Senior Design Developer - Tokyo Creation Centre

Department: Design 

Reports to: Director, Design

Location: Tokyo, Japan 

Your opportunity at ARC’TERYX:

As Senior Design Developer, you bring your curiosity to find creative solutions for a better way to innovate product for the mountain athlete. You are a passionate builder, responsible for creating concepts that inspire discovery and experimentation. You anchor and resolve practices and process between the design intention and the factory output. In close collaboration with cross functional teams, you manage progress from conception through to a scalable proof of concept. This role is based out of our Tokyo office and is expected to be performed on-location.

Meet your future team: 

You will be joining a Design Team that creates innovative, beautiful product, that exceeds the core mountain athlete’s needs in the outdoors. The Tokyo Creation Centre is a ground-up, entrepreneurial undertaking that will accelerate our business, elevate our product and define the next chapter of the Arc’teryx brand. Our team prioritizes passion, flexibility, and a connection to the Tokyo creative community through design, and a start-up mentality is the key to the success of this new endeavor. Fueled by curiosity, we take an immersive approach to identifying future needs, then build, test, and validate products that solve for real functional challenges. We are innovative problem solvers with a focus on collaborative teamwork.

If you were the Senior Design Developer now, here are some of the core activities you would be responsible for:

• Contributing to Advanced Concepts projects by developing unique and resolved solutions through patterning and prototyping, ensuring alignment with Arc'teryx design philosophies
• Leading complex and challenging projects through evolving an initial vision, either verbal or illustrated, and bringing them to life 
• Mentoring the Design Developers and sharing your depth of knowledge with them team 
• Collaborating with Designers, Pattern Makers, and Product Developers to document and communicate new construction processes, techniques and manufacturing solutions that meet Arc’teryx requirements 
• Building partial or complete concept prototypes to allow solutions to be tested, reviewed, and validated
• Working closely with our Pattern Making, Product Development, Fit & Pattern and Engineering teams to validate and implement new fit/pattern standards 
• Testing various materials to assess suitability for various construction techniques and end uses, providing recommendations on final selection as well as diligently documenting information and results throughout the process 
• Providing guidance to the Sample and Design teams and respond to problems as they arise 
• Work on a variety of product categories from apparel to equipment as well as exploring new categories beyond where the brand is today 
• Help to develop proprietary solutions with unique intellectual properties 
• Supporting in compilation of project scope, activities, and expenditures, of projects deemed eligible for submission to funding programs (SR&ED, IRAP, NRC, MITACS, and so forth) 
• Contributing to the future of Arc’teryx product circularity initiatives and goals 

Here are some of the things you could be working on in the future:

• Building full product concepts for athletes to test under extreme conditions 
• Contributing to future circular products 
• Re-thinking how products could be built through new novel constructions 
• Testing and validating new materials/constructions to ensure they last the lifetime of the product, while focusing on performance 

Are you our next Senior Design Developer?

• You have 7+ years’ experience working in a technical design environment, with 1+ years’ experience leading a team 
• You have a diploma or degree in Fashion Design, Industrial Design or the equivalent experience 
• You have previous pattern making experience, particularly CAD experience with Gerber, Clo3D, or the equivalent 3D software 
• You have business-level English communications skills 
• You are an expert level sewer, builder, and patternmaker 
• You are proficient in Microsoft Office and Adobe Illustrator, with the ability to pick up new computer applications quickly 
• You are proactive in identifying the root cause of issues and developing solutions 
• You remain highly flexible and adaptable when faced with ambiguity 
• You are able to balance autonomy and collaboration 
• You inspire breakthrough thinking and continuous improvement 
• You seek the best (but sometimes not the easiest) solutions, with an unwavering commitment to do what is right 
• Your passion for your work is paralleled by your passion for getting outside and living it 
• A strong knowledge of Arc’teryx products and interest/involvement in activities Arc’teryx makes products for 

Equal Opportunity

Arc’teryx is committed to actively creating and fostering a culture of inclusivity where voices are heard, people are seen, and values are respected. We care about the uniqueness of our applicants, employees, and guests, and we do so in a safe space fueled by curiosity and acceptance. 

Creating an inclusive workplace is connected to our core value Do Right while also having the added benefit of helping make our business better. We believe inclusion helps us to create a healthier, happier workplace, drive creativity and innovation, and reflect the communities where we operate.

All applicants, employees, and guests can expect equality of opportunity and fair treatment in alignment with our values.

Leave it Better

We believe that the mountains transform us, that how we adventure matters, and that there’s always a better way. 

Join us in creating positive change in ourselves, our communities, and the world. 

Live it. Get out there - the mountains make us better 

Disruptive evolution. In pursuit of better. Always. 

Commit. We set bold objectives and see them through.