Director, Material Quality Engineering

Job description

The Director, Material Quality Engineering, is responsible for leading the strategic direction, governance, and execution of material quality across the global supply base. Based in the Asia Sourcing Liaison Office, this role serves as the technical authority for fabric mills, trim suppliers, and material manufacturing partners, ensuring that all raw materials consistently meet the brand’s quality, performance, compliance, and sustainability standards from development through bulk production. Working cross-functionally with Global Materials, Product Development, Sourcing, Product Compliance, Production, and Quality teams, the Director drives material quality engineering initiatives, supplier capability development, commercialization readiness, laboratory and testing excellence, and continuous improvement programs. This leader partners closely with Tier 2 suppliers to strengthen technical capabilities, reduce material-related risk, improve Right-First-Time performance, and accelerate the adoption of innovative and sustainable materials. The ideal candidate combines deep technical expertise in apparel materials with strong leadership, analytical, and supplier management skills, bringing a proactive, engineering-driven approach to delivering consistent material quality and supporting the company’s product excellence and global sourcing strategy. What you'll get to do: Develop and execute the global raw material quality strategy for fabrics, trims, prints, washes and embellishments. Establish standardized quality engineering processes across all sourcing countries. Define material quality KPIs, scorecards and continuous improvement objectives. Establish and enforce quality engineering standards to improve material performance and reliability Conduct on-site mill audits to evaluate capabilities, validate processes, and identify improvement opportunities Develop and manage mill accreditation programs to build a high-performing, reliable supplier base Oversee bulk material quality execution, ensuring adherence to standards and minimizing defects Partner with Material Innovation teams to ensure quality standards keep pace with new materials Investigate root causes of material quality issues and implement corrective and preventive actions Provide oversight for physical, chemical, performance testing, failure management and lab accreditation Partner with internal and external stakeholders to resolve escalated quality issues efficiently Shift quality processes from reactive testing to proactive prevention and continuous improvement Strengthen supplier performance through data-driven insights, audits, and capability-building initiatives Who you are: Bachelor’s degree in Textile/Material Technology, Textile/Material Manufacturing, Chemistry or an allied field or the equivalent combination of education and experience in Textile, Materials Manufacturing, Product Development or Merchandising. 12+ years relevant raw materials supply chain work experience with an emphasis on material quality engineering and apparel material quality management system is strongly preferred. Has a strong knowledge of varied fiber contents, fabric structures, dye stuffs, chemicals, finishing of apparel materials and their influence on the material aesthetics and performance. Understand Critical to Quality of each different material types and has in-depth knowledge about apparel material manufacturing end-to-end processes. Comfortable engaging with both external partners and internal stakeholders and building strong partnerships. Has the ability to work proactively, is self-motivated, has a positive work attitude, attention to detail, organized, and has a strong sense of responsibility. Has strong analytical skills and is able to work with numbers and trends. With strong written and oral communication skills, able to articulate goals and objectives in both English and Mandarin. International and domestic travel required (up to 10%) including by air, ground and overnight Vuori is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Vuori is re-defining what athletic apparel looks like: built to move and sweat in but designed with a casual aesthetic to transition into everyday life. We draw inspiration from an active coastal California lifestyle; an integration of fitness, creative expression and life. Our high energy fast paced office environment is reflected in the clothes we make. We aim to inspire others to take on all aspects of their lives with clarity, enthusiasm and purpose…while having a lot of fun along the way. We are proud to be an outlet for opportunity and for personal growth and success.