Sr. Developer, Material Development

Values & Innovation

At Under Armour, we are committed to empowering those who strive for more, and the company's values - Act Sustainably, Celebrate the Wins, Fight on Together, Love Athletes and Stand for Equality - serve as both a roadmap for our teams and the qualities expected of every teammate.

Our Values define and unite us, the beliefs that are the red thread that connects everyone at Under Armour. Our values are rallying cries, reminding us why we're here, and fueling everything we do.

Our pursuit of better begins with innovation and with our team's mission of being the best. With us, you get the freedom to go further - no matter your role. That means developing, delivering, and selling the state-of-the-art products and digital tools that make top performers even better.

If you are a current Under Armour teammate, apply to this position on the Internal Career Site Here. 

Purpose of Role

We seek a Material Development Senior Developer to focus on and elevate Innovation.  The Material Development Senior Developer will focus on Material Innovation and have opportunities to touch all parts of the brand and access the latest technologies and innovations. This is a highly interactive and technical development position that requires materials expertise. Qualified candidates must possess the ability to work with and interpret a diverse supply chain and internal customer network to develop dynamic, high-quality materials for an international and renowned Technical Performance Company. Responsibilities include driving technology transfer to in-line and developing alongside best-in-class material supply partners.  This is an opportunity to be part of a great success story as Under Armour builds and grows its Apparel and Accessories legacy.

Your Impact

• Drive and lead material innovation visually and functionally, evolve material processes, and influence new end-use applications for all product categories. 
• Lead in-season material development while focusing on long-lead and highly engineered, material innovation pipeline 
• Collaborate with other internal Innovation partners to support long-lead, high profile projects (not just limited to textiles). 
• Be a key partner that that fosters an atmosphere of innovative thinking, collaboration, and teamwork. 
• Develop and maintain an understanding of divisional business goals and values and works collaboratively with all cross- functional partners (Product, Design, Merchandising, Color Team, and Strategic Sourcing Teams) to enhance material development and group effectiveness. 
• Deep understanding of how fibers, yarns, knit, and woven constructions, as well as dyeing and finishing affect a material’s performance and aesthetic attributes 
• Explore and ideate beyond the apparel industry in search of new knowledge and ideas that push and challenge the future of Apparel Innovation.
• Develop textiles to an end-specification to ensure quality assurance and commercial viability of a textile through the tested and proven model. 
• Establish a methodological toolkit, and make sure it is shared, understood, and used throughout that connects back to the creative vision and focused performer.
• Understand of all material capabilities, and have the knowledge to research latest trends in all realms of our business; sportswear, fashion, social, consumer, macro, etc. 
• Communicate/visit/collaborate with our vast network of global partner mills, ingredient suppliers, and trade-shows to develop new textile concepts for on-trend (or future trend) textiles 
• Partner with our International Materials Team (based in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Panama) for both technical development and completion of textile specifications for all materials Under Armour engineers from across the globe.

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge and proven experience working in technical textile development and the following principles:
  • Textile apparel materials science experience with familiarity and understanding of all phases of product ideation to commercialization 
  • Natural and synthetic fiber and yarn performance attributes and manufacturing techniques 
  • Understanding of apparel material construction and properties in knitting, weaving, and non-woven constructions 
  • Understanding of apparel material dyeing and finishing processes
  • Knowledge of value-added chemistries (performance enhancement) and mechanical finishes for enhanced performance  
  • End-use, product-specific materials engineering 
  • Understanding of ASTM, AATCC, ISO, and JIS apparel test standards