Director Design, Development and Sourcing Fish & Hunt Hard Goods & Gear – Remote

We are seeking a Director Design, Development, and Sourcing Fish & Hunt Hard Goods & Gear to join the Orvis Team! Strongest preference is for someone in our Sunderland, VT office regularly. For candidates not local to Sunderland, expectation is one week/month in Sunderland.

As a Director Design, Development, and Sourcing Fish & Hunt Hard Goods & Gear, you play a pivotal role in leading the design and development of our most innovative and technologically advanced Orvis branded products. You are responsible for overseeing the entire product lifecycle from concept to launch, focusing on innovation, quality, and market trends within the fishing tackle and hunting industry. This role combines technical expertise in materials and engineering with creative direction and team management. You will be a key leader on the Product Team, comprised of 2 direct reports as well as the lead designer of all reels, waders, and wading boots. You will partner with our Product Leadership Team to create clear roles and responsibilities, define our new processes, and identify opportunities for simplification and efficiency. As a leader of multiple team members, you will inspire, guide, teach and elevate your team – owning their professional development and career paths.

For more than 170 years the Orvis name has stood for outdoor traditions, quality, and customer satisfaction. At Orvis, we do not sell what we, ourselves, would not be proud to own or give as a gift. Our associates deserve to be proud of our service and our products, and we rely on every associate to apply our “pride of ownership” credo to drive our quality. “Good enough” is not our standard. We need to strive for perfection in our products and customer service, to propel our growth and the pride that will fuel our team.

Position Interfaces:

This position reports to our Vice President of Product Design, Development, Sourcing, & Import Compliance and interfacing with multiple areas including merchandising, inventory management, marketing, finance, sourcing, wholesale, retail operations, manufacturing and ownership of the company. It is a director role that involves supervision of the Fish/Hunt Hard Goods product design, development/sourcing team. This is an exempt/ salary position.

Responsibilities:

• Lead a customer-obsessed Fish and Hunt Hard Goods Product Design & Development/Sourcing Team
• Lead a culture of partnership, communication, and collaboration across the organization
• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a strategic plan for new product design and development that aligns to deliver the Assortment Strategy, thus ensuring alignment with market and customer needs as well as company and financials goals, specifically target retail, AUC and IMU across all Fish/Hunt Hard Goods products.
• Design Inspiration – Lead the Hardgoods / Innovation Design Kickoff, the Design “blank canvas” to push the Orvis brand forward and ensure that we are leaders in innovation.
• Design Partnership – Partner and collaborate with Soft Goods Designer on seasonal
• Design Kick Off, DDR and Line Adoption Meetings to ensure a One Orvis Design POV
• Product Lifecycle Management: Oversee all phases of product design and development for Fish & Hunt Hard Goods, from initial concepting and prototyping to field testing and manufacturing to on time product launch. Ensure that the Hardgoods PDD and Sourcing team is prepared on time for all milestones and inspire cross functional partners across all Hardgoods to prepare milestones and ensure they happen on time.   
• Deliver the Line: Ensure that the products agreed upon through the Design Kickoff and Assortment Strategy deliver on time and are discussed at DDR 1, 2 and Final Line Adoption.  Aim for 90% of products aligned upon launch on time.
• People Management - Coach the team by providing consistent and candid feedback to ensure great partnership and collaboration with cross functional partners.  Guide team to have effective communication and influence decision making. Hold the team accountable for milestone preparation and on-time delivery of product.  Inspire the team to make decisions in milestones to reduce swirl and to keep all key partners up to date.
• People Development – Develop and empower direct reports by coaching and mentoring to build skills and support individual career development
• Mentorship: Provide mentorship to associates within the organization.
• Market and Trend Analysis: Utilize expert knowledge of fishing and hunting techniques, gear preferences, and market trends to identify new opportunities and guide/influence product design decisions and to deliver an industry-leading Design Kickoff.
• Collaboration and Communication: Work closely with cross-functional teams including leadership, marketing, sales, and customer service to ensure a cohesive user experience and effective product positioning, most importantly at key milestones.
• Vendor Management: Partner closely with our vendors to negotiate product pricing, ensuring financial goals are met – ensure vendors are clear on product design requirements within the cost parameters set to meet retail and IMU targets
• Budget Management – Partner closely with the Vice President of Product Design, Development, Sourcing, & Import Compliance to ensure accurate operating expense budget forecasting and adherence to budgeted monthly/annual cost spend
• Calendar Management - Partner closely with the Vice President of Product Design, Development, Sourcing, & Import Compliance to refine, enforce and adhere to seasonal development calendar dates and milestone meetings
• Quality Control: Responsible for the overall quality of the final product as measured by return rates and/or product recalls.
• Steward of the brand – Partner with Marketing and Brand Amplification team to align regular travel to regional training events, sales meetings, key wholesale accounts and industry trade shows. Knowledgeable of product performance, durability, and regulatory standards and maintain a continuous pulse on industry trends and competitors.  
• Proactively recommend and/or execute new processes, procedures, SOPs to provide clarity and simplification for the Product Team
• Support the Vice President of Product Design, Development, Sourcing, & Import Compliance and Chief Product & Creative Officer with projects and initiatives that benefit the entire organization
• Manage internal testing of all products in a way that is consistent with our brand standards
• Accountable for our field-testing program to ensure 90-day field testing is complete prior to SMS sample ordering PO placement
• Accountable for on-time delivery of photography, tradeshow, marketing and SMS rep samples
• Partner closely with Vice President of Product Design, Development, Sourcing, & Import Compliance to influence our manufacturing and vendor placement for Fish/Hunt Hard Goods Orvis branded products.  
• Create relationships across our all-product categories to ensure we deliver a One Orvis experience for our customers.
• As a Director, think beyond your function.  Proactively anticipate and solve problems that are One Orvis challenges.  Give leverage to the leaders around you by taking on projects or solving problems that go beyond your function, therefore giving time back to those around you.

