Associate Designer Hardgoods

At L.L.Bean, we believe the outdoors brings out the best in all of us. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging and creating safe, inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome—both here and Outside. We value individual differences and are dedicated to maintaining an inclusive work environment where everyone can bring the best of their experience and talents and truly thrive.

Bring your creativity to life outside. L.L.Bean is seeking an Associate Designer to join our collaborative Hardgoods Design team in Freeport, Maine. Help create distinctive, brand-right products across Hunt Fish Apparel & Gear, Sporting Outdoor Equipment, and Travel Goods—including luggage, everyday bags, totes, and backpacks—that help people feel confident and comfortable outdoors.

In this role, you’ll support experienced designers, collaborate with cross-functional partners, and contribute to outdoor gear built for life outside. It’s an opportunity to grow your design skills and make a meaningful impact at an iconic outdoor brand, while enjoying an authentic Maine lifestyle.

*This role requires relocation to Maine. We have a hybrid work schedule with a minimum of four days at our Headquarters Building in Freeport, ME, that flexes depending on deliverables.

Responsibilities:

- Support team in translating seasonal trend direction into compelling, brand-right outdoor gear.
- Help Identify relevant outdoor trends and thoughtfully work with and support the design team to create designs that align with L.L.Bean’s DNA.
- Assist in the creation of sketches, renderings, prototypes, and detailed tech packs in Adobe Illustrator & FlexPLM that clearly communicate design intent.
- Explore silhouette, materials, color, construction, and function while balancing creativity, cost, and manufacturability.
- Support team in preparing for design presentations with color card creation and upload into our collaborative shared space.
- Conduct research on market and competitive brands- domestic travel may be required for inspiration and trade shows.
- Partner with cross-functional teams in Product Development, Merchandising and Sourcing to refine, test, and commercialize designs.
- Use consumer insights, market research, and wear testing to improve comfort, performance, and relevance.
- Present clear, compelling design renderings at milestone meetings.
- Create and update accurate pre-production BOM images and data entry details in Flex PLM
- Ensures all milestones/deadlines are achieved and successful. Attends to learn and align on M2M key strategies, initiatives & actions.
- Create color ups of pattern work using seasonal color direction.
- Create handoffs to Graphics team & Colorists for production artwork requests, and lab dip requests. May at times make requests depending on product type.
- Review and approve lab dips, strike offs, knit downs, samples and trim colorways that meet color standards and aesthetic of the products.
- May attend fit meetings for Hunt Fish Functional Apparel

Core Competencies:

- Strong communication and collaboration skills across global and cross-functional teams.
- Ability to build strong partnerships with internal teams, vendors, and sourcing partners.
- Thrives in a fast-paced environment, balancing multiple priorities and evolving business needs.
- Consumer-focused mindset with a passion for creating functional, timeless products that enhance outdoor experiences.
- Curious, collaborative, and solution-oriented, with a strong appreciation for L.L.Bean's heritage, quality standards, and commitment to the target consumer.
- Self-starter who can take initiative while contributing positively to a team-oriented culture.
- Commitment to quality, craftsmanship, and creating products that deliver exceptional customer experiences outside.
- Knowledge of Microsoft 360 tools, Co-Pilot, Teams, Adobe Suite: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign.  FlexPLM, CLO, Mural
- Basic knowledge of AI tools

BA/BS required

1-3 years of relevant hardgoods experience required

Health and Safety Requirement: Every employee is responsible for contributing to a safe and healthy workplace. Employees are expected to be active participants in health and safety by following all safety policies and procedures, reporting unsafe conditions or at-risk behaviors to leadership, and conducting work in a safe manner. Those in a leadership role are also expected to model safe behaviors, evaluate risk, and ensure that risks are reduced to acceptable levels.

L.L.Bean uses a market-based compensation approach. The anticipated starting base pay for this position is $65,800.00-$82,200.00. Individual compensation may vary based on factors such as a candidate’s experience, qualifications, education, geographic location, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.

If you care about the outdoors, joining L.L.Bean is a great way to feel good about what you do. Our benefits package makes a good thing even better, with programs and perks designed to support your health and financial goals. Plus, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and re-charging outside are all part of the plan.

If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you'd be great at this role, we'd love to learn more about you!   At L.L.Bean, we believe the outdoors brings out the best in all of us.  We strive to reflect this every day in our commitments to employees and partners and in our efforts to promote belonging.