Designer 1 - Equipment

Mountain Equipment Company•Vancouver, BC

35d•Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Director, Product Creation, the Designer 1, Equipment supports the MEC Label Design team through all phases of the seasonal design process. Guided by the MEC design ethos, company values, and business goals, this role contributes to taking products from initial concept through to buy-ready execution. This position is an excellent opportunity for an equipment designer who is passionate about outdoor products, detail-oriented, and eager to build experience across technical gear categories such as packs, shelter, and sleep systems. This is a hybrid role from MEC's Support Office in Vancouver, BC requiring you to be in-office a minimum of 2 days a week.

Requirements

Degree or diploma in Industrial Design, Product Design, or a related field.
4+ years of experience in the equipment or apparel industry, with exposure to technical product development.
Strong understanding of materials, fabrics, trims, and their performance attributes.
Solid knowledge of product construction and the end-to-end development process.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite
The Candidate must be able to read and converse in English.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing outdoor hardgoods across multiple categories, including packs, tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads, is a strong asset.
experience working in a PLM system is an asset.
A collaborative, proactive team player who takes pride in collective output.
Genuine passion for the outdoors and a strong understanding of how equipment is used in real-world environments.
A self-starter, motivated individual is required as part of this small team.
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and contributing solutions as challenges arise.
Detail-oriented, curious, and motivated to continually learn and improve.

Responsibilities

Create seasonal design vision through inspiration and mood boards, concept sketches and renderings.
Test and ideate component parts of your concepts through mini mock ups, field testing or lab tests to validate your ideas.
Create detailed technical drawings to specify each area of your design and work with the development team to bring these to life.
Translate creative ideas into clear, accurate visual communication that supports development and production.
Work with our development team and factory partners to problem solve, streamline and elevate designs.
Travel when needed to work alongside our long standing factory partners to innovate and achieve our design and commercial goals.
Apply commercial, forward-thinking colour and material decisions aligned with brand and category strategy to your designs.
Organise and request lab dips through the use of our PLM system Centric.
Support the Design and Product Development teams by maintaining and updating tech packs in MEC’s PLM system (Centric).
Prepare drawings, colour-ups, and graphic adaptations as products evolve through the development cycle.
Participate in product reviews and support sample evaluation to ensure design intent, fit, quality, and performance standards are met.
Support Product development teams to ensure prototypes are field tested and are fit for use, meeting or exceeding brief requirements.
Respond efficiently and accurately to in-season design requests and updates.
Help ensure seasonal calendars, milestones, and deadlines are consistently met across assigned projects.
Maintain a constant awareness of trends, innovation, and competitor activity within the outdoor, sportswear, and travel & commute industries.
Support seasonal market research and contribute insights to inform product direction and storytelling.
Work collaboratively with Merchants, Product Development, and other cross-functional partners.
Communicate clearly with peers, adapting messaging for different audiences and project needs.