The North Face: Product Developer, Apparel

This role works under the guidance of the Product Development team's senior leadership and executes department initiatives. The postholder independently owns the end-to-end development of assigned styles of moderate to high complexity, with manager support as needed, ensuring products meet design intent, quality, cost and calendar requirements. The role partners cross-functionally with global teams and vendors, and works closely with Design to translate overall aesthetic intent into 3D and physical proto samples.

• Independently own the end-to-end development of assigned styles of moderate to high complexity, balancing quality, cost, manufacturability and speed while resolving development challenges.
• Own, build, maintain and approve accurate bills of materials for all assigned styles, ensuring trims, components, colourways, placements and construction details align with design intent, cost targets and production handoff requirements.
• Partner with Design to translate the overall aesthetic into 3D and physical proto samples, ensuring garment construction and BOM meet or exceed expectations of quality and cost.
• Own the specifications for products and publish and maintain all records, style files, bills of materials and samples associated with the product and related programmes.
• Partner with Design, Technical Design, Standards, Merchandising, Materials, Sourcing, QA, factories and vendors to deliver best-in-class products and resolve construction, fit, workmanship and documentation needs.
• Support the Costing team with costing validation, consumption analysis and material-efficiency reviews with vendors.
• Own buy readiness, discrepancy resolution and seasonal product development communication with sourcing and vendors.
• Commercialise assigned styles from SMS to bulk production, including product reviews, prototype evaluations, teardown analysis, margin reviews, risk assessments and commercialisation readiness activities.
• Lead the cross-functional team through a review of execution at each proto stage, providing guidance and knowledge on construction, and foster a collaborative and collegial environment across the technical development team and with cross-functional partners.
• Identify and assist in developing department guidelines and standards to ensure operational excellence and consistency across teams, and drive continuous improvement within assigned product categories.
• Train and work in 3D software to review and create virtual prototypes and/or leverage vendor-created 3D assets to shorten prototype approvals and iterations.
• Monitor calendar adherence, track development changes and proactively manage risks to support production readiness.
• Travel seasonally to overseas manufacturers to support product execution, vendor alignment and production readiness.
• Working knowledge of bills of materials, specs and tech packs, with experience in PLM/PDM systems and 3D programmes (Browzwear, Clo, Optitex).

• 4+ years of experience in apparel product development.
• Degree in Product Development, Apparel Design or a related field, and/or equivalent work experience.
• Familiarity with patternmaking and grading.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including fluency in English.
• Strong product acumen with knowledge of apparel product development processes, tools and systems, including development, sourcing and manufacturing.
• Excellent collaboration skills and an ability to manage multiple timelines and deadlines.
• High degree of agility and adaptability, with an ability to work under pressure and navigate change with open-mindedness and flexibility.
• A keen interest in innovation and a passion for products.
• Growth mindset and enthusiasm for learning new tools and problem-solving.
• Passion for the work and for getting outside and living it.
• Eligible for additional compensation awards that may include an annual incentive plan, sales incentive or commission potential; specific details of additional compensation eligibility are provided during the recruiting and interview process.

• Fluency in any language in addition to English is a plus.

• Benefits are offered through VF Corporation, with a general overview of each benefit programme available and detailed information provided during the hiring process.