Product Development Director

Department: Product Creation Development - Supply Chain 

Reports to: Senior Director, Product Creation Development 

Location: Tokyo Creation Centre 

Your opportunity at Arc’teryx: 

As part of the product development team your main role will be to oversee the product development execution of all new styles for the Tokyo Creation Centre (TCC). You will lead highly technical teams in the execution and creation of seasonal product plans from design concepts through pre-production readiness, while ensuring a consistent level of quality, fit, and performance. You oversee fit consistency across the line and ensure that fit represents the requirements of our global consumer base. 

Meet your future team: 

We are a small, high performing team that works closely with all aspects of product creation. The work we do behind the scenes supports Designers and Product Developers to accomplish go-to-market deliverables. You will be part of a focused team of Product Developers, Designers, Design Developers, Pattern Makers, and a Cut & Sew team that works on creating innovative product. Our team builds strong relationships with cross-functional partners to realize ideas into commercialized successes.  
 

You will be part of a focused team of product creation and development that works on creating innovative products at Tokyo Creation Centre (TCC). This team builds strong relationships with cross-functional partners and factories to realize ideas into commercialized successes. 

If you were in the Director, Product Development (TCC) now, here are some of the core activities you would be responsible for:

• Leading, developing and growing a small development team in the Tokyo Creation Centre 

• Being responsible for the development and Fit Approved On Time Buy Ready for all TCC models  

• Driving and ahering to the deliverables of the development process that support the I2C process and timeline.  

• Collaborating with various teams across Supply Chain, Design, Merchandising, Product Operations, and People & Culture to support in building up the creation office and development team in Tokyo 

• Verifying the sourcing strategy with the global sourcing/costing teams on the strategic partners who direct develop for TCC seasonal models from the Makers Phase stage 

• Collaborating with HQ Quality team to establish a quality control process to set up a standard for the pre-seasonal raw material and product development  

• Supporting in the training of new factory resources and ensure that Arc’teryx brand standards are met   

• Supporting the TCC cross functional teams (Design and Merch) to enable the execution of the design vision; providing expectations, goals and deliverables through owning the I2C calendar 

• Partnering with the HQ Product Operations team and making the continuous improvement of the I2C calendar for TCC, including the process management and adherence 

• Managing the organizational capacity of TCC for newness each season; setting guardrails and optimizing workload across each function to enable successful change attitudes 

• Partnering with Product team leads to ensure they have adequate resources to fulfill seasonal requirements 

• Balancing seasonal and concept deliverables in close alignment with Product Creation Development, Design, MP&A, Raw Materials and Sourcing teams 

• Collaborating with leadership to support in identifying areas of process improvement, business calendar and team structure requirements for TCC 

•  Driving and reporting on Product Development KPI’s and metrics applicable to TCC models  

Here are some of the things you could be working on in the future:

• Participating in the key Product Development team meetings/ trainings and proactively seeking the most up to date information from the Design Centre in Vancouver   

• Providing engagement training for current and future vendors 

• Strengthening vendor relations through effective communication and travel, to both domestic and offshore vendors and manufacturers 

• Strategizing and evaluating process on buy ready and prototype turnaround timelines 

Are you our next Director of Tokyo Product Development?

• You have a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Apparel or Textile Design, Technology, Merchandising, or Engineering along with 10+ years’ experience in a design, development, or production environment 

• You have 8+ years in a leadership role 

• You have a strong knowledge of raw materials, technical construction, and sourcing/ costing 

• You have experience effectively communicating with and travelling to domestic and offshore vendors and manufacturers 

• You are able to travel, as required, to Hong Kong, Vancouver, and, the factories throughout Asia, as required 

• You have a complete understanding of the product lifecycle process - from ideation to consumer, including an understanding of production attributes 

• You have a strong knowledge of the Arc’teryx products and apparel processes 

• You have a proven ability to influence and collaborate with groups of cross-functional stakeholders 

• You set a clear vision, align your team around common objectives, and foster commitment to these objectives 

• You demonstrate initiative, agility and commitment 

• You have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal 

• You are detailed and accurately oriented, with strong organizational skills 

• You are proactive in identifying the root cause of issues and developing solutions 

• You inspire breakthrough thinking and continuous improvement 

Equal Opportunity   Arc’teryx is committed to actively creating and fostering a culture of inclusivity where voices are heard, people are seen, and values are respected. We care about the uniqueness of our applicants, employees, and guests, and we do so in a safe space fueled by curiosity and acceptance.    Creating an inclusive workplace is connected to our core value Do Right while also having the added benefit of helping make our business better. We believe inclusion helps us to create a healthier, happier workplace, drive creativity and innovation, and reflect the communities where we operate.     All applicants, employees, and guests can expect equality of opportunity and fair treatment in alignment with our values.   Leave it Better We believe that the mountains transform us, that how we adventure matters, and that there’s always a better way.  Join us in creating positive change in ourselves, our communities, and the world.    Live it. Get out there - the mountains make us better  Disruptive evolution. In pursuit of better. Always.  Commit. We set bold objectives and see them through.