Senior Product Developer (Sustainable Fashion)

Moon Creative Lab is a design-led venture studio based in Palo Alto and Tokyo. We incubate new ventures across an ever expanding array of sectors – healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, technology, industrial and more. 

Moon’s mission is to help Mitsui & Co, one of Japan’s largest organizations, in its pursuit to become a future-forward, entrepreneurial company. Moon works to unlock the creativity of Mitsui’s 45,000 strong global workforce to build innovative businesses that will have an exponential impact on the world. We do this by bringing together the best talent in design, engineering, product and more to create bold new ventures from zero to one. 

At Moon, you will:

• Address real human needs that have far-reaching social impact
• Work across different disciplines, industries, and cultures 
• Start with people and leverage the beauty and messiness of human-centered design

Moon is looking for people who are passionate about unlocking the innate creativity of others while designing impactful businesses. Come join us! 

As a Senior Product Developer, you will be an early member for one Moon’s flagship ventures focused on the Future of Sustainable Fashion. Coming off a round of fresh funding, we’re looking to grow a team that can bring prototypes to the first stages of production, working closely with our business partners — from raw material suppliers and product development firms, to world-renowned consumer fashion brands.

You thrive in a fast-paced, creative, and multicultural environment. You’re driven by your curiosity, and not afraid to ask the hard questions. You strive to understand why, and perhaps most of all, ambiguity is your friend.

You will be in charge of coordinating the overall development, turning our sustainable technical fabrics into real, consumer products. You will be a communicator, a leader, and strategic partner in bringing together our network of researchers, labs, prototyping agencies, and international fashion partners. You have experience working across disciplines - rallying a team of designers, engineers, etc. - to go from an idea to production.

You have experience utilizing a lean start-up approach to: (I) run hypothesis-driven iterations; (ii)  craft a go-to-market strategy; and (iii) build a minimum viable business and . You are prone to action and are comfortable in fast-paced ambiguous environments. Being resourceful is second nature, and you believe that more can be done with less.

You are proactive in finding solutions even if the obvious solution is right in front of you. You like to ask the right questions, synthesize multiple perspectives, and then find the critical path to making the best solution come to life. You are comfortable getting your hands dirty, but find ways to make things run more smoothly next time.

This will be a high touchpoint role where you will work across disciplines: between design, engineering, our business partners, and company leadership. You’re an over-communicator who is able to eloquently bring the right context to the stakeholders you’re working with.

• Manage and monitor the execution of the business strategy and plans for the Apparel business ensuring a quality product is consistently delivered.
• Be a strategic thought partner in developing the overall business strategy, product roadmap, and timeline for deliverables.
• Build, manage and maintain Time and Action Calendars for new products across each factory and country.
• Develop and manage the product calendar for seasonal deliveries and special events.
• Monitor & communicate status of material research and development, product design, and supply chain. Must fully understand garment-manufacturing process to insure compliance to all lead times.
• Analyze all price quotes, work with merchants to insure target costs are achieved, and understand fabric and material costs.
• Uphold strong quality standards & approve all materials for appearance, quality, weight and hand-feel, using formal guidelines and technical knowledge.
• Approve prototype samples for style details and construction.
• Manage workflow from initial sketch through final placement of styles.
• Establish and manage tracking tools for all products in development through final production. Keep up on daily communication with overseas offices and factories.
• Train and manage product development team.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners & company leadership in design, development, retail and marketing to communicate and educate product knowledge, ensure successful line launches and receive feedback for continued improvements.
• Travel to factories, retail outlets, trade shows as necessary to execute and follow through on brand strategies.
• Analyze business results at retail and competitor trends and adjust future product assortments as necessary to maximize sales, profitability, and inventory turns; while maintaining brand integrity standards.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years of product development for consumer apparel or related products
• Must fully understand garment-manufacturing process to insure compliance to all lead times.
• Strong communication and presentation skills: written and verbal.
• Appropriate interpersonal styles and communication methods to work effectively with internal and external partners
• Product Launch experience (apparel products preferred). Proven success working on new product initiatives and delivering products
• Possess eye for creativity and quality in product execution.

• Comfort working with prototyping tools & relevant equipment (3D Printers, Laser Cutters, etc.)
• Experience working at start-ups
• Experience applying human-centered design thinking
• Able to travel for business especially between Moon offices (Silicon Valley and Tokyo)
• Experience working with distributed teams across multiple time zones
• Japanese language skills

If you identify with Moon's values and would like to contribute to our work, please submit your resume and cover letter (optional)

Moon Creative Lab is an equal opportunity employer; applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital, parental, veteran or military status, unfavorable military discharge, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.