Fabrics, Sourcing, and Supply Chain Lead

About KanchenJ Inspired by India's highest mountain, KanchenJ is crafting and engineering exceptional outdoor gear for India's unique conditions. We believe technical gear, whether apparel or accessories, should be both empowering and delightfully good-looking. Like our favorite tech products, they must blend peak performance with everyday practicality. Each piece uses lightweight, durable, and refined materials chosen for Indian climates, body types, and style preferences. We believe everyone deserves gear that makes them feel good, inspires them to reach their next level, and performs with both style and strength. We're preparing for a summer 2026 launch. The founding team brings product and growth experience from Amazon and Snapdeal, deep passion for trekking and mountaineering, and design expertise from India and California (HRX, Myntra, Columbia). With sourcing partners across Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam, we're in our 0→1 phase, finalizing fabrics, technical designs, prototypes, community research, and manufacturing. This role sits at the center of building India's next iconic outdoor brand. About the Role This is a high-ownership role for someone with 1-5 years of experience in sourcing or product development, who wants to help innovate and build a premium outdoor brand from the ground up. You will work directly with the founder and designers to research fabrics, evaluate mills and factories, coordinate early samples, and shape material choices and supply chain/vendor decisions. The role requires a strong commitment to innovation, curiosity, discipline, and comfort working on open-ended problems and converting them into structured progress. Key Responsibilities Fabric & Materials Innovation: You will help shape our material choices by researching fabrics, shortlisting options, comparing pros/cons, and understanding MOQs and cost implications. You’ll work with mills in India and abroad to request swatches, gather technical data, and evaluate suitability for Indian climates and performance needs. Your work directly guides our designers and unblocks decisions on base layers, fleece, trousers, and jackets. Manufacturer Identification & Management: You’ll support the discovery and evaluation of manufacturing partners across countries like Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and India. This includes understanding their capabilities, timelines, MOQs, customs duties, and fit with our product requirements. You will help keep conversations organized, follow up on samples, and provide the team with clear summaries so we can choose the right partners. Sampling, Testing & Quality Assurance: You will help move samples through each stage, collecting swatches, reviewing fits with the design team, coordinating refinements, and tracking timelines. You’ll also gather lab test results (when needed) and help maintain simple QC checklists to ensure we stay aligned with premium outdoor standards. Cross-Functional Collaboration: You will work closely with the founder, Chief of Staff, and designers to translate ideas into sourcing requirements. You’ll help designers with information they need, fabric options, mill details, trims, testing notes, and supplier feedback, so designs stay feasible and on track. You will also support early launch planning related to supply chain readiness. Special Projects: From exploring trim suppliers to researching India-based textile innovation, to coordinating early production planning, you’ll take on projects that strengthen our supply chain and help us prepare for the 2026 launch. What We’re Looking For - 1-5 years of experience in fabric, apparel sourcing, materials research, textile development, merchandising, or production. - Deep interest in fabrics/trims, performance materials, and learning how premium apparel is built. - Ability to drive innovation through structured research, critical thinking, and reasoning about trade-offs. - Ability to work independently with clear documentation, structured updates, and reliable follow-through. - Comfort handling timelines, MOQs, costing basