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.