Role: Associate Product Line Manager- Trail Run
Team: Active Layers Business Unit
Scope: Individual Contributor, P2
Years of Experience: 3+
Location: Ventura, CA- Hybrid
Partnering closely with the Product Line Director, the Associate Product Line Manager for Trail Run supports the development and delivery of a globally relevant, best-in-class Trail Run product line that helps maintain and grow revenue, gross margin, and market share while aligning with Patagonia’s mission to save our home planet.
In this role, you will build a strong foundation in understanding the Trail Run consumer, outdoor apparel marketplace, Patagonia’s product range, and product lifecycle. Trail Run will be the primary focus area for this role, with additional support for the Active Essentials category as needed.
The Trail Run category is focused on building athlete-driven solutions that push the edge of sport while protecting the wild places we run. This category spans apparel from next-to-skin layers to outerwear, all developed with the core athlete and sport community in mind.
Through curiosity, attention to detail, and a highly collaborative approach, you will help maintain accurate systems and tools, support seasonal execution, contribute to product storytelling, and enable cross-functional partners to deliver products that perform for the end user and advance our mission to save our home planet.
What You’ll Do:
- Deliver a globally relevant product line of best-in-class products that specifically meets the needs of the Trail Run category, maintain/grow revenue and gross margin, and minimize environmental impact.
- Deliver briefs and other forms of product communication to Design, Development, Marketing, and Materials Teams.
- Support PLD with relevant and current product, competitor, trend, market and customer information for the Trail Run category, and support the Active Essentials category on some projects.
- Assist product director with maintaining the category line plan, retail pricing, color information, and all relevant product information within the PLM system and necessary line planning, pre-lining, and line review tools for Trail Run.
- Work with design and development to ensure all products meet the needs of the customer, fit correctly, executed per the brief, and achieve costing and margin targets.
- In partnership with the product creation team, help develop products that stay true to Patagonia’s design principles and initiatives and meet the needs of the Trail Running category.
- Develop strong working relationships with colleagues across teams and drive the product development process by enabling and empowering others.
- Assist with presentations and discussions with global sales channels, buyers, and key dealers to gather insights that inform product and line development.
- Assist with and create content and lead presentations with global sales channels at Global Line Reviews and Sales Meetings, in collaboration with Sport Category Marketing team.
- When applicable, will also support AE PLM and product director with content for sales and marketing tools, merchandising strategies, and other product planning needs essential for delivering seasonal product collections.
Who You Are:
- Collaborative — works effectively with cross-functional partners to support the Trail Run product line
- Trail Runner – deep understanding and stoke of the sport, community and product
- Inclusive - experienced in collaborating with others across differences.
- Influential - able to engage with others in complicated and emotional workplace issues to collaborate on solutions and action.
- Emotionally intelligent - high level of self-awareness, empathy, and interpersonal skills.
- Nimble – moving from strategic process to tactical execution and back, seamlessly.
- Detail-Oriented - ability to consistently communicate and follow up between external and internal parties and meet deadlines.
- Curious - obsessed with driving new product innovations and exploring the global marketplace.
- Demonstrates Initiative - conscientious and provides complete follow-through on areas of responsibility.
Experience You Bring:
- 3+ years’ experience in sales, product experience in wholesale, retail or direct businesses. Preferably in the outdoor, run apparel industry.
- Experience in the product development process, merchandising and assortment planning processes, strategic product creation process.
- Experience creating strategic assortments of multi-functional, versatile products for various outdoor sports and activities (key consumer trends and moments, aesthetics, preferences, relevant brands, industry collaborations, brand history, etc.)
- Experience in analyzing market trends, competitor products, and customer needs within the alpine and climb sectors
- Experience with Flex PLM or another Product Lifecycle Management System.
- General understanding of apparel construction and sourcing process.
- Strong verbal communication skills and the ability to deliver presentations to large groups.
- Exceptional understanding of business and marketing objectives with a proven record of delivering against KPIs.
Hiring range: $83,000-$87,000 USD Annual
At Patagonia, pay ranges are assigned to a job based on the location specific market median of similar jobs according to 3rd party salary benchmark surveys. Individual pay within that range can vary for several reasons including skills/capabilities, experience, and available budget. The Hiring Range reflects where in the range we intend to hire for this role.
Benefits
Patagonia offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, retirement and leave of absence plans. Benefit plans may vary slightly depending on the nature of your employment.
Workplace Location Overview
This position is Hybrid, with a standard schedule of Tuesday - Thursday on-site and remote work on other days. Occasional additional office visits may be required for team events or critical meetings.
Employee Conduct
It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.
Equal Employment Opportunity
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.
Skills Required
- 3+ years' experience in sales or product roles in wholesale, retail, or direct businesses
- Experience in the product development process, merchandising and assortment planning, and strategic product creation
- Experience creating strategic assortments of multi-functional, versatile products for outdoor sports and activities
- Experience analyzing market trends, competitor products, and customer needs (including alpine and climb sectors)
- Experience with Flex PLM or another Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system
- General understanding of apparel construction and sourcing processes
- Strong verbal communication skills and ability to deliver presentations to large groups
- Exceptional understanding of business and marketing objectives with a proven record of delivering against KPIs
- Preference for experience in the outdoor, run apparel industry
- Trail running experience and deep understanding of the sport, community, and product needs
- Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional partners and drive product development processes
Patagonia Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Patagonia and has not been reviewed or approved by Patagonia.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, with company-paid medical premiums from day one for full- and part-time employees and covered mental-health visit costs. This breadth and employer-paid structure position core medical care as a standout element of total rewards.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental and family leave, on-site child-development centers at select locations, adoption assistance, and childcare subsidies are repeatedly highlighted. These supports are linked to strong return-to-work outcomes and reinforce a family-friendly workplace.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Employees can access fully paid time for mission-aligned programs such as environmental internships and paid activism hours, alongside PTO. This mix expands time-off options beyond standard vacation and sick time.
Patagonia Insights
What We Do
Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is an outdoor apparel company based in Ventura, California. A certified B-Corporation, Patagonia’s mission is to save our home planet. The company is recognized internationally for its commitment to authentic product quality and environmental activism, donating 1% of sales annually, contributing over $100 million in grants and in-kind donations since 1985. We’re always looking for motivated people to join us in our retail stores; at our Ventura, California headquarters; Reno, Nevada Service Center; and occasionally in our overseas offices. We’re especially interested if you love spending as much time as possible in the mountains or the wild, feel more at home in a base camp or on the river than an office, and have a passion for something outside of yourself, whether for surfing or opera, climbing or gardening, skiing or community activism. Learn more about who we are and how we hire by visiting our Careers website at http://www.patagonia.com/us/careers.
