Senior Category Development Manager

Location: Remote (Los Angeles, CA preferred)

About the role

Archer Meat Snacks, one of the fastest-growing brands in the Natural and Specialty Channel, is seeking a Senior Category Development Manager to transform category insights into winning customer strategies. You will partner with Sales, Marketing, Revenue Growth Management, Finance, Supply Chain, and cross-functional teams to develop fact-based recommendations driving assortment optimization, merchandising strategies, pricing decisions, innovation launches, and customer growth across Grocery, Mass, Natural, Club, Convenience, and E-Commerce channels.

Responsibilities

• Customer Category Leadership
  • Serve as the primary category development partner supporting Archer's national retail customers.
  • Translate Archer's national category strategy into customer-specific recommendations that support retailer objectives and accelerate category growth.
  • Develop customized selling stories using syndicated and customer-specific data to support line reviews, business reviews, innovation launches, assortment changes, and distribution opportunities.
  • Build trusted relationships with customer category managers, merchandising teams, and key retail stakeholders through regular engagement and strategic collaboration.
  • Lead customer-facing category presentations and represent Archer during retailer meetings, line reviews, and strategic planning sessions.
• Category Analytics & Insights
  • Analyze syndicated data, customer POS data, shopper insights, and marketplace trends to identify opportunities that improve category performance.
  • Develop assortment, shelving, merchandising, pricing, and promotional recommendations supported by fact-based insights.
  • Evaluate assortment productivity and identify opportunities for SKU optimization, distribution gains, and category expansion.
  • Monitor competitive activity, emerging consumer trends, and retailer strategies to proactively identify growth opportunities.
  • Develop customer scorecards, dashboards, and executive-ready presentations that communicate actionable business recommendations.
• Sales Partnership
  • Partner directly with National Account Managers and Sales Leadership to develop customer-specific business plans and growth strategies.
  • Support annual planning, customer business reviews, line reviews, innovation launches, and promotional planning initiatives.
  • Provide category expertise throughout customer planning sessions, negotiations, and strategic selling opportunities.
  • Develop compelling customer presentations that translate complex data into clear business recommendations.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Partner closely with Marketing, Revenue Growth Management, Finance, Supply Chain, and Innovation teams to ensure category recommendations align with business objectives.
  • Provide retailer feedback and marketplace insights that influence innovation, commercialization, assortment planning, and future category strategies.
  • Serve as the voice of the customer by sharing retailer needs, competitive intelligence, and category trends across the organization.
• Retail & Customer Engagement
  • Maintain a high level of customer engagement through regular retailer meetings, business reviews, and market visits.
  • Conduct retail audits and store walks to evaluate merchandising execution, assortment effectiveness, pricing, shelf positioning, and competitive activity.
  • Travel regularly to customer headquarters, national sales meetings, industry conferences, and trade events as business needs require.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Category Management, Economics, or a related field.
• 6+ years of progressive experience in Category Management, Category Development, Shopper Insights, Sales Strategy, or a related Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) function.
• Proven experience supporting national retail customers across Grocery, Mass, Natural, Club, Convenience, and E-Commerce channels.
• Strong proficiency using Circana (IRI), SPINS, Numerator, NielsenIQ, or equivalent to develop actionable category insights and recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience developing retailer category reviews, line reviews, assortment recommendations, merchandising and space planning strategies, pricing recommendations, and fact-based selling presentations.
• Experience supporting Joint Business Planning (JBP), annual customer planning, retailer negotiations, and strategic sales initiatives.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent analytical, presentation, communication, and relationship-building skills with the ability to influence both internal stakeholders and external retail partners at all levels of the organization.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities while working independently and collaboratively within cross-functional teams.
• Experience within the food, beverage, or broader Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry preferred.
• Experience with retailer-specific analytics platforms such as Walmart Luminate, Retail Link, 84.51°, dunnhumby, or similar customer data platforms preferred.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Paid time off (PTO)
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance

Why join us

• Impact: Help shape category strategy and customer growth for one of the fastest-growing meat snack brands in the US.
• Visibility: Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, Innovation, and Executive Leadership while serving as a strategic advisor to national retail customers.
• Growth: Gain broad exposure to the top national Food, Mass, & Natural retailers as well as cross-functional leadership in a high-growth CPG environment.
• Culture: Collaborative, entrepreneurial, and fast-moving environment where your insights directly influence customer decisions and business performance.