The The North Face: Designer, Sports Partnerships

Now that you’ve found the job description, what’s next?

At The North Face we dare to lead the world forward through Exploration. We were born to Explore, Disrupt and to Lead. We were born to Love Wild Places and to Spark Curiosity. We believe that exploration is a mindset - both on the mountain and off the mountain - and it infuses everything we do. As a community of explorers, we stay curious about new ideas, places, and people.

So, before we get to the job details, take a minute to learn a little more about us – our values and our culture. If you can see yourself working side-by-side with a team of adventure-loving people, The North Face just may be the place for you.

To learn more about our values and our culture, visit The North Face Careers or www.thenorthface.com.

What will you do?

A day in the life of a Designer, Sports Partnerships at The North Face looks a little like this.

The primary responsibilities of the Designer are to provide design work of innovative and technologically advanced products that meet the needs of the company’s athletes and consumers which in turn drives company sales and profits. This position should be comfortable designing whole collections around coherent themes, functions, prices, etc.   The Designer should be comfortable providing foundation to design team for a collection, combining all necessary trend, material, and market research into a viable product line.  Accountable for the creative production of designs to enhance the product category. Brings a track record of skillful technical design with success on the market and within elite end-users.

Let’s break down that day-in-the-life a bit more.

• Push the performance and aesthetic of The North Face apparel through performance-first design solutions and elevated style, crafting products that serve world-class athletes in their competition, training, recovery, and expressive pursuits. 
• Execute individual designs and collections appropriate to product and design brief. Create high-quality design packages during the design process, using Illustration and Asst Design resources to support design effort.
• Lead the design schedule, balancing both internal and external touchpoints to ensure timely completion of tasks following the product development calendar.
• Utilize athlete feedback as well as research industry and product trends for new information to help inform seasonal design and solve problems for athletes and consumers.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the brand and an excellent working knowledge of the outdoor industry through a personal relationship to snow sports and cross-functional collaboration within the organization.
• Partner with innovation and materials teams to solve real athlete problems and develop innovative fabrications and trims that elevate product.
• Support the team by creating visual presentations and present your work by telling compelling stories to both internal and external stakeholders, most importantly the athletes your designs will be supporting.
• Build relationships with athletes, key external partners and sports marketing to deepen understanding of technical needs, ski and snowboard culture and current trends.

What do you need to succeed?

We all have unique skills that we bring to work and celebrate every day. For this role, there are foundation skills you’ll need to succeed and excel. Additionally, while formal education in a related field is great to have, we are most interested in your 5-8 years of experience and professional achievements. 

The foundation skills you will need in this position are:

• Deep understanding of and connection to athletes and snow sports culture.
• Expertise in flat sketching and with CAD software.
• Experience in creation of design packages and execution of product designs.
• Experience designing athlete-centric performance apparel
• Experience in research and analysis and design/product cycles.
• Strong knowledge of formulating color palettes.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of apparel construction
• Excellent communications skills, including the ability to present concepts to product teams and review boards in a persuasive manner.
• Basic knowledge of manufacturing processes including product costs and impact of design.
• Basic knowledge of textile and material construction and properties.

There are also a few skills that are not required but preferred.

• Bachelor's degree in design (apparel), or equivalent combination of education and experience.