Soft Goods Designer

Skip • San Francisco, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a highly motivated and adaptable soft goods designer who is excited to solve problems that have never existed before — because the product category hasn't existed before.
You will own the design and development of the garments that integrate with the MO/GO, starting with a technical pant built to work with our wearable robotic device. This isn't a fashion brief. It's a functional systems design challenge: the garment is part of the product. You'll work hand-in-hand with our mechanical and human factors engineers to make sure fabric, fit, and device work as one.

Requirements

• 8+ years' experience in soft goods design and development, with a focus on technical bottoms
• 5+ years at an outdoor, performance, or technical apparel company — you know what makes a pant work in the field
• Expert-level knowledge of technical fabrics for lower body: stretch wovens, softshells, knits, and the trims and hardware that go with them
• Strong pattern making and garment construction fundamentals — you can read and mark up a pattern, not just a mood board
• Experience writing tech packs and managing factory relationships through production
• Ability to relocate to work at the Skip Bay Area office
• Sense of humour, tolerant of Aussie & Canadian spelling

Nice To Haves

• Experience designing garments that integrate with hardware, bracing, or orthotic devices
• Familiarity with human factors, ergonomics, or biomechanics as they apply to garment design
• Experience with medical or assistive device adjacent apparel (compression, prosthetics interface, exosuit softgoods)
• Experience in start-up or early-stage product environments
• Personal motivation to improve human movement
• Taylor Swift fan. Good taste in background music :)

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and technical development of the MO/GO integration pant from concept through production — pattern making, material selection, fit iteration, and factory handoff
• Define the functional requirements of the garment in close collaboration with our mechanical, firmware, and human factors teams — attachment points, range of motion, load paths, and sensor placement all live in your brief
• Select and qualify technical fabrics and materials for performance bottoms: stretch wovens, knits, softshells, and any novel material that earns its place on the body
• Build and iterate physical prototypes rapidly; run fit sessions with internal wearers and external test users and translate feedback into pattern and material updates
• Own the Bill of Materials, tech packs, and construction specs to a standard that factories can execute reliably at scale
• Establish and manage relationships with fabric mills, trims suppliers, and cut-and-sew factories; understand lead times, MOQs, and what it takes to actually get something made
• Contribute to the long-term Movewear soft goods platform — define the design language, material standards, and construction principles that future products will build on
• Collaborate with our Arc'teryx partners and bring that standard of craft and technical rigour to everything you make
• Wear prototypes on hikes, in the gym, and around the office — your body is a test rig

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed