Senior Director of Merchandising

Marea is a fast-growing women's apparel brand, founder-led and built without outside investment. We're a lean team operating at meaningful scale, and we're hiring experienced leaders to take the business to its next stage.

The Senior Director of Merchandising is a senior leadership role that owns Marea's line plan and merchandising strategy end to end and serves as our senior commercial leader across product, assortment, planning, and wholesale. You'll work closely with the Founder & CEO to architect the line each season, and you'll carry significant ownership of it from concept through sell‑through. This is a full-time, in‑seat role reporting to the Founder & CEO.

It oversees planning (currently supported by a contract planner) and partners closely with Design, Production, and Ecommerce.

This is a hands‑on leadership role on a small team. It requires someone present and engaged day to day, who communicates proactively, owns their area without prompting, and operates with a high degree of independence. In return, the role offers real autonomy, full ownership of the function, and a direct line to the founder.

• Own the seasonal line plan end to end, including architecture, breadth, price points, and margin targets, in close partnership with the Founder & CEO and the Design team.
• Set merchandising strategy across DTC and wholesale, balancing brand direction with customer and sales data.
• Lead planning and inventory, including buys, open‑to‑buy, inventory health, and sell‑through. Build out and manage the planning function, currently supported by a contract planner, with the goal of growing dedicated planning capacity over time.
• Lead and grow key wholesale accounts, including developing managed or curated buy models for major partners, and independently represent Marea in high‑stakes account meetings.
• Partner cross‑functionally with Design, Production, and Ecommerce to keep decisions and timelines moving.
• Deliver regular reporting and analysis on assortment performance, sell‑through, and inventory health.

• 10+ years in merchandising and/or planning, including team leadership, in apparel or fashion.
• Demonstrated ownership of a line plan or assortment from concept through sell‑through, not solely contributing to one.
• Experience across both DTC and wholesale channels.
• Strong analytical skills and fluency with merchandising and planning metrics.
• Experience building process and structure within a growing business.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, founder‑led environment.

• Status: Full‑time
• Location / work model: On‑site, Fairfield, CT
• Reports to: Founder & CEO
• Direct reports: (contract planner), with room to grow the team
• Compensation: TBD