About the Role
At Athleta, we’re more than a performance and lifestyle brand – we’re a diverse community who creates for women with women. We are looking for a Senior Designer to lead and design our "Recover" business, which includes our fleece, sweatshirt, and cozy collections. This position will play a critical role in developing comfortable, and trend-forward pieces that embody our commitment to style, comfort, and sustainability.As a Senior Designer for Recover, you will work in our San Francisco headquarters, where you will manage the end-to-end design process – from concept to final product – while ensuring the highest level of quality, innovation, and design integrity. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, bring an entrepreneurial spirit, and have a passion for creating beautiful, high-quality products. You will report to the Senior Director of Design and have one direct report.
What You'll Do
Design Leadership: Lead the design direction for Athleta’s "Recover" collections, focusing on fleece and cozy apparel, ensuring alignment with the brand’s aesthetic and customer needs. Develop and manage the creative execution of Athleta products within brand guidelines.
Material Expertise: Leverage a deep understanding of materials to identify innovative and sustainable fabrics that enhance comfort and performance. Offer direction on yarn qualities and trims to ensure optimal product development.
Creative Vision: Develop seasonal concepts, color direction, and silhouettes that align with Athleta's brand & customer values, while balancing fashion trends, core items, and emerging opportunities for Merchant and Product Development review.
Product Development: Collaborate closely with product development and technical design teams to ensure impeccable fit, construction, and attention to detail across all collections. Oversee the creation of tech packs, dimension specs, and first proto sample evaluations.
Cross-functional Collaboration: Work with Merchandising, Marketing, and Production teams to ensure cohesive, on-trend, and commercially successful designs. Collaborate with Merchants on classification merchandising and trend messaging timing.
Trend Research: Stay ahead of fashion, lifestyle, and performance trends through competitive shopping and market research, ensuring Athleta remains a leader at the intersection of style and performance.
Innovation in Design: Bring a fresh, forward-thinking approach to fleece and cozy collections, focusing on novelty fabrics, construction techniques, and unique styling elements. Guide the concept board and CAD development process for line review presentations.
Proactive Problem Solving: Drive results in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, finding creative solutions and proactively managing the design process from concept to execution. Communicate regularly with vendors on design details.
Entrepreneurial Spirit: Be a self-starter with ownership of the "Recover" category, consistently pushing design boundaries to elevate product offerings.
Mentorship: Mentor and provide design expertise to the team, fostering growth and development to build the brand's creative vision.
Who You Are
Minimum of 7 years of design experience, preferably in the performance, lifestyle, or athleisure categories.
High level of taste and design acumen with a proven ability to translate trends into commercially successful products.
Expertise in materials, fabric construction, fit, and garment construction, with a strong emphasis on knit, sweatshirt and fleece categories.
CAD proficiency - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and/or CAD software – 3D knowledge a plus
Hand illustration also a plus – croquis creation / key looks sketching
Strong organizational skills - proficiency in Microsoft applications
Proactive, entrepreneurial mindset with a track record of managing multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.
Strong team player who thrives in a collaborative setting and demonstrates excellent communication skills.
Passion for Athleta’s mission of empowering women and promoting sustainability in fashion.