Sr. Manager Merchandise Technology, Allocation

Overview

Great brands reflect culture. The best ones help shape it. At Foot Locker, we’re rooted in sport, powered by style, and driven by the communities that move both. From Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker to Champs Sports, WSS, and atmos, our brands sit at the intersection of sport, style, and self-expression.

As part of the DICK’S Sporting Goods family, you’re backed by the resources, reach, and career opportunities of a world-class sports company. That unleashes Foot Locker to keep pushing forward with the agility and edge that define the brand. We’re looking for great people who want to influence culture and the generation that is shaping what’s next.

Whether you’re building strategy, shaping innovations, or creating unforgettable customer moments, you’ll contribute to decisions and experiences that define our brands’ impact in the communities we serve.

Come change the game with us. Apply today!

Fully Remote; US ONLY

At this time, Foot Locker will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization, or offer any immigration related support for this position (i.e. H1B, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, F-1 CPT, J-1, TN, or another type of work authorization.

We are seeking a visionary and results-driven Sr. Manager to lead global merchandising technology with a focus on allocation platforms. This role is responsible for defining and delivering the technology strategy, advancing modern platform capabilities, and enabling business outcomes across allocation planning, inventory deployment, replenishment optimization, store fulfillment, and channel inventory balancing.

This leader will drive modernization of legacy systems, operate within a product-based delivery model, and leverage data, analytics, and AI-driven solutions to improve inventory productivity, allocation effectiveness, and operational performance.

The role operates within a complex global business model spanning multiple regions and markets and supports a distributed delivery organization, including significant offshore engineering and support teams.

This position leads a global team of ~10–15 technology professionals and owns measurable business outcomes including inventory productivity, in-stock performance, allocation efficiency, replenishment effectiveness, and platform performance.

Responsibilities

Technology Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and execute a comprehensive technology roadmap aligned with business strategy
• Identify, evaluate, and implement modern platforms supporting allocation, replenishment, and inventory optimization capabilities
• Lead evaluation and selection of third-party platforms, including RFP processes and vendor assessments
• Lead modernization of legacy platforms (including mainframe) into scalable, cloud-native architectures
• Drive adoption of API-first, event-driven, and composable platform designs
• Ensure solutions support global scalability while accommodating regional business models and regulatory requirements
• Manage and optimize the technology budget to ensure cost-effective delivery
• Define, track, and report on KPIs tied to business value and system performance
• Identify and reduce technical debt to improve scalability and maintainability

Core Platforms & Capabilities

• Oversee delivery, support, and continuous improvement of core systems and capabilities, including:
• Allocation planning and execution
• Automated and rule-based replenishment
• Inventory optimization and channel balancing
• Initial allocation, replenishment, and inventory flow management
• Lead end-to-end implementation of packaged (SaaS / vendor) solutions, including solution design, configuration, integration, and deployment
• Partner with business stakeholders to ensure systems are configured to support business processes and scalability
• Ensure high levels of data accuracy, operational integrity, and consistency across enterprise platforms
• Support legacy systems while driving a clear transition strategy to modern platforms
• Ensure compliance with enterprise security, privacy, and data governance standards

Engineering Excellence & Architecture

• Establish best-in-class engineering and solution architecture practices
• Drive high standards for system reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Guide architectural decisions across platforms, integrations, and third-party solutions
• Define integration patterns and frameworks for connecting merchandising, supply chain, inventory, and data platforms
• Champion DevOps and engineering best practices to improve speed, quality, and transparency

Team Leadership & Product Delivery

• Lead and develop a globally distributed team of 10–15 across engineering, integration, and quality engineering
• Operate within a product-based delivery model with clear ownership of capabilities and outcomes
• Foster a high-performance culture focused on accountability, delivery excellence, and continuous improvement
• Lead a distributed team across onshore and offshore resources, ensuring effective collaboration across time zones and regions
• Establish and optimize global delivery models, including offshore and partner teams
• Drive consistency in engineering standards, delivery practices, and governance across a global organization
• Drive accountability for successful platform rollouts, adoption, and post-implementation optimization
• Define vendor strategy including build vs. buy decisions and manage consulting and SaaS partners to maximize value
• Oversee execution of multiple large-scale, cross-functional initiatives

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Change Management

• Partner closely with merchandising, planning, supply chain, store operations, finance, and data teams
• Align technology initiatives with business priorities to deliver measurable outcomes
• Lead cross-functional decision-making, managing risks, dependencies, and trade-offs
• Facilitate alignment between business process design and system configuration during implementations
• Navigate regional business requirements, balancing global standardization with local market needs
• Drive organizational change management, including user adoption, training, and process transformation

Data, Analytics & Innovation

• Leverage advanced analytics, data platforms, and AI/ML models to improve allocation and replenishment decision-making and operational performance
• Partner with data engineering and analytics teams to enable scalable, high-quality data solutions
• Enable data-driven capabilities such as inventory optimization, demand sensing, size optimization, replenishment forecasting, and performance analysis
• Drive innovation through adoption of emerging technologies and modern platform capabilities
• Provide thought leadership across business and technology domains

Qualifications

At Foot Locker, we value innovation, authenticity, and integrity in all that we do.  To uphold the security and fairness of our hiring process, we ask that candidates refrain from using AI tools, including ChatGPT, during interviews and assessments.  To ensure a smooth and secure experience, please review the following guidelines:

• Cameras must be on for all virtual interviews.
• AI tools are strictly prohibited during interviews or assessments.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work together to create a transparent and equitable hiring experience.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or a related field
• 7+ years of experience in retail or merchandising technology leadership roles
• Proven track record of delivering large-scale merchandising technology solutions
• Hands-on experience implementing and configuring allocation, replenishment, inventory optimization, or related retail inventory management systems
• Experience leading engineering teams across multiple disciplines (development, integration, QA)
• Expertise with leading legacy and commercial allocation and merchandising platforms (e.g., Oracle Retail Allocation, Blue Yonder, Manhattan, o9, SAP, Zebra, or similar)
• Experience with both legacy/mainframe systems and modernization to cloud-native architectures
• Strong understanding of data platforms, analytics, and AI/ML-driven retail solutions
• Experience operating in global, multi-region retail environments
• Hands-on experience with budgeting, prioritization, and resource planning
• Experience managing vendors, SaaS platforms, and consulting partners
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to operate effectively at both strategic and execution levels in a fast-paced environment
• Experience leading globally distributed teams, including offshore development and support models
• Proven ability to operate effectively across time zones, cultures, and regional business structures

Benefits

The annual base salary range is $160,000 - $170,000. This range represents the anticipated low and high end of the salary for this position. This role is also eligible to receive short and long term incentives that align with individual and company performance. Salary will be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Salary is one component of the Foot Locker, Inc. total compensation package, which includes the below.

Foot Locker Benefits:

• Employee Discount
• Paid Time Off
• Medical | Dental | Vision Coverage
• 401(k) | Roth 401(k)
• Stock Purchase Plan
• Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• Opportunities for Advancement
• Tuition Reimbursement for Qualified Courses
• Strong Company Culture
• Employee Resource Groups