Why Work With Us?

Location: Washington Shoe Company HQ - Renton, Washington
Schedule: Full Time, exempt
Salary: $75K-$100K annually, depending on experience

Reports To: Director of Production Operations

About Washington Shoe Company

Welcome to Washington Shoe Company, a Seattle-based, family-owned business with four generations of extraordinary legacy. Despite our size, we fearlessly compete with industry giants, making every step count. We are a close-knit, passionate team focused on delivering a world class customer experience while achieving outstanding results for our portfolio of brands: Western Chief, Chooka, and Staheekum. Western Chief is best known for its 3D printed rubber rain boots. Loved for years, these character boots are still standouts, proudly selected in 2022 as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things.

About the Inventory Planning Data

Analyst Position The Inventory Planning Data Analyst is responsible for the data, analytics, and forecasting that drive Washington Shoe Company’s inventory decisions. The analyst owns replenishment planning for Amazon and our other replenishment customers, executes seasonal buys, and manages the company’s item performance metric (the M Score) to keep top-selling items in stock and to identify underperforming items for exit. The role builds and maintains the data foundation for planning using our ERP (Ai2000/Oracle), SQL, Excel, and Power BI, and builds a machine learning forecasting tool and AI-assisted planning tools using Claude. The company operates an on-premises NVIDIA DGX Spark, giving the analyst dedicated local GPU compute to train and run forecasting models and AI agents against company data. The analyst reports to the Director of Production Operations and works closely with Sales, eCommerce, Sourcing, and Logistics.

The company’s inventory targets for this position are an 80% fill rate and an inventory turn of 4 on an annualized basis.

Key Responsibilities

Data, Analytics & AI

• Build and maintain the data foundation for inventory planning: pull, join, and validate data from the ERP (Ai2000/Oracle), customer portals, and SharePoint using SQL, Excel, and Power BI.
• Build a machine learning forecasting tool for replenishment items; measure forecast accuracy against actuals and improve the model over time.
• Design and build an AI planning agent using Claude to automate routine planning work, including weekly data pulls, exception flagging, draft purchase order recommendations, and customer-ready reporting.
• Develop and maintain Power BI dashboards and standard reports covering fill rate, in-stock rate, weeks of supply, inventory turns, aged inventory, and forecast accuracy.
• Prepare clear, concise analysis and recommendations for Sales, eCommerce, and leadership; present findings in a form that supports decisions.
• Document data sources, models, and planning processes so they are repeatable and can be maintained by others.

Replenishment and Seasonal Planning

• Own replenishment planning for Amazon and our other replenishment customers: maintain item- and size-level forecasts, set target weeks of supply and safety stock, and place timely purchase orders to achieve the company’s 80% fill rate target without overstocking.
• Plan seasonal buys by season and customer, aligning quantities and size curves to customer projections and historical sell-through, and working backward from vendor lead times and required in-stock dates.
• Review demand signals weekly, including customer point-of-sale data, Amazon Vendor Central, open orders, and on-hand inventory, and act on stockouts, overstocks, and forecast misses.
• Coordinate with Sourcing, Production, and Logistics on lead times, capacity, and delivery timing.

M Score and Assortment Management

• Maintain and review the M Score, the company’s item performance metric, and use it to rank items for backfill, hold, or exit.
• Proactively reorder high-performing items so they remain in stock throughout their selling window.
• Identify underperforming items and recommend exit strategies (markdown, channel shift, or discontinuation) to the Sales and eCommerce teams, supported by data.
• Track the results of backfill and exit decisions and incorporate findings into the next planning cycle.

Other Duties

• Support Operations and Production with ad-hoc analysis and reporting.
• Reconcile customer-specific inventory positions as needed.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Analytics, Information Systems, Statistics, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 2+ years of experience in inventory planning, demand planning, replenishment, buying, or business/data analytics, preferably in consumer products, footwear, apparel, or retail.
• Working proficiency in SQL, including joins and aggregations against a relational database.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and Power Query.
• Experience building reports or dashboards in Power BI or a comparable BI tool.
• Hands-on experience using AI tools such as Claude in day-to-day analytical work, and a demonstrated interest in applying AI to automate and improve processes.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to validate data and explain the reasoning behind a recommendation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to present data clearly to sales, eCommerce, and leadership audiences.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize, and manage multiple deadlines in a small team.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with Python or R for data analysis or forecasting.
• Exposure to forecasting methods or machine learning models.
• Experience with Amazon Vendor Central or other retailer replenishment portals.
• Experience with enterprise ERP systems (Oracle preferred).
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certification.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

This position works in an office setting with occasional visits to the warehouse. Standard business hours, with flexibility during peak seasonal planning periods.

