Job Description
Are you a trend obsessive with a commercial brain? At Ripple Junction, merchandising is about shaping the product stories behind some of the world's most iconic pop culture brands. If you get excited about silhouette strategy, live for a well-built seasonal calendar, and can spot a whitespace opportunity before anyone else in the room, we want to meet you.
About Us: At Ripple Junction, we're a team of passionate creators, collaborators, and pop culture enthusiasts. Our work environment is dynamic, fun, and full of energy. We believe in the power of great people and are looking for a sharp, instinct-driven Merchandiser to own seasonal product vision, drive commercial strategy, and help bring our licensed assortments to life.
What You'll Own: You'll be the product visionary and commercial architect for your categories, setting the trend narrative and driving the business forward:
Seasonal Product Direction
- Define seasonal product direction across core business and whitespace, balancing trend, retail tiers, margin targets, and revenue goals
- Establish silhouette and body strategy; identify key fits and styles for each season
- Translate competitive insights, trend research, and sell-through hindsight into clear product direction
Calendar & Cross-Functional Ownership
- Own and manage the Development Seasonal Calendar. Milestone cadence, stage gates, and cross-functional accountability
- Proactively identify timing risks and drive solutions across teams
- Lead key seasonal touchpoints and organizational share-outs
Sales Partnership & Commercial Execution
- Serve as the front-line product partner to Sales; present assortment plans and align priorities to account strategy
- Review and validate costing to ensure margin and IMU targets are met
What We're Looking For:
- 3–6+ years of merchandising experience in apparel or a related consumer goods category
- Strong trend instinct with the ability to translate cultural and market signals into commercial product decisions
- Fluency in retail math - costing, margin, IMU, and assortment architecture
- Experience owning or managing a development calendar and driving cross-functional accountability to it
- Confident presenting to Sales and external accounts; comfortable in customer meetings
- Experience in licensed product, entertainment, or lifestyle brands is a strong plus
- Collaborative, organized, and solutions-oriented. You thrive managing multiple seasons simultaneously
Why You'll Love It Here: At Ripple Junction our vision is to consistently bring joy to pop culture fans and that joy starts in our employees. We offer a competitive benefit program, growth and development, discounted merchandise and more. Ripple believes in the value of each employee, and it is reflected in our one-of-a-kind environment. Product or potluck — we work, grow and succeed together.
- A Fun & Vibrant Work Culture: We value creativity, teamwork, and celebrating our successes together
- Growth Opportunities: There's always room to learn new skills and grow your career with us
- Hybrid Opportunities: The option to WFH one day a week
If you're a trend-forward thinker who thrives in a fast-paced, creative environment and wants to build product for brands people actually love, we'd love to hear from you!
About Ripple Junction Since 1992, Ripple Junction has grown from two guys selling shirts out of a van at a Grateful Dead show into one of the leading designers and developers of licensed merchandise in the U.S. For over three decades, we've been driven by passion and purpose, creating top-quality products for fans of some of the world's most iconic brands. We specialize in officially licensed apparel and merchandise that celebrates everything from film and television to anime, music, sci-fi, and video games. Our talented team of pop culture fanatics designs products that resonate with fans and deliver strong results for our retail and licensing partners.
At Ripple Junction, we're fans first and we pour that love of pop culture into everything we create.