Demand Lead, Commercial Planning

SharkNinja•Needham, MA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

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.

Requirements

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
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
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 demonstrated analytical capability

Nice To Haves

experience with AI-powered analytics platforms is a strong plus

Responsibilities

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
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
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
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