Head of Merchandising, Japan

The role

You will grow the Duolingo online store in Japan and lead merchandising and ecommerce. This includes owning the P&L, product planning, and developing pop-up or retail opportunities.

What you will do

• Own the P&L and day-to-day operations of the online store in Japan
• Manage demand forecasting, inventory planning, assortment planning, site performance, supply chain, and fulfillment
• Grow the store as a startup within the Japan marketing organization
• Lead product planning, design direction, and production from concept through launch
• Identify, select, and manage external partners including vendors, manufacturers, and agencies
• Build the store into a marketing channel through product drops and localized execution
• Develop and execute pop-up experiences and explore future retail store opportunities
• Build and test merchandising concepts and launch formats to develop repeatable playbooks
• Work with the broader marketing team to connect store moments with campaigns and brand storytelling

Required qualifications

• 10+ years in e-commerce, merchandising, or consumer products leadership for a consumer-facing brand
• Experience building a merchandising or e-commerce function from 0 to 1
• Hands-on ownership of a P&L and platforms such as Shopify
• Experience leading cross-functional work across creative, marketing, operations, and external partners
• Business-level English
• Business-level Japanese

Nice to have

• Experience launching or operating pop-ups, experiential retail, or store-based brand activations
• Experience scaling a merchandising or ecommerce function internationally
• Familiarity with fandom-driven, character-led, or lifestyle brands
• Strong instincts for what makes physical products feel high quality, distinctive, and culturally resonant
• An entrepreneurial mindset

About the company

Duolingo's mission is to develop the best education in the world and make it universally available.