Store Design & Visual Merchandising Manager

Squishable is a close-knit team of designers artists pop culture-fanatics and lovers of all things adorable. Together we create the cutest cuddliest (and sometimes downright unusual) plush and lifestyle products in the world. With the millions-strong Squishable fan community cheering us on (and a lot of cupcakes coffee and karaoke) we make people say Our offices are in a sunny Soho loft in NYC and downtown Washington DC.

Store Design & Visual Merchandising Manager

Job Summary:
We are looking for a retail design manager to help shape the look feel and flow of Squishable stores nationwide. The Store Design & Visual Merchandising Manager owns the visual strategy overseeing store layouts seasonal presentations and brand installations that bring the Squishable experience to life. This role combines strategy with execution ensuring our stores are engaging cohesive and consistently aligned with brand standards. Youll collaborate across teams manage vendors and lead a small team to maintain a great in-store experience across our growing fleet of stores.

This role requires 57 years of experience in store design and visual merchandising including at least 12 years managing a team. Retail experience is required; toy or specialty retail experience is a plus. Candidates must be comfortable with up to 50% travel to Squishable stores nationwide.

Key Responsibilities:

• Drive retail visual strategy: Originate and advance the retail store design concepts and in-store experiences for a fleet of 20 stores across the country including new store layouts seasonal presentations specialty installations and reacting to the changing needs of an evolving brand.
  
  
• Lead brand-focused design execution: Create and maintain visual guidelines store standards and brand directives ensuring consistency with brand identity and retail best practices.
  
  
• Manage implementation across the fleet: Oversee the design of new store openings remodels seasonal refreshes and ongoing execution working closely with cross-functional partners external vendors and store teams. Provide guidance and training to ensure standards are consistently upheld.
  
  
• Inspire innovation and trend adoption: Monitor retail design and cultural trends to proactively evolve Squishables in-store experience and keep the brand fresh fun and relevant.
  
  
• Lead and develop a team: Manage and mentor a small team of direct reports fostering creativity and accountability while building strong collaboration with store and HQ partners.

Requirements:

• 57 years of experience in store design and visual merchandising with at least 12 years of experience managing a team.
  
  
• Proficiency in SketchUp (required) and strong working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop Illustrator InDesign) Google Suite and related design tools.
  
  
• Strong project management organizational and communication skills; ability to balance creative vision with operational execution.
  
  
• Up-to-date knowledge of retail design trends and best practices with the ability to apply them to a playful brand-focused retail environment.
  
  
• Willingness to travel up to 50% across the U.S. to support store openings installations trainings and visual rollouts.

Salary: $75000-$85000

Benefits:
401(k) matching
Dental Insurance
Medical insurance
Vision insurance
Paid time off
Employee Discount

Work Location: Hybrid; must be comfortable commuting to the NYC office 4-days a week.

At Inc. we value celebrate and support diversity and inclusivity across our community and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds perspectives and skillsets. We do not discriminate against any applicants race color religion sex gender identity gender expression sexual orientation national origin age disability or veteran status.

CCPA disclosure notice here.