Director, Innovative Apparel Product Development

Yeti Coolers; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

YETI is seeking a Director of Product Development, Apparel to lead end-to-end development across performance and lifestyle apparel categories. You will partner with Product Management, Design, Sourcing, Technical Design, Quality, and manufacturing to deliver premium, brand-right garments from concept through production.

With 12+ years in apparel product development and deep expertise in garment construction, fit, and materials, you will drive scalable processes, manage calendars, and optimize

Qualifications

• 12+ years of apparel product development experience across performance, outdoor, active, lifestyle, and/or branded apparel categories.
• Bachelor's degree in Apparel Development, Fashion Design, Textile Science, Product Creation, or a related field required; Master's degree preferred.
• Strong understanding of fabrics, trims, wash techniques, embellishments, garment performance attributes, and commercialization requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to manage global factory, mill, and supplier relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end product development across YETI's branded and performance apparel categories, ensuring products meet high standards for quality, fit, durability, performance, manufacturability, and commercial viability
• Build and continuously improve scalable apparel development processes, tools, operating rhythms, and organizational capabilities to support the long-term growth of the apparel business
• Partner cross-functionally with Product Management, Design, Sourcing, PS&C, Quality, and manufacturing partners to bring seasonal product concepts to market
• Own the apparel development calendar across multiple seasons and categories, managing key milestones, decision points, risks, and commercialization readiness from concept through production approval
• Oversee technical product documentation and sample-stage execution, including tech packs, specifications, graded measurements, BOMs, PLM data, prototypes, fit samples, wear testing, salesman samples, pre-production samples, and final production approval
• Lead decisions across materials, trims, packaging, construction, garment engineering, fit standards, and manufacturing methods to deliver premium, brand-right apparel
• Develop and manage strategic relationships with global factories, mills, trim suppliers, and manufacturing partners to drive innovation, quality, speed to market, cost optimization, and long-term capability building
• Champion material, construction, manufacturing, and process innovation that improves product performance, consumer value, operational efficiency, and margin while preserving product integrity
• Proactively identify and resolve development, quality, costing, manufacturing, supply chain, compliance, and commercialization risks before production approval

Skills

Apparel development

Leadership

Garment construction

Patternmaking

Fabric knowledge

Costing & margins

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

PLM tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Apparel Development

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Centric PLM

Job description

YETI is seeking a Director of Product Development, Apparel to lead end-to-end development across performance and lifestyle apparel categories. You will partner with Product Management, Design, Sourcing, Technical Design, Quality, and manufacturing to deliver premium, brand-right garments from concept through production.

With 12+ years in apparel product development and deep expertise in garment construction, fit, and materials, you will drive scalable processes, manage calendars, and optimize