The North Face: Senior Designer, Product Design, Apparel

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 Senior Designer, Performance Apparel at The North Face looks a little like this.

You will push the performance and aesthetic of The North Face apparel through performance-first design solutions, and elevated style. You will work with the broader Performance Apparel design team to build new innovation into global apparel design. You will work on a mixture of Performance Apparel product across Outerwear, Mid and First Layers, as well as Next to Skin Activewear. You will work on both Women’s and Men’s product and will work on a mixture of product across Summit Series (Snow / Climb / Run) and Mountain Sports (Snow / Hike / Run / Active) lines depending on seasonal design workload. You will be a team player, hold yourself to a high standard, and help push The North Face to be the number 1 global outdoor brand.

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

• Have a solid understanding of the Global Outdoor customer and be aware of market/cultural/recreational trends that they may be engaged in.
• Drive seasonal trend and technical research. 
• Present your design work to cross functional teams and management in a professional, confident manor.
• Work on in-season styles and either create new product franchise design DNA in-line with Performance Apparel Design guidelines, or add to existing product franchises while honoring existing DNA.
• Work with Athletes and consumer feedback to distil feedback to improve product through a problem solving lens.
• Be an influencer with your peers to drive design intent through to product launch.
• Partner with Materials team to develop and source fabrics and trims relevant for product category.
• Use Illustrator to create design tech packs.
• Hand over tech-packs of new styles to TD team on time and in full
• Work with the Product Management team during the product lifecycle to be aware of and contribute to the delivery of business targets.
• Attend fittings and ensure that quality, design intent and perfect fit are maintained through the prototyping process.
• Work closely with your Technical Development partner to ensure that sketch updates and proto comments are delivered promptly.
• To take on ad hoc projects or other responsibilities as appropriate.

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:

• Experience with athletic / outdoor / sportswear apparel design across genders.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of apparel construction with flat sketching and illustrating expertise.
• Hands-on experience with Adobe creative suite CAD software.  3D software (Browzwear) a plus but not required.
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience in creating high-quality, detailed tech packs.
• Comprehensive knowledge of cost engineering process and ability to design to cost.
• Strong experience in fitting.
• Understanding of category silhouette needs for sports and strong sense of aesthetic.
• Experience with developing performance materials, trims and color palettes.
• Strong presentation skills and ability to story-tell and present product in a persuasive manner.
• Proficient communication skills with cross-functional teams and vendors.
• Working knowledge of product cycles and understanding of core deadlines.

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

• Bachelor's degree in design (apparel