Director of Merchandising

We're looking for a strategic, commercially minded Director of Merchandising to build and lead Halo's merchandising function as our brand and omnichannel business continue to scale.

This newly created role will shape Halo's long-term assortment strategy: identifying opportunities to expand our product ecosystem, strengthen our brand voice, and unlock incremental growth. Unlike a traditional merchandising role focused on managing a large seasonal assortment, this position is about focus: finding the right products, categories, partnerships, and channel opportunities and bringing them to market with intention.

As a key member of Halo's Product Development Pod, you'll work cross-functionally to evaluate, source, commercialize, and launch new products, and lead licensing partnerships, collaborations, account exclusives, and Halo's evolving in-store merchandising strategy.

This role oversees the Retail Marketing Manager (with the team expected to grow) and partners closely with Product, Marketing, Sales, Planning, Finance, and Operations. You combine strong product instincts, consumer curiosity, analytical rigor, and commercial judgment.  You're comfortable moving between long-term roadmap work and last-minute launch needs as priorities shift. You believe dogs make everything better.

Responsibilities

Merchandising Strategy & Product Expansion

• Define Halo's long-term omnichannel assortment and merchandising strategy, using consumer insights, competitive research, market trends, and business performance to shape future opportunities.
• Identify whitespace opportunities across new products, categories, accessories, services, and adjacent areas.
• Develop a focused assortment roadmap in which every product has a clear consumer need, channel role, and commercial purpose.
• Build business cases and merchandising briefs for new products and categories.
• Serve as the merchandising lead within Halo's Product Development pod, guiding opportunities from concept through commercialization, partnering with Product, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and external vendors.
• Guide product lifecycle decisions, recommending when to expand, refresh, reposition, or exit products.

Licensing, Exclusives & Omnichannel Merchandising

• Lead Halo's licensing, collaboration, and strategic partnership initiatives, identifying and developing partners that strengthen brand relevance, consumer engagement, and commercial growth.
• Create account-exclusive products, special makeups, bundles, colorways, and differentiated assortments for key retail partners.
• Shape merchandising strategy across DTC, marketplaces, wholesale, and future channels, defining the role of products, assortments, bundles, and presentation by channel while maintaining a cohesive brand experience.
• Own Halo's in-store merchandising strategy — including scalable standards, retail toolkits, point-of-sale materials, and product storytelling — partnering with Creative and Brand Marketing on execution.

Analytics, Planning & Go-to-Market

• Analyze sell-through, margin, inventory, consumer feedback, and market trends to identify opportunities and risks, translating insights into clear recommendations for leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Partner with Demand Planning and Finance on forecasts, financial opportunity, and launch planning for new products and partnerships.
• Contribute merchandising insights to pricing and promotional discussions.
• Establish a disciplined test-and-learn approach for new products, categories, bundles, exclusives, and retail concepts.
• Lead the merchandising workstream within go-to-market planning.
• Represent merchandising in leadership discussions, providing visibility into the product pipeline, performance, risks, and future opportunities.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead, coach, and develop current and future direct reports.
• Establish scalable retail merchandising processes, calendars, tools, and decision frameworks.
• Build a culture of curiosity, ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience in merchandising, product strategy, product development, category management, or a related commercial function.
• Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Business, Marketing, Product Development, or a related field preferred (or equivalent practical experience).
• 2+ years of experience leading and developing team members.
• Proven experience identifying and commercializing new products, categories, or business opportunities.
• Strong omnichannel experience across DTC, eCommerce, marketplaces, and wholesale.
• Experience partnering with Product Development, Design, Sourcing, Operations, or external vendors to bring products from concept through launch.
• Strong product instincts, consumer orientation, and analytical and financial acumen.
• Ability to translate data, consumer insights, and market trends into clear, executable recommendations.
• Strong cross-functional leadership, project management, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to work effectively both individually and across different levels of the organization.
• Fluency in Excel/Google Sheets and PowerPoint/Google Slides; experience with BI tools such as Looker or Tableau is a plus.
• Experience with licensing, collaborations, special makeups, or account-exclusive assortments strongly preferred.
• Experience developing in-store merchandising, retail presentation, or point-of-sale programs preferred.
• Comfortable building new processes and capabilities with autonomy.
• Bonus points if you love dogs!

Perks of the Pack

• Medical, Dental, and Vision plans
• Company-paid Long-Term Disability
• 401(k) with Company Match
• Paid Time Off
• Free Halo gear + Product Testing Opportunities
• Work remotely from anywhere in the U.S.
• Be part of a mission-driven, dog-loving team

We provide competitive compensation packages, inclusive of base salary, incentives, and benefits. The salary range for this role is $140,000 - $150,000. Final compensation depends on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Protect Animals With Satellites is for everyone but especially for dog lovers. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

Protect Animals With Satellites does not accept unsolicited headhunter or agency resumes. Protect Animals With Satellites will not pay any third-party agency or company that does not have a signed agreement and approval to submit candidates.

Applications for this position may be reviewed with the assistance of automated tools that help assess alignment with role requirements and prioritize candidates for human review. All employment decisions are made by Protect Animals With Satellites personnel, not by automated systems.