Director of Quality and Technical Design - Life is Good

You have always known the secret of what great brands do well over time and you learned it the hard way.
While great design and marketing can drive sales, quality keeps customers coming back year after year. You may not always get the accolades you deserve, but you know deep down the details you and your team get right matter to your brand's most loyal fans. For you, this knowledge is deeply gratifying.

Not everyone is wired to care about stitch counts, fit, and consistency, and you get it. Throughout your successful career navigating all of the tradeoffs and timelines, risk and reward, collaboration and compromise, you've found a way to keep the bar high for quality standards and trusting relationships with your peers and partners. You've mastered the art of effectively prioritizing and problem-solving in the face of business priorities and supply chain surprises. Not only do you find deep fulfillment in what you do, you also hire and develop a team that shares your passion for the near-impossible. Props to you. We'd love to talk.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

• This role is based on-site in Hudson, New Hampshire in our brand-new Factory and you can see itHERE
• You must have experience with apparel so please don't apply if you don't
• We use a market-based approach to compensation and have replaced annual salary reviews with bi-annual market reviews.
• We ask some important questions during this process. It's our way of handing you the mic so you can tell us your story. Please don't miss that part and take your time answering the questions.
• A human will read and respond to every application and pay careful attention to your answers. We know that's not the norm. We save the robots for our operations team.

Requirements

YOUR OBJECTIVE

You lead the strategy, team, and processes for all Life is Good Quality and Technical Design outcomes. Through your leadership, the Life is Good product assortment meets established and published standards for fit, appearance, durability, and quality.

YOUR JOB

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Design 

• You and your technical design team deliver effective technical specifications for a diverse and growing assortment of apparel and accessories
• You manage the execution of Life is Good established fit through patterns and specifications for block creation and individual product adherence, fit and grading standards along with construction guidelines to produce and deliver consistent, quality product
• You ensure the team meets milestones and deadlines according to the development calendar
• You identify, communicate, and collaborate to resolve product compliance issues
• You train agents, vendors, and factories regarding LIG fit standards and development requirements
• You create and manage the wear test process for new products and vendors and factories to confirm the product will perform as desired
• You Initiate adjustments as needed from results to improve products before bulk production\

Physical and Performance Testing Compliance 

• You are accountable for the quality of a diverse product mix of apparel and accessories
• You are responsible for raw material and finished product 3rd party testing across all product types and country of origin
• You ensure Life is Good standard quality product is delivered by evaluating and recommending 3rd party labs
• You train technical design staff to assist with seasonal vendor testing charts
• You oversee embellishment testing conducted by vendors and/or internally at LIG for prints, embroidery, and other customized embellishments
• You review all non-compliance issues and determine the appropriate course of action
• You communicate status and quality concerns as needed internally and externally
• You evaluate potential partnership testing

Direct to Garment and Product

• You create and execute wash testing practices to establish approved settings for apparel and accessory products (by fabric type, finish & color) for all internal printing
• You work with suppliers to adjust product wash, finish and dye applications to be compatible and consistent for direct-to-product printing and performance
• You publish clear, executable company standards for internal and external teams
• You conduct routine testing updates to communicate status / complications and action plans to internal teams
• You conduct routine print comparisons of internal Life is Good printing to other print houses; communicate and resolve concerns regarding consistency to internal and external parties as needed

Finished Product Quality – Life is Good Factory

• You are accountable for audits of incoming finished products and embellished products for specification adherence and overall quality execution
• You conduct returns investigations based on customer comments and returns to and implement corrective actions
• You direct any company-required100% inspections

Off-Site Contractor (supporting Peruvian factories)

• You supervise off-site contractors who manage raw materials, finished product QC standards, and manufacturing processes meant to deliver 1st quality products on time
• You ensure alignment with proposed solutions and clearly communicate with all stakeholders

Agents, Vendors & Factories

• You ensure raw materials and finished product processes and standards lead to the delivery of on-time first quality product

3rd Party Inspection / Audits at factory (supporting non-agent factories in Guatemala)

• You establish and train standards and guidelines for 3rd party assessment of new vendors / factories, and those which do not have agent or contractor over site.
• You review finished audit reports, and determine needed actions

3rd Party Sorts for Failed Shipment in the US

• You establish standards for 100% sorts
• You align and communicate with internal and external parties to effectively ship and return merchandise to and from 3rd party partners
• You communicate stock blocks and subsequent actions to internal parties as needed
• You work with vendors to establish alignment with quality expectations and potential costs incurred for the necessary corrective action
• You issue chargebacks as needed

Returns

• You investigate customer returns, and determine, and implement action plans for improvement as needed.
• You communicate and lead resolutions for issues you and your team discover 

Your Experience and Qualifications:

• You have exceptional prioritization skills, flexibility and ability to work autonomously a must
• You have 7-10 years of experience delivering results in Quality and Technical Design in both  apparel and accessories
• You demonstrate extensive knowledge of raw material development, including construction, performance and finishing details
• You know and can effectively evaluate options for raw material manufacturing, garment manufacturing, and accessories
• You understand how fit and design modifications affect garment price
• You've had experience with Centric (or related PLM) and SAP
• Your experience includes international business experience and travel

Your Personal Attributes

• You believe passionately in our mission and the Life is Good Superpowers
• You are skilled and comfortable working independently and as part of a team of dynamic creative professionals
• You are known for your ability to give and receive feedback thoughtfully and constructively without damaging relationships
• You are an enthusiastic brand ambassador and a cultural leader
• You speak and write clearly, simply, and succinctly
• You appropriately differentiate between what is strategic, important, and urgent
• You effectively organize the sequence and workflow of all the details you and your team are responsible for executing
• You proactively anticipate challenges and create multiple solutions to each challenge you identify

You'll Know You're Successful When

• You and your team meet your annual goals
• You are considered a cultural leader at Life is Good
• You have developed healthy and collaborative internal relationships
• You have developed effective long-term partnerships with vendors
• You have delivered better, more consistent product quality of product

Benefits

We’re located in beautiful, scenic Hudson, New Hampshire, and have just moved to a new facility surrounded by green space. We offer an on-site gym with showers, top quality Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, Life, AD&D, Short and Long-Term Disability, 401(k) plan with a match, Paid Time Off (PTO), 10 paid holidays, Good Vibes Time (we pay you to volunteer for the non-profit cause of your choice) and Family Time. And we have dogs. Through your work, you'll contribute to growing our social mission: The Playmaker Project

Life is Good is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against otherwise qualified applicants based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender orientation, or expression, marital status or veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic under applicable federal or state law.