Demand Lead, Commercial Planning

Job description

About Us SharkNinja is a global product design and technology company, with a diversified portfolio of 5-star rated lifestyle solutions that positively impact people’s lives in homes around the world. Powered by two trusted, global brands, Shark and Ninja, the company has a proven track record of bringing disruptive innovation to market and developing one consumer product after another has allowed SharkNinja to enter multiple product categories, driving significant growth and market share gains. Headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts with more than 4,100 associates, the company’s products are sold at key retailers, online and offline, and through distributors around the world. AI at SharkNinja At SharkNinja, we’re building an AI-native culture. We’re not waiting for the future; we’re creating it. Our people are expected to experiment boldly, adopt new tools, and continuously raise what’s possible to create meaningful impact for our consumers. If you believe the best way to do your job hasn’t been invented yet, you’ll fit right in. The Role SharkNinja's Commercial Planning team is growing and we are hiring Demand leads to utilize our agentic demand planning platform and work with commercial partners to drive the business forward. As a Demand Lead, you sit at the intersection of data, commercial strategy, and cross-functional execution. You'll synthesize demand signals across channels and categories into a coherent, pressure-tested outlook — and use AI-enabled workflows to surface insights faster and drive better decisions. We're building a lean, high-impact function and want people who are analytically strong, commercially curious, and energized by a role that will keep evolving. Key Responsibilities Forecast & Demand Intelligence • Synthesize demand signals across accounts, categories, and channels into a pressure-tested gross sales outlook • Drive regular trend vs. forecast reviews incorporating sell-through dynamics, retailer inventory health, and new product performance • Build constrained vs. unconstrained demand scenarios and support monthly phasing and NPD financial hedges • Identify demand risks and opportunities and partner with stakeholders to recommend and drive corrective action AI-Enabled Analytics & Insights • Use AI tools — including Claude and AI-powered BI platforms — as core workflow infrastructure, not a supplementary step • Build and maintain AI-assisted recurring analysis: automated reporting, scenario modeling, anomaly detection, and narrative generation • Translate complex data into clear, business-relevant narratives that drive decisions across commercial, supply, and finance leadership • Proactively prototype AI applications that raise team analytical throughput and surface insights traditional approaches would miss • Support what-if scenario planning as commercial priorities shift, leveraging AI to model outcomes faster Cross-Functional Partnership • Partner with Sales, Supply Planning, Finance, and Product Development to gather inputs, align assumptions, and drive accountability in the forecast • Own the demand review process with Supply Planning to ensure cross-functional alignment before demand signals are actioned downstream • Bring insights and risks to the right stakeholders early — not after the fact • Support monthly commercial planning reviews and IBP consensus planning Process & Tool Evolution • Build, refine, and adapt planning processes and reporting frameworks as the team and business evolve • Help establish and track planning KPIs: forecast accuracy, bias, attainment, and inventory health • Bring forward practical AI and automation applications that raise team capability — not just your own What We're Looking For We're looking for people who combine analytical sharpness with a genuine curiosity for demand and commercial planning — and who have already started building fluency with AI as a real work tool. We value how you think and how fast you learn. Deep tenure in demand planning is not a prerequisite; the right balance of analytical capability and commercial instinct is. AI Fluency & Analytics — Core Requirement • Demonstrated fluency with AI tools in a professional or project context — including Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, or equivalent — used for analysis, writing, modeling, or workflow automation; this is a hard requirement, not a nice-to-have • Ability to prompt effectively, critically evaluate AI outputs, and build repeatable AI-assisted workflows • Comfort with BI and data tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, Excel, Python, SQL); experience with AI-powered analytics platforms is a strong plus • Strong instinct for translating raw data into a clear point of view and communicating it concisely to senior audiences Demand Planning & Commercial Acumen • Working knowledge of demand planning, S&OP, or commercial analytics concepts — developed through any combination of formal experience, coursework, or self-directed learning • Curiosity about retail and consumer goods dynamics: sell-through, inventory health, POS trends, promotional lift, and new product performance • Ability to pressure-test assumptions, spot anomalies, and structure scenarios — even without years of formal forecasting experience • Cross-functional orientation: comfortable working across Sales, Finance, Supply, and Product to align assumptions and drive accountability without relying on authority How You Work • Exceptional communicator — you translate complex analysis into a concise, action-oriented narrative for senior stakeholders • Highly adaptable — you thrive when the role, tools, and expectations are shifting, and you bring clarity rather than waiting for it • Proactive and high-follow-through — you identify the insight and track it all the way to action • Collaborative and curious — energized by connecting dots across functions that others are too siloed to see • Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Finance, Statistics, Supply Chain, or a related field — or equivalent demons