VP, Product Development

About the Company:

Rhone is performance driven apparel made by and for those in the pursuit of progress. Founded in 2014 by brothers Nate and Ben Checketts, we exist to inspire, equip, and support individuals in their pursuit of progress—both physically and mentally. More than just apparel, Rhone is a mindset, championing the power of being a little better every day. With a relentless focus on performance, innovation, and style, our products are engineered to move with you—wherever the pursuit takes you. By the end of 2025, Rhone will operate 22 retail stores across the U.S., each serving as a hub for community, connection, and the Forever Forward mindset.

About the role:

The Vice President, Product Development will work closely with the Chief Product Officer, Design, Merchandising, Marketing, and Supply Chain to lead the end-to-end development of Men’s and Women’s performance apparel. This leader is responsible for ensuring that all products—from early concept through commercialization—meet Rhone’s standards for quality, fit, performance, and cost.

This role brings strong technical and material expertise, guiding the team through development milestones, calendar adherence, costing alignment, and vendor management. They will partner cross-functionally to deliver product that reflects the needs of our customer and the realities of the marketplace, ensuring that each style is executed with accuracy, consistency, and efficiency.

With a strong focus on product excellence, operational rigor, and cross-functional alignment, the VP will oversee fabric and materials strategy, development processes, supplier communication, and commercialization readiness. They will maintain close relationships with development partners and suppliers, ensuring clarity, accountability, and timely delivery. Balancing urgency with thoughtful execution, this leader will help Rhone bring well-built, high-quality product to market that meets performance expectations and supports margin and financial goals.

They will work with the Chief Product Officer as well as cross functionally with Merchandising, Product Development and Production to drive the product design strategic vision and tactical execution, establishing standards as well as brand positioning guidelines with the ultimate goal: to create best in class product with thoughtful features and benefits that are unique to Rhone.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Product Development Vision

• Lead the product development and materials organization across categories, ensuring alignment with brand vision, performance standards, and global growth plans

• Develop the long-range product development and materials strategy informed by innovation, marketplace analytics, consumer insights, and sustainability initiatives

• Define development frameworks that balance creativity, technical performance, cost, quality, and speed-to-market

Product Development & Commercialization

• Oversee end-to-end development from proto through adoption, costing, fit, approvals, commercialization, and production handoff

• Partner with Merchandising and Design to ensure clear product value propositions, SKU optimization, margin integrity, and successful category adoption

• Lead technical milestone meetings—including proto reviews, fit sessions, approval checkpoints, and cross-functional readiness reviews

• Uphold design integrity, fit consistency, performance attributes, and brand standards across all product lines

Materials Strategy & Innovation

• Own fabric and material strategy to development, including research, innovation, sourcing, testing, performance validation, and compliance

• Develop breakthrough materials and performance technologies that differentiate the brand and elevate product quality
  Lead mill and supplier partnerships to drive innovation, exclusives, cost efficiencies, and sustainability to build future franchises

• Advance sustainability goals through preferred fibers, responsible materials, reduced-impact finishes, circularity initiatives, and supply chain traceability

Costing, Margin Management & Operational Excellence

• Own the development costing process, ensuring IMU, AUC, and profitability targets are achieved across categories

• Drive calendar discipline and optimize workflows, adoption rates, proto efficiency, and speed-to-market

• Partner with Technology to modernize systems including PLM, 3D prototyping, AI sampling, digital material libraries, and development automation

• Build scalable processes that support brand growth across DTC, wholesale, and retail channels

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with Supply Chain, Technical Design, Production, Planning, Merchandising, Quality, and Marketing to ensure successful development and commercialization

• Communicate development milestones, material needs, and sample expectations clearly and consistently to internal teams and suppliers

• Strengthen operational alignment across the go-to-market calendar

Team Leadership & Organizational Development

• Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performing team across materials, development, and technical functions

• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of product development, materials, or technical leadership experience—ideally in performance apparel, athleisure, or activewear

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced coursework or continuing education preferred

• Deep expertise in fabrics, fibers, trims, materials testing, sourcing, development, and commercialization

• Strong understanding of performance materials, functional construction, costing, and supply chain dependencies

• Proven experience leading global, cross-functional teams and managing varied vendor networks

• Extensive experience with overseas suppliers, including strong negotiation skills and deep manufacturing knowledge

• Demonstrated success improving speed-to-market, calendar management, and product lifecycle efficiency

• Experience modernizing development capabilities (PLM, 3D tools, digital sampling, AI-driven technologies)

• Proven ability to partner cross-functionally and influence at the executive level

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and people-leadership skills

• Highly organized with excellent attention to detail, time management, and decision-making skills

• Domestic and international travel required

• Full Time - 5 days a week in office

What you’ll get:

• Competitive Compensation & Bonus Plan.

• Access to healthcare including medical, dental, vision, and other ancillary benefits.

• 10 Company Holidays Annually.

• Discretionary Time Off Policy.

• Advancement Opportunities.

• Discount on clothing plus semi-annual gift card allotment.

Other details:

Job Type: Full Time

Reports to: Chief Product Officer

Location: Onsite - Based in Stamford, CT