Director, Design – Tokyo Design Center

If you were in the Director, Design role now, here are some of the core activities you would be doing:

• Building design direction that delivers against the brand vision, product strategy, regional opportunity and company goals
• Leading a team of cross-disciplinary, multi-cultural creators with a broad range of backgrounds and expertise.
• Provide continual communication to counterparts throughout the organization to ensure visibility, alignment and support
• Providing direction to product design teams to enable successful execution of seasonal range plans and new category concepts, as aligned with the Merchandising team, that deliver against the Design vision, product strategy and company goals
• Leading and empowering the product design team to identify and create comprehensive and innovative design solutions, technologies, construction methods and components that are in-line with Arc’teryx design values by providing high level design direction
• Solving for a wide range of environments and climate conditions that allow the user to move at their peak performance as a mountain athlete
• Participating in broader organizational strategy and planning as a key member of the Design leadership team
• Collaborating and aligning with Senior Director, Design on Arc’teryx product strategy in line with the Design vision
• Collaborating with Advanced Concepts in the creation of innovative platforms to support new product opportunities.
• Presenting product direction at seasonal stage gates
• Traveling globally to research product, participate in activities and attend industry events

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

• Creating a culture of unmatched product excellence and consumer knowledge through the unique lens of the Asia Pacific mountain athlete
• New product concepts and opportunities driven by local and regional insights and influence
• Hiring, coaching, and inspiring a team of talented designers to drive innovation and creative vision
• Continuously innovating and evolving our product to meet and exceed the needs of the guest

Are you our next Director, Design?

• You have a Degree in Apparel Design, Industrial Design or Textile Engineering
• You have 12+ years of industry experience in technical apparel and or performance hardgoods design and/or production, including 5+ years leading design teams
• You have an excellent softgoods knowledge of technical garments, footwear, and gear construction and materials
• You have a relationship with and knowledge of climbing, skiing and hiking culture, and you deeply understand the end-user needs of these athletes
• You have a keen interest in technical product and its application to a variety of outdoor activities
• You have the ability to relocate to Tokyo, with frequent travel throughout the region
• You are comfortable in a mutli-lingual, multi-cultural working environment
• You are proactive in identifying the root cause of issues, seeking the best (sometimes not the easiest) solutions with an unwavering commitment to do what is right
• You remain highly flexible and adaptable when faced with ambiguity
• You effectively balance autonomy and collaboration
• You inspire breakthrough thinking and continuous improvement
• Your passion for your work is paralleled by your passion for getting outside and living it