Purpose:The Manager, Ecommerce Search leads the strategy, roadmap, and team responsible for the on-site search experience across our retail website(s) and mobile app(s). This role owns the business outcomes of search - findability, conversion, and revenue per search - and leads a team of eCommerce Search Analysts who operate the search platform's day-to-day configuration, relevance tuning, and testing program.
This is a player-coach role that blends people leadership with deep domain expertise in search platforms (e.g., Algolia, Bloomreach, Coveo, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, SearchSpring, Constructor). You'll set the team's roadmap and priorities, represent search in cross-functional planning, and stay close enough to the platform to guide your team through complex relevance, testing, and merchandising decisions.
Minimum Qualifications - 5-8 years of experience in Ecommerce, digital merchandising, search/discovery, or a related analytics field, including experience leading or mentoring others
- Hands-on experience configuring and managing a commercial site search platform such as Algolia, Bloomreach (Discovery/Clarity), Coveo, Constructor.io, SearchSpring, Elastic/OpenSearch, or similar
- Demonstrated experience owning relevance tuning strategy, synonym/thesaurus governance, and merchandising rules at scale
- Strong analytical skills, with experience translating query log analysis, funnel analysis, and search KPI reporting into strategic recommendations
- Working knowledge of SQL for pulling and analyzing data
- Experience designing and overseeing A/B testing programs and methodology
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and communicate search performance and strategy to senior leadership
- Experience managing vendor relationships, including contract negotiations and platform roadmap alignment
Essential Functions / Key Responsibilities: Team Leadership & Strategy- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Ecommerce Search Analysts, setting goals, providing technical guidance, and supporting career growth
- Own the multi-quarter roadmap for on-site search, prioritizing initiatives based on business impact, customer experience, and platform capabilities
- Set team goals and KPIs for search performance (search conversion rate, zero-results rate, revenue per search) and report progress to senior leadership
- Partner with Talent Acquisition to hire and scale the search team in line with business growth
Search Strategy & Platform Ownership- Own the relationship with the search platform vendor (e.g., Algolia, Bloomreach, Coveo, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, SearchSpring, Constructor), including contract renewals, roadmap alignment, and escalations
- Guide the team's approach to relevance tuning, synonym/thesaurus management, and merchandising rules for high-impact query terms and campaigns
- Set the strategic direction for the team's A/B testing program, ensuring rigorous test design and translation of results into roadmap priorities
- Evaluate emerging search and discovery technologies (e.g., semantic search, learning-to-rank, AI-driven query understanding) for potential adoption
Analysis & Business Impact- Own executive-level reporting on search KPIs, translating performance trends into clear business recommendations
- Guide the team's analysis of search query logs, funnel data, and conversion trends to identify the highest-impact opportunities
- Conduct competitive and industry benchmarking on search/discovery best practices, and use findings to shape the team's roadmap
Cross-Functional Leadership- Partner with senior stakeholders across merchandising, engineering, UX/design, and marketing to align search strategy with business priorities
- Represent the search function in cross-functional planning, budget, and roadmap prioritization discussions
- Serve as the escalation point and internal subject matter expert on search platform capabilities, roadmap, and performance
- Train and support internal stakeholders on search behavior, capabilities, and best practices
Preferred - Direct people management experience, including hiring, coaching, and performance management
- Experience in retail/Ecommerce merchandising or catalog management
- Familiarity with product feed/taxonomy structures and PIM systems
- Experience with BI/analytics tools (Looker, Tableau, GA4, Adobe Analytics)
- Strong understanding of relevance/ranking concepts (TF-IDF, vector/semantic search, learning-to-rank)
- Experience with personalization or recommendation engines
- Experience with JSON, regex, and reading API documentation for platform configuration
Travel Required Occasional travel to vendor/partner sites, or industry conferences may be required.
Benefits & RewardsBonus opportunities & career advancement opportunities at every level
Programs that help you reach your financial goals: 401k with company match, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and Referral Bonus Program
Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, and other Insurance Plans (subject to eligibility criteria)
Work-life balance, including:
- Paid vacation and sick time for eligible associates
- Paid holidays plus a personal holiday
- Paid Volunteer Time Off that starts on Day 1
