Merchandise Planner
Handshake • Remote
Education
Associate
Type
Hourly
Pay Rate
$80/hr
Listed
7d ago
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From the Handshake listing
Overview
Handshake is looking for retail merchandising professionals to support AI research through flexible, hourly contract work. This is not a traditional job. You'll draw on your hands-on experience with merchandise planning, inventory optimization, and promotional strategy to evaluate AI-generated content and provide feedback that helps AI better understand retail merchandising workflows and planning practices.
This is an ongoing, project-based opportunity that can be done alongside research, teaching, postdoctoral work, or industry employment.
Details
This project involves using your professional experience and hands-on knowledge of the tools you use in your daily work to create expert-level training data and evaluate AI-generated responses for accuracy and relevance. No prior AI experience required.
Fully remote with a flexible, asynchronous schedule and no minimum hour requirement; most contributors work approximately 5–20 hours per week when participating in an active project.
Placement depends on current project needs, with opportunities to be considered for future projects as they become available.
Qualifications
At least 2 years of professional experience in retail merchandising or merchandise planning, in roles such as:
Merchandise Planner or Senior Merchandise Planner
Or equivalent roles in the retail industry
Hands-on experience with merchandising workflows, including:
Demand forecasting and in-season reforecast
Markdown optimization
Hindsight analysis and promotional campaign planning
Strong written communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently and asynchronously with AI research teams.
Work authorization information
F-1 students who are eligible for CPT or OPT may be eligible for projects on Handshake AI. Work with your Designated School Official to determine your eligibility. If your school requires a CPT course, Handshake AI may not meet your school’s requirements. STEM OPT is not supported. See our Help Center article for more information on what types of work authorizations are supported on Handshake AI.
The application process
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Interview Prep
Sample questions for a Merchandise Planner role, written in-house to help you prepare.
How do you build a demand forecast for a product with limited historical sales data, like a new item?
I use comparable products with similar characteristics as a baseline rather than forecasting from nothing, adjusting for known differences like price point or seasonality, and I build in more buffer for uncertainty than I would for an established product with a solid sales history.
What's your process for deciding how much inventory to allocate across locations when demand varies significantly by store?
I allocate based on each location's actual historical sell-through rather than distributing evenly, since even distribution overstocks slow locations and understocks fast ones. I revisit allocation regularly rather than setting it once at the start of a season, since demand patterns can shift.
How do you decide when a forecast needs to be revised mid-season based on early sales data?
I compare actual sell-through against the forecast at defined checkpoints rather than waiting until the season ends to evaluate accuracy, and I revise when the deviation is significant enough to be a real trend rather than normal week-to-week variation. Reacting to every small fluctuation causes more disruption than it solves.
What's your approach to balancing the risk of understocking a popular item against overstocking one that doesn't sell as expected?
I weigh the cost of a stockout, like lost sales and customer dissatisfaction, against the cost of excess inventory, like markdowns, and lean toward the side with the higher expected cost for that specific product category, rather than applying the same buffer to every item regardless of its margin and demand volatility.
Why this role
At $80/hr, this remote Merchandise Planner role pays competitively without asking you to relocate, interview in person, or keep fixed hours in Business.
Talent pool
We're light on Business candidates
We've matched 55 people with a Business background against 1011 Business listings we've tracked, so most go out without one. Set up a profile and we'll consider you for a role like this one.
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Common questions
Can I use Handshake if I graduated years ago?
Probably not a good fit. Handshake's AI Fellowship roles target current university students and early talent within about 1-2 years of graduation. Experienced professionals typically find faster approval and better rates on Outlier or Mercor.
Is Handshake itself the employer for AI training roles?
For the AI Fellowship roles specifically, yes, Handshake acts as the employer of record. That's different from the rest of the site, which functions as a job board listing openings for other companies.
What does task-based AI training work look like?
Practical, hands-on data work: recording short videos, categorizing images, rating text responses, or analyzing data. Tasks are designed to be short and distinct, typically 5 to 60 minutes each.
What does asynchronous AI training work mean in practice?
No set hours, no check-ins, no meetings. You log in when you want, pick up an available task, complete it, and submit; nobody is waiting on you in real time. That's different from remote employment, where you're expected online during business hours. The tradeoff: you're competing with others for available tasks, so an empty queue means there's simply nothing to do until more work is released.
What does Business work look like for a Merchandise Planner?
Tasks here are scoped to Business, not generic labeling. As a Merchandise Planner, expect to draw on real domain judgment (evaluating outputs, correcting errors, or providing expert reasoning specific to Business) rather than following a one-size-fits-all rubric. If you don't have hands-on Business background, this is likely not the right listing to start with.
What specific skills does this listing call for?
Expert is named directly in the listing. If you don't have hands-on experience with this, expect the screening process to test for it directly rather than accepting adjacent experience as a substitute.
How much does this specific role pay?
This listing is posted at $80/hr, an hourly rate. Pay can change between when we last checked the listing and when you apply, so confirm the current number on the platform's own application page before committing time.
What happens when I click Apply on this listing?
You'll be taken to Handshake's external site to complete your application there. This listing links through a referral, but the process is identical to applying directly; the link just routes you correctly. Create an account on their site and follow their onboarding steps.
Are Handshake AI training listings internships?
Some are, some aren't. Handshake lists both standard internships and separate "AI Trainer" fellowships. Check the job description for "1099" or "Contract" language: that signals a freelance role, not W-2 employment.