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Director, Innovation Management - Advanced Concepts

Arc'teryx· Advanced Concepts
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North Vancouver, BCCA$149k - CA$205kFull-timePosted 4mo ago

About the role

Lead an interdisciplinary team to deliver innovative concepts and manage the Innovation Management function within Arc'teryx Advanced Concepts, driving portfolio management, foresight, strategy, and commercialization of innovation concepts.

Responsibilities

  • Driving and leading the Innovation Management function within the Advanced Concepts team to maintain a strong innovation pipeline
  • Driving and balancing a 3-, 5-, and 10-year innovation portfolio, ensuring the right mix of evolution, revolution, and breakthrough initiatives align to product strategy
  • Defining horizon-specific success metrics, risk tolerance, and investment strategies across near- and far-term innovation bets
  • Partnering with Design, Product, Merchandising, Supply Chain and Strategy leadership to translate long-range concepts into seasonal product strategies and drive end-to-end commercialization of innovation concepts, including business case validation, margin targets, and go-to-market alignment
  • Leading AC’s tech‑scouting and foresight programs to fuel far‑future pipeline insights and guide cross‑functional strategy
  • Establishing and managing governance frameworks, stage gates, criteria and investment prioritization models
  • Identifying and developing scalable innovation platforms
  • Establishing and tracking innovation KPIs (e.g., adoption rate, revenue contribution, platform leverage, speed-to-market)
  • Building and curating a strategic ecosystem to accelerate differentiated innovation pipelines
  • Leading research, building insight, generating unique perspective, creating prototypes and validation approaches
  • Embedding innovation pathways into inline product roadmaps from concept to commercialization
  • Creating and executing strategic direction for internal engineering and design shop testing facilities in partnership with the VP
  • Mentoring the team to deliver advanced R&D solutions
  • Creating and maintaining a robust IP portfolio, liaising with legal from ideation to commercialization
  • Partnering with Innovation Operations on resourcing and external programs (e.g., SR&ED, IRAP, NRC, MITACS)
  • Driving initiatives to support product circularity at Arc’teryx
  • Maintaining current industry technology and knowledge through education and hands-on experience
  • Travelling quarterly as required

Qualifications

  • Degree in business strategy, engineering or equivalent industry experience
  • 10+ years of product innovation and concept delivery in outerwear, technical apparel, equipment, or advanced innovation
  • 7+ years of proven management experience leading a team
  • Experience building and scaling multi-horizon innovation portfolios with near-term impact and long-term strategic advantage in outdoor/innovation space
  • Deep understanding of technical apparel and/or performance hardgoods design/production
  • Experience identifying, creating, and protecting a brand IP portfolio with internal/external legal teams
  • Experience building robust business cases for innovation investments with financial modeling, risk assessment, ROI tracking, and roadmaps
  • Experience integrating innovation pipelines into seasonal product creation and long-range category strategies
  • Experience leading far-future concept thinking, strategic foresight and scenario planning
  • Exceptional communication skills suitable for scientists and nonscientists with strong visuals and presentations
  • Experience building external networks to identify emerging technologies
  • Proven success leading high-performing, innovation-driven teams and fostering experimentation and accountability
  • Experience coaching a multi-disciplinary team of innovators
  • Proactive in identifying root causes and solving problems with integrity
  • Flexibility and adaptability in ambiguity, balancing autonomy with collaboration
  • Passion for work and outdoor life

Skills

Required:Innovation portfolio managementBusiness case developmentStrategic foresight

Benefits

  • Health & wellbeing: Extended health, dental, vision, mental health support, fertility benefits, 24/7 EAP
  • Financial wellbeing: RRSP matching, eligibility for Arc'teryx Annual Incentive Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP) where applicable
  • Time & Flexibility: Paid time off, wellness time, No Wasted Day program
  • Family support: Parental leave top-up and nesting period for new parents
  • Growth, community & gear: Professional development, Arc'teryx Academies, Employee Belonging Councils, gear discounts and Pro Deals
  • Eligibility may vary by role
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Arc'teryx

Outdoor Clothing, Technical Outerwear, & Accessories | Arc'teryx United States

Arc'teryx is a high performance outdoor equipment company known for leading innovations in climbing, skiing and alpine technologies

outdoorclothingouterwearaccessoriesskiingclimbingalpine
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