Merchandising & Category Management Specialist

Overview

Handshake is looking for Merchandising & Category Management 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 pricing strategy, markdown planning, and competitive analysis to evaluate AI-generated content and provide feedback that helps AI better understand merchandising and category management workflows and 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 merchandising, category management, or buying, in roles such as:

• Merchandiser
• Merchandise Planner
• Category Manager
• Buyer
• Or equivalent roles in the retail industry

Hands-on experience with merchandising and category management workflows, including:

• Pricing strategy (including tariff and competitive pricing analysis)
• Markdown optimization and hindsight analysis
• Promotional campaign planning

Strong written communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently and asynchronously with AI research teams.

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.