Hiring: Director of Development, Accessories & Apparel Company: WHOOP Location: Boston, MA Job Posted Time: 2026-09-10 12:45:44 About the job Experience: •10+ years of experience in product development, materials development, or a related role within performance apparel, footwear, wearables, accessories, consumer products, or adjacent categories •3+ years of experience leading and developing high-performing product development and/or materials teams, with experience building teams or organizational capabilities preferred Required Skills: •Lead end-to-end product development across bands, apparel, accessories, materials, and emerging product categories, driving execution from early concept through commercialization and production readiness •Lead, coach, and grow the Accessories & Apparel development team, initially spanning materials and product development, while building the organizational capabilities needed to support an expanding product portfolio •Partner closely with Design to translate creative vision and product intent into technically feasible, manufacturable solutions while preserving the integrity of the original concept •Establish clear development strategies, timelines, milestones, and decision points across multiple concurrent product programs, ensuring teams have visibility into priorities, risks, and dependencies •Partner with Sourcing, Quality, and manufacturing partners to drive product feasibility, costing, testing, validation, commercialization, and successful transition into mass production •Lead materials development and innovation in partnership with internal teams, mills, suppliers, and factories, identifying new materials, constructions, manufacturing processes, and technologies that create differentiated product experiences •Develop strong relationships with factories, suppliers, mills, and technical partners, leveraging their capabilities while pushing partners toward solutions. •Identify technical and manufacturing risks and improvements early and drive cross-functional teams to improve Qualifications: •Demonstrated success in developing physical products through the full lifecycle, from early concept and prototyping through testing, commercialization, and mass production •Comprehensive expertise in materials, construction methods, manufacturing processes, product testing, and supplier capabilities •Demonstrated ability to translate ambitious design concepts into high-quality, scalable, and manufacturable products •Strong technical judgment with the ability to navigate tradeoffs across design intent, innovation, performance, quality, cost, timing, and manufacturability •Proven ability to establish and improve product development processes, tools, and ways of working within a growing organization •Strong cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to influence, drive alignment, and make decisions across teams without direct authority •This role is based in the WHOOP office located in Boston, MA. The successful candidate must be prepared to relocate if necessary to work out of the Boston, MA office. •Interested in the role, but don’t meet every qualification? We encourage you to still apply! At WHOOP, we believe there is much more to a candidate than what is written on paper, and we value character as much as experience. As we continue to build a diverse and inclusive environment, we encourage anyone who is interested in this role to apply. Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!