The Director of Product Management for Merch Planning & Selection is a key member of the Nordstrom Product Management team, leading the strategy, vision, and execution for Integrated Merchandising capabilities, including our planning platform and all aspects of assortment selection. This role is accountable for transforming how Nordstrom plans, selects, and quantifies its assortment across all partnership models, enabling merchandising teams to help our customers feel good and look their best by having the right product in stock in the right place at the right time. 

This leader will partner closely with Engineering, Merchandising Business and other domain teams to design and deliver capabilities that modernize the connected planning platform, streamline the merchant experience, and provide AI-powered support and seamless information exchange. The Director will oversee multiple product teams focused on Merchandise Financial Planning, Assortment Planning, Selection & Intent, Item Planning & Quantification, and Spend/Open to Buy controls. 

Product Management is responsible for making sure we build the right products and features for our customers and business. To accomplish that, product managers plan the product roadmap and prioritize the applicable technology backlog, lead product discovery, and measure and communicate results of the feature portfolio in production, all while ensuring stakeholder alignment. 

Key Responsibilities 

Strategic Leadership 

• Define the long-term Planning & Selection product vision and roadmap, aligning with Nordstrom's strategy and goals 

• Drive adoption of new capabilities including data-driven market shopping lists, breadth and depth planning, and structured intent capture in Toolio 

• Lead deprecation strategy for legacy systems as capabilities migrate 

Product Execution 

• Develop roadmap strategy, vision, business benefits, and prioritization of goals for Connected Merchandise Planning and Connected Assortment Planning capabilities 

• Lead multiple product managers and teams to deliver high-impact capabilities across Merchandise Financial Planning, Assortment Planning (Supplier, Category, Location), Selection & Intent, and Item Planning & Quantification 

• Own the prioritization process, balancing short-term business needs with long-term capability development and legacy system deprecation timelines 

Cross-Functional Partnership 

• Collaborate with Engineering leadership to ensure timely and high-quality product delivery 

• Partner with Merchandising teams to deeply understand business needs and define requirements, KPIs, and success  

• Work with Data Science and Analytics teams to develop forecasting, demand signals, and optimization models that power AI-driven recommendations 

People Leadership 

• Build, coach, and inspire a high-performing product management organization with clear accountability and ownership 

• Foster a culture of customer-centric, data-driven decision making 

• Builds excellent teams through outstanding hiring decisions and direct feedback that supports employee growth 

A day in the life... 

Highly skilled with the following competencies, requiring minimal management support: 

• Develops roadmap strategy, vision, business benefits, and prioritization of goals for Integrated Merchandising and Selection capabilities to create a modernized, connected planning experience for merchandising teams 

• Ensures alignment on priorities and direction by partnering with business teams and other domains 

• Collaborates with peers and leaders across the enterprise to solicit needs, define vision and ensure outcomes align with enterprise priorities and goals 

• Partners with technology teams to deliver key features including data-driven item quantification, centralized assortment visualization, and AI-powered recommendations 

• Stays current on industry standards/trends in merchandise planning and assortment optimization 

• Presents compelling strategies, plans and updates to all levels of the organization, including executive leadership on a regular basis, influencing through meeting presence and the creation of strategy documents 

You own this if you have... 

• 10+ years' experience or equivalent with 5+ years of management experience required, specifically in product management with technology or retail/ecommerce company preferred 

• Background and understanding of Retail Technology  

• Proven track record of building and launching products/tools at scale that enable operational efficiency for merchants and vendors, with emphasis on automation, exception management, and workflow optimization 

• Ability to inspire others, including demonstrated experience managing and leading strong teams 

• Ability to define, measure and analyze processes to identify improvement opportunities, particularly in manual, error-prone workflows 

• Technical background and understanding of software development principles, system integration patterns, and data quality management 

• Familiarity with retail merchandise lifecycle from planning, product selection through ordering, receiving, and lifecycle management 

• Ability to build relationships cross-functionally 

• Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills with ability to influence stakeholders at all levels including executive leadership 

• Experience driving transformation from manual, legacy processes to modern, automated, data-driven capabilities