Buyer Soft Goods, Footwear

Buyer Soft Goods, Footwear Cottonwood Heights, UT Job Details Full-time 9 hours ago Benefits Health insurance Dental insurance Paid time off Vision insurance 401(k) matching Employee discount Qualifications Vendor relationship building Assortment planning Sourcing Microsoft Excel Automation Visual merchandising Inventory management Merchandising Retail buying Purchase order management Mid-level E-commerce Prompt engineering Team development Analysis skills Retail category management Team management Task prioritization Decision making Content development Vendor relationship management Organizational skills Merchandising display arrangement Retail math Procurement contract negotiation Productivity software AI Leadership Communication skills Retail purchasing ChatGPT Generative AI Time management Analytics Full Job Description At Backcountry, our mission is to connect people to their passions. Our four online stores—Backcountry, Competitive Cyclist, MotoSport and, SteepandCheap—aim to supply our customers with the gear, knowledge, and inspiration necessary to get out there and chase down life's greatest moments. We do this by providing the biggest and best assortment of premium outdoor products, superior shopping experience, personalized Gearhead expertise, lightning-fast and accurate fulfillment, and inspirational, informative, and community-centered content. As a Buyer Soft Goods, Footwear , you'll own the full lifecycle of a high-volume footwear category—from building seasonal assortments and managing vendor relationships to driving inventory performance and leading a small buying team. You'll bring together market instincts, analytical rigor, and a growing AI toolkit to make fast, well-informed decisions that directly impact revenue across our portfolio of brands. This position will report into the Senior Director of Merchandising.

What you get to do:

Assortment Building:

Sources & assesses merchandise for the Backcountry customer, taking into account market trends as well as current & historical selling history

Vendor Relationships & Negotiations:

Actively fosters/creates vendor relationships, negotiates discounts, terms, and promotional windows

PO Management:

Creates spreadsheets for SKU/PO worksheet creation, builds POs (Qty/Dollar/Style Allocation, Size/Color Breakout) under fast deadlines and ensures submission to vendors

Promotions:

Works closely with Marketing to create a selling strategy for inventory, brainstorms promotion concepts, identifying types of promotions and building calendar with marketing, reviews and reacts to performance, reviews boosting/sort order for promotions, ensures our assortment is visually merchandised to maximize sales

Inventory Management:

Reviews SKU/Brand/Category performance for future opportunities, establishes receipt flow, sets sell-through targets, works with Planning on an exit strategy for slow movers. Manages inventory through ASAPs (re-orders) and Edits (order reductions)

AI-Powered Productivity:

Applies AI tools across day-to-day work—from summarizing performance data and surfacing trends, to automating repetitive tasks and drafting assortment storytelling and content. Comfortable prompting general-purpose AI tools, evaluating and validating output, and integrating AI into workflows in ways that sharpen decision-making rather than shortcut it

Team Management:

Ensures utilization and development of Associate and Assistant Buyer(s), works closely with Planning partner and departmental team to ensure all initiatives and goals are met What you bring: 3-5 years of Buying experience necessary; e-commerce and/or industry experience preferred Pro-active and decisive, can make informed decisions quickly in a fast-paced environment Strong analytical skills; effective negotiator Excellent organizational skills and extreme attention to detail Outstanding time management skills; ability to prioritize competing tasks/initiatives Team player with excellent written and verbal communication skills Firm understanding of Retail Math and Fundamentals Proficient in Microsoft Office (proficiency in Excel a must) Comfortable with AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or similar)—able to prompt effectively, validate outputs critically, and identify where automation can remove friction from routine work; genuine curiosity about how AI is evolving and eagerness to grow with it Willingness and ability to travel as needed What's in it for you? Joining Backcountry isn't just about having a seat at the table—it's about helping redesign the table entirely. You'll be challenged, stretched, and supported as you grow faster than you thought possible. In addition to competitive compensation, we offer:

Executive Access:

Work directly with brand CEOs and senior leadership, solving real business problems and earning mentorship from top operators.

AI-First Skill Building:

Get hands-on with the most advanced AI tools in the market. From automation to prompt engineering, you'll build a modern tech stack that sets you apart in any industry.

Accelerated Career Path:

High performers are quickly entrusted with greater responsibility, new challenges, and leadership opportunities across our portfolio of brands.

Competitive benefits:

Paid time off policies, 401(k)/RRSP match, medical/dental/vision and a variety of supplemental policies, and employee discounts at our portfolio companies Our interview process: \uD83D\uDCDE Step 1: If you align with our vision and meet the qualifications, we'll reach out to schedule a conversation and introduce Backcountry. \uD83E\uDDE0 Step 2: You'll complete a short AI or product-building challenge so we can understand how you approach problems and execution. \uD83D\uDCAC Step 3: Participate in deep-dive interviews with Backcountry leadership focused on your experience, product mindset, and operational thinking. \uD83D\uDCE9 Step 4: Offer. We'll move fast for the right candidate. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us. The CSC family of brands provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, state or local laws. The CSC family of brands is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact . We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.