:
• Forecast validation frameworks
• Allocation readiness checklists
• Dependency maps across data → models → planning tools
• Enable teams to operate with clarity, accountability, and business alignment
• Coach PMs/TPMs on connecting delivery execution to merchandising outcomes

Required Qualifications

• 8–12+ years in Technical Program Management or Program Management
• Proven experience owning portfolio-level programs across planning, supply chain, or retail technology domains
• Strong understanding of:
• Merch Planning and Allocation processes
• Forecasting and inventory optimization concepts
• Cross-functional delivery in data-driven systems
• Demonstrated ability to influence both technical and business leadership decisions

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Anaplan, planning systems, or allocation engines
• Exposure to AI/ML-based forecasting or optimization models
• Experience with data platforms (e.g., Snowflake) and end-to-end data pipelines
• Background in retail, apparel, or omnichannel inventory environments

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s of engineering, or related fields.