Company Description

Vuori is re-defining what athletic apparel looks like: built to move and sweat in but designed with a casual aesthetic to transition into everyday life. We draw inspiration from an active coastal California lifestyle; an integration of fitness, creative expression and life. Our high energy fast paced retail environment is reflected in the clothes we make. We aim to inspire others to take on all aspects of their lives with clarity, enthusiasm and purpose…while having a lot of fun along the way. We are proud to be an outlet for opportunity and for personal growth and success.

Job Description

As VP, Raw Materials, you will lead, manage, and execute the seasonal material, trim and color development processes, utilizing advanced and innovative product relevant materials, processes, and knowledge. You will manage a passionate material/trim/color creation team from design brief through commercialization to deliver products that exceed consumer expectations. Critical responsibilities include understanding technical yarns, base fabrications, cut and sew apparel manufacturing, fabric mill and wash processes as well as associated limitations, anticipating issues, problem solving, and timely resolution. You will be responsible for demonstrating innovative ideas around material and trim development processes, principles and standards that improve product performance, product value, while creating collaboration across product teams and providing guidance wherever necessary. This is an in-office role, based out of our Headquarters, in Carlsbad, CA. 

This role will report to our SVP of Sourcing and Development, with key relationships across our product, design and production teams.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• People first leadership; nurture the strength and talents of the individuals and build a team committed to achieving common goals while integrating happiness and fun along the way.
• Manage the materials/trim/color seasonal development calendars and contribute to process evolution and execution.
• Engineer and drive material/trim/color development from brief to final production and manage and guide the teams through the development process along each step.
• Responsible for demonstrating innovative ideas around material, trim and color development processes, principles, and standards that improve product performance, product value, while creating collaboration across product teams and providing guidance wherever necessary.
• Establish, report, and analyze department KPI’s as the business evolves and change occurs (including but not limited to sustainability, costing, system accuracy, adoption rates, timelines, etc.).
• Partner with manufacturers on new techniques and technologies to ensure that products incorporate the functional, quality and aesthetic expectations of our end consumer.
• Manage and direct the maintenance of the reference library of approved textiles and trims; with marked approval dates and current technical spec/cost sheets.
• Deliver effective outcomes in performance textile and trim attributes to create a distraction-free consumer experience and favorable product margins.
• Lead, develop, and coach the material, trim and color developers, promoting career development, and managing performance.
• Mentor the material development team and cross-functional partners on material construction, features, and benefits to enhance their knowledge to enable informed decisions to positively impact the garment.
• Work closely with the PLM, Design and Development Teams on the apparel line architecture to understand the projected development of the line and use this information to establish consistency in the line about performance and functional material attributes.
• Oversee coordination and alignment with Taipe innovation, fabric development and testing teams to ensure that all materials pass Vuori’s commercialization process by the specified calendar dates.
• Collaborate with the Sustainability Manger to ensure material development alignment with seasonal waypoints and the long-term direction of the Vuori Sustainability Roadmap.

Qualifications

• BS in Textile Design or related field; may be substituted with relevant experience.
• 15 years of experience in engineering, troubleshooting, and testing performance knits, wovens and trims.
• Innovative and creative mindset, passionate about building and creating.
• 10 years of experience leading, building and managing a team.
• Deep understanding and proven success working textile testing methods, a range of material constructions, and material processes on a global scale.
• Advanced knowledge across many material constructions and processes involved in material development including engineering warps, wefts, and wovens.
• Extensive knowledge in raw material properties, testing, and costing.
• Proficient in PLM system to build, support and maintain digital material library.
• Computer proficiency with office software; MS Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Keynote, and Illustrator.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence in a collaborative, cross-functional group to meet strategic objectives.
• Effective project management skills and experience, including the ability to articulate goals and objectives, manage projects independently and the ability to network and utilize internal and external resources.
• Outstanding communication skills, verbal and written. Advanced ability to communicate new ideas, concepts, and functional expertise within project teams and to external stakeholders.

Additional Information

Pay Range: $230,000 - $250,000

Benefits:

• Bonus Eligible
• Health Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Discount
• 401(k)

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.