• Partner with global ingredient suppliers to aid in regional textile development
• Work interactively with not only existing network of supply chain partners, but also external resources of institutes, organizations, and corporations for fostering innovative and sustainability thinking with collaboration Visit trade shows to develop new textile concepts for future trend textiles
• Drive and lead material innovation functionally and visually, evolve material processes, and influence new end-use applications for all product categories
• Be a key integrator between both internal and external teams to drive and support materials innovation projects and exploration for all product categories assuring that all material initiatives meet UA’s goals of sustainability
• Partner with all Materials Development functions to focus on UA’s Innovation Pipeline. Support all teammates on communication with in-region partners for troubleshooting relating to innovative materials and technologies
• Partner with global supply-chain team to support sustainable scale-up of new textiles, manufacturing process, and chemistries
• Lead the in-region internal and external partners to ensure that all Innovation initiatives are properly organized, developed, tested, and well-presented while meeting UA’s sustainability goal for success
• Develop and maintain an understanding of divisional business goals and values and works collaboratively with all cross- functional partners to enhance material development and group effectiveness across all regional offices
• Establish processes and practices for realizing vision, pushing the limits, and aligning aesthetics with material capabilities in terms of functionality, aesthetically, durability, and sourcing infrastructure
• Explore and ideate beyond the apparel industry in search of new knowledge and ideas that push and challenge the future of Apparel Innovation and enhances regional offering
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, Merchandising, and Strategic Sourcing teams to lead-in and determine each category’s material direction based on their business needs
• Be able to decipher how fibers, yarns, knit and woven constructions, dyeing and finishing affect a materials aesthetic and performance attributes at a high level
• Collaborate with internal Innovation partners to support long-lead, high profile projects (not just limited to textiles)
• Help to establish a methodological toolkit, with a regional footprint and make sure it is shared, understood, and used throughout the team that connects back to the creative vision