Top Perks

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• 401(k) plus company match
• Wellness time (paid time off) and paid holidays
• Employee purchase credit and wholesale pricing on our products
• Exclusive industry discounts
• Paid volunteer hours
• Open work environment with casual dress code and flexible schedule
• Flat organization with high exposure to the leadership team

Washington Shoe Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, disability status, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Location: Washington Shoe Company Job Type: Full-time, Exempt
Reports To: CEO
Salary: $64,000–$80,000 depending on experience
Start ASAP. Current Office Manager available through October 15 for overlap and handoff.

About Us: 

Washington Shoe Company is a Seattle based fourth generation family-owned company that has been crafting quality footwear for over 130 years. Our brands—Western Chief, Chooka, and Staheekum—bring style, comfort, and fun to every step. 

We are on a continuous mission to create smiles. If you are too, let’s talk! 

About the Position:

This is not a generic office-manager post.

You sit next to the CEO of a 135-year, fourth-generation family footwear company. You keep him, the leadership team, the office, and the everyday WSC experience running smoothly so everyone else can do their best work.

We’re small, hands-on, and fast. Plans change. Everyone pitches in. Culture is not a poster on the wall here. It is one of the foundations we measure ourselves against. Since 2018 we have run quarterly employee engagement surveys. Leadership is held to a 4.25 out of 5 goal, and we routinely clear it. The CEO also hosts monthly skip-level coffee roundtables, so he hears the real pulse of the company, not a filtered version from a corner office.

We are also all-in on using AI the right way. We run NVIDIA DGX Spark systems on-prem so the team can learn and work with leading-edge tools. We are not replacing people with AI. We are giving everyone better leverage so they can do the work only they can do. These are interesting years to be in a company that is actually on that wave — and this role helps the whole place stay organized enough to ride it.

The person in this seat now grew into the role and became indispensable. We’re looking for someone who can do the same: notice what others miss, remember what others forget, and act before anyone has to ask. You don’t need to know everything on day one. You do need to be curious enough to learn a little about everything and then own it.

Bring ideas. Make the role yours. Become the person people mean when they say, “Ask the Office Manager. They’ll know.”

What you’ll own:

The office

• Day-to-day operation of the Renton office: supplies, spaces, vendors, and the small things that become leadership’s problem if they’re ignored
• First impression for everyone who walks in: visitors, candidates, vendors, and our own team
• Partner with the Operations Director on safety, security, first-aid, emergency info, and required workplace postings

Culture and gatherings

• Own the moments that pull the company together: all-hands, holidays, and the occasional excuse to throw a party
• Food, setup, cleanup, swag
• Day-to-day support for charitable giving and community events
• Help keep culture visible and real, not just surveyed once a quarter

People coming and going

• New-hire first days: desk, equipment, access, and a welcome that actually feels like one
• Clean wrap-up when someone leaves
• Run the internship program and be the person interns come to

Keeping the company in the loop

• SharePoint intranet, calendars, and company announcements
• Everyday Microsoft 365 and Teams questions; hand the hard ones to IT

Supporting the CEO and leadership (this is the heart of the job)

• Calendar, meetings, travel, and the running to-do list
• Track plans, deadlines, and next steps so nothing slips
• Help the CEO and leadership solve problems, protect private information, and keep work moving
• Be close enough to the work that you can anticipate, not just react
• Comfort using AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, and what we run on our on-prem NVIDIA systems) as part of how you work and helping others get comfortable too

How you work:

• Proactive and resourceful. You see what needs doing, think ahead, and act without waiting to be asked.
• Good judgment and discretion. You know what you can handle, what needs a flag, and what stays confidential.
• Creative and engaging. You look for ways to make ordinary things better and aren’t afraid to go a step further.
• People-focused and clear. Approachable, perceptive, comfortable with all kinds of people.
• Organized and adaptable. Many moving pieces, follow-through, calm when the plan changes.
• Curious about new tools. You don’t have to be an engineer. You do have to be willing to learn how AI can take the grind out of work so people can do higher-value things.

What you bring:

• 3+ years in executive support, office management, administration, operations, or a similar “keep the place and the principal running” role
• Daily fluency with Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel
• Ability to keep private company information private
• Comfort with hands-on work (event setup, moving supplies up to ~25 lbs)
• SharePoint experience is a plus
• Willingness to use tools like ChatGPT or Claude, and to keep learning as the toolkit changes

What we offer:

• Medical and dental: eligible the first of the month after 90 days
• 401(k) with company match: eligible the first of the month after six months
• Paid time off and company holidays
• Employee purchase credit and wholesale pricing on Western Chief, Chooka, and Staheekum
• Paid volunteer hours
• Casual environment and real exposure to company leadership
• A seat next to a CEO who measures culture, holds skip-levels, and expects this role to grow with the person in it

How to apply:

Send a short note on why this particular seat interests you, plus your resume. We read them.