Merchandising Manager - Category Management, Diamond Basics

Blue Nile•New York, NY

About The Position

Blue Nile is seeking a Manager of Category Management, Diamond Basics, to drive day-to-day strategy, performance, and evolution of the Blue Nile assortment. The role combines merchant instincts, diamond and product knowledge, customer understanding, and analytical rigor to optimize the business. It owns category-level analysis and execution across assortment, pricing, natural and lab-grown mix, product lifecycle, inventory, and new products. The manager leads the day-to-day performance and execution of the Diamond Basics businesses in partnership with the Director of Category Management. The role translates broader category strategies into actionable plans, develops expertise in customer missions and competitive dynamics, identifies assortment opportunities, and makes fact-based investment and merchandising recommendations. It partners with Site Merchandising, Creative, Marketing, Technology, Retail, Demand Planning, Pricing, Finance, Planning, Product Development, Design, and Sourcing. The position manages assortment across earrings, pendants, necklaces, and bracelets, including natural and lab-grown diamond offerings. It establishes assortment architecture and product ladders, evaluates SKU and attribute productivity, aligns inventory with product productivity and strategic importance, and monitors revenue, units, average selling price, margin, conversion, inventory productivity, and customer engagement. It also supports product development and launches from concept through post-launch analysis, recommending whether products should be scaled, adjusted, or exited. The role requires a bachelor's degree in a related field and 3–5+ years of merchandising experience, with a preference for diamond expertise. Blue Nile states that many roles offer a comprehensive benefits package, with some offerings dependent on role, employment type, work schedule, or location. The annual base pay is $100,000–$140,000, based on experience and qualifications. Blue Nile will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Economics, Analytics, Marketing, or a related field.
3–5+ years’ experience in merchandising.
Strategic mindset focused on translating complex data into actionable business strategies.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities.
Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
Proficiency in Excel, SQL, Tableau, or similar platforms.
Strong leadership skills.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.

Nice To Haves

Diamond expertise.

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day performance and execution of the Diamond Basics businesses in partnership with the Director of Category Management.
Translate broader category strategies into actionable assortment, pricing, product, inventory, and merchandising plans.
Develop expertise in category customer missions, shopping behaviors, and competitive dynamics.
Maintain clear roles for natural and lab-grown diamonds and identify opportunities to evolve the mix based on customer demand and business performance.
Identify assortment white space across product type, diamond shape, carat weight, setting, metal, price point, and customer need.
Develop fact-based recommendations on where to invest, expand, test, maintain, reposition, or exit.
Balance assortment breadth and customer choice with a curated Blue Nile point of view.
Partner with Site Merchandising, Creative, Marketing, Technology, and Retail to present Diamond Basics clearly and intuitively online and in stores.
Establish product priorities for category pages, search, sort, recommendations, storytelling, marketing, and promotional placements.
Ensure hero products and key assortment stories receive appropriate visibility, balancing proven core products with strategic newness and growth opportunities.
Translate complex product differences into clear merchandising stories for customers and provide Retail partners with product priorities and category stories.
Manage Diamond Basics assortment across earrings, pendants, necklaces, and bracelets, including natural and lab-grown diamond offerings.
Build assortment architecture across carat weight, diamond type, setting, metal, silhouette, and price.
Ensure coverage of core customer needs and identify opportunities for newness and assortment expansion.
Establish good/better/best and opening/core/premium product ladders where appropriate.
Analyze SKU- and attribute-level productivity to identify assortment gaps, duplication, and opportunities for rationalization.
Identify and scale winning product concepts while establishing strategic reasons for long-tail SKUs to remain in the assortment.
Partner with Demand Planning to align inventory depth and availability with product productivity and strategic importance.
Monitor revenue, units, average selling price, margin, conversion, inventory productivity, and customer engagement.
Analyze performance differences across natural and lab-grown, preset and customizable products, price tiers, carat weights, metals, and product classifications.
Use performance data to recommend changes to assortment, pricing, promotions, inventory investment, and site exposure.
Work with Pricing, Finance, and Planning to maintain competitive price architecture while protecting margin and profitability.
Partner with the Director of Product Development, Design, Sourcing, and Planning to translate category opportunities into new-product briefs.
Use business performance, competitive intelligence, customer behavior, and emerging diamond and jewelry trends to identify innovation opportunities.
Recommend extensions of winning products across diamond type, shape, carat weight, metal, setting, and price point.
Develop commercial guardrails for new products, including target price positioning, assortment role, and expected customer need.
Support launches from initial concept through assortment planning, launch readiness, digital presentation, and post-launch analysis.
Establish success criteria and recommend whether products should be scaled, adjusted, or exited following launch.