Competencies and Requirements:  

• Education: A strong background in mechanical engineering or industrial design  
• Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of fishing rod, reel, wader, boot, packs, bags, apparel materials, design tools, and manufacturing processes.
• Leadership: Proven leadership skills to guide teams, inspire innovation, and manage complex projects.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across departments and partner in problem solving.
• Problem-Solving: Strong capacity for creative problem-solving and finding innovative solutions for design and production challenges.
• Real-world Experience: Practical, real-world fishing experience and an understanding of angler needs  
• 10+ years of Product Design & Development experience with a proven track record of helping to create a positive, supportive and inspiring work environment 
• 5+ years of experience managing a team with a proven track record of excellent leadership, collaboration, and coaching skills.  Ability to inspire, support, coach, teach and direct team – and the ability to know which is needed in each situation.  Empathetic, supportive, and direct leadership style.
• Highly proficient in cost estimating with baseline inputs, understand relationship between like for like style, COO, duties and freight
• Strong organizational, prioritization and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail
• Management of the team for on schedule design and development of best-in-class Orvis branded products
• Efficiency: reduced spin and reduced need for communication outside of milestones by maintaining process and calendar discipline
• Quality as measured by returns and recalls, as well as feedback from customers, sales personnel in retail and wholesale, and the endorsed guide network
• Margin rate, cost of goods and sourcing strategies for Orvis branded products
• Increase in sales and gross margin dollars

Orvis Company associates take pride in our world-class service and products, treating customers, vendor partners, and each other with integrity and mutual respect. We work in a supportive, team-oriented environment, focusing on performance, continuous improvement, and exceeding our customers’ expectations – both internal and external. The Orvis Company and our associates are committed to giving back to our communities and protecting nature.

About Orvis:

In 1856, Charles Orvis founded the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont, offering the finest fly fishing equipment, and priding himself on customer satisfaction and service. Today, along with our world famous fly-fishing gear, Orvis offers distinctive clothing, home furnishings, gifts, and dog products. Each item is rooted in our heritage of authenticity and the outdoors, and is backed with a no-questions-asked guarantee. With our flagship retail store located in the same Vermont village as the original store since 1856, we offer experience and knowledge that no other retail company can. Each day we strive to apply what we know and learn to bring our customers even better service and products tomorrow.

Orvis is headquartered in beautiful Southwestern Vermont with operations in Roanoke, Virginia and the U.K. We firmly believe that the only way for Orvis to achieve its vision to be the most respected lifestyle brand in America, is to have a company culture that is supportive and inspiring to the individuals that will get us there.

Orvis offers competitive compensation commensurate with scope of responsibilities and experience required; plus a comprehensive benefits package including medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, 401K, generous associate discounts, and other excellent benefits.

To access our California Applicant Privacy Notice, follow this link: https://www.orvis.com/california-applicant-notice.html

To learn more and connect with Orvis, please visit us online www.orvis.com.