Senior Manager, Merchandise Designer - Furniture & Lighting

About the role

The Senior Manager of Design – Furniture & Lighting Department leads the creative vision, design execution, and development of indoor, outdoor, and kids furniture categories as extensions of larger Walmart Brands. This role blends hands-on creative design with strategic leadership, trend development, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Drive cohesive, trend-relevant collections for outdoor living across furniture and accessory categories.
• Translate aspirational aesthetics into forward-thinking, mass-market product solutions.
• Develop and evolve multiple collections across seasons simultaneously.
• Establish and maintain strong partnerships with Merchant and Product Development teams.
• Collaborate with PD to develop product, identify white space, and build collections that balance classic essentials with new and exclusive designs unique to Walmart.
• Align merchant strategies with overarching trend vision and brand direction.
• Respond to business requests in a timely and agile manner.
• Lead project tracking and milestone management across multiple workstreams.
• Spearhead regular alignment meetings with Merchandising and Design partners.
• Review assortments at the CAD level and recommend streamlining opportunities to strengthen clarity and productivity.
• Monitor global and domestic market trends in indoor and outdoor furniture.
• Analyze competitive assortments and identify opportunities for innovation and differentiation.
• Develop seasonal trend decks, concept direction, and material/finish strategies.
• Utilize Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and CAD/Rhino or comparable furniture rendering programs to communicate concepts and specifications.
• Ensure design intent translates effectively through sampling, costing, and production phases.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to maintain quality, cost integrity, and timeline execution.
• Lead end-to-end design from concept through retail launch.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships across Merchandising, PD, Sourcing, and Quality teams.
• Communicate design strategies clearly to internal stakeholders and vendor partners.
• Travel as needed to support development, factory partnerships, and global sourcing initiatives.
• Foster a collaborative and proactive team environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, design, or related area and 4 years’ experience in design, merchandising, marketing, or related area.
• Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in liberal arts or relevant field, Creative design software, Cross-functional project management, Design, product development, or manufacturing.