Associate Buyer

About the role

You support category strategy, build your own vendor relationships, and develop the analytical instincts that define a great buyer — this is where buying careers are made at Backcountry. As Associate Buyer, you will own your PO process independently, contribute a meaningful point of view to assortment decisions, and represent Backcountry confidently in routine vendor conversations within your first 6–12 months. This is a lean team. You will own a lot, move fast, and make decisions with full end-to-end responsibility.

Responsibilities

• Assist in seasonal assortment selection including pricing, category and brand mix, and inventory planning; analyze historical sales data and market trends to contribute a point of view to assortment decisions
• Manage day-to-day vendor communication; participate in seasonal term negotiations, discounts, and promotional windows with guidance from senior team members
• Mark vendor catalogs for SKU/PO worksheet creation; build POs (Qty/Dollar/Style Allocation, Size/Color Breakout) under tight deadlines and ensure on-time submission; manage PO edits, past dues, and pre-season and ASAP builds with growing independence
• Support the promotional calendar with SKU selection, rules page review, and QA; react to promotional performance and contribute a point of view on what is and is not working
• Review and optimize product presentation on site pages including color thumbnails, boost and sort order, cross-sells, backorder management, and site taxonomy and facets
• Use AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or similar) to analyze assortment performance, research competitive positioning, draft promotional briefs, and streamline PO workflows; validate outputs before applying them
• Support Assistant Buyers on administrative and operational processes; collaborate with Buyers and Sr. Buyers to execute shared category goals

Requirements

• 2–3 years of relevant merchandising, buying, or inventory management experience
• Solid foundation in Retail Math and Buying Fundamentals
• Proficient in Microsoft Office; Excel proficiency required
• Excellent organizational skills and extreme attention to detail
• Strong analytical skills; comfortable interpreting sales and inventory data
• Clear written and verbal communication skills
• Comfortable using AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or similar); able to prompt effectively and validate outputs

Preferred Qualifications

• Passion for outdoor activities and knowledge of outdoor gear and apparel

Benefits

Real Impact Early: Begin owning real category work — assortment decisions, vendor conversations, and inventory strategy — earlier than you would almost anywhere else in outdoor retail.
Skill Building and Growth: Develop the full buying skill set on a team that invests in your progression and has a clear path to the next level, including building AI fluency as a core professional skill.
Ownership: Work alongside experienced buyers who take product seriously and bring genuine expertise to every category decision, while trusting you to own your projects end to end.
Competitive Benefits: Paid time off policies, 401(k) match, medical/dental/vision and a variety of supplemental policies, and employee discounts across our portfolio of brands.

Pay

N/A

Schedule

N/A