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Job Description
The Associate Gear Designer is responsible to support the design process and team to deliver products and collections that are inspired, meaningful and brand right. This includes research of trend at macro, industry and competitive levels, and participation with gathering consumer insights to inform design process. The Associate Gear Designer will actively ideate and refine ideas to form a design point of view and reach creative solutions for seasonal product design efforts. Through the process they may share and/ or own product responsibility, and work closely with design partners, materials and development to define all aspects of product design direction. They will be a key support and partner within the overall design team, with expectation to advance personal growth and overall team achievements. They will collaborate with partners across REI and overall supply chain to ensure design vision and intent is delivered to REI’s members.
Responsibilities
Discover, share and apply insights from trend, market, field use, and consumer behavior.
Possess understanding of activities and consumers. Seeks to gain understanding of future consumers
Support, and design of seasonal and long range product lines targeting goals and criteria defined in planning process
Support Design and Materials Team to identify specific fabric direction for each product including performance, sustainability, and aesthetic characteristics
Ideate to explore and create direction for form, function, materials and color for assigned styles
Support design partnership with Insights and Testing teams to understand consumer and product end use performance
Drive documentation of design intent in form of specifications to define product attributes and inform prototype process
Work closely with Design and Development partners through an iterative specification and prototyping process to reach proof of concept and design hand-off
Assist with creative, operations and merchant teams to support the goals of the brand
Champion product design excellence in working meetings and formal presentations
Qualifications
1-2 years prior experience in product design/development, BFA in Industrial Design, related degree and relevant industry experience may be considered
Proven ability to create, express, and apply design point of view to guide product intent to solve for user needs
Demonstrated behavior to be curious, grow to meet new challenges, and create continuous design advancement
Ability to gather, express, and apply market/user trends to guide design direction
Skills to express and develop design thinking with prolific and proficient ideation sketching process
Skills to inform prototype process with ability to consistently document design requirements to align with REI standards
Computer proficiency: Adobe Design Standard required, 3D CAD (Rhino, or Solid works) and rendering desired, All office tools
Confident and clear presentation skills across visual, written, and verbal forms to express design thought
Affinity to working within a team environment to inspire and critique each other to deliver better results
Working knowledge of broad materials and manufacturing process-with ability to research and apply new learnings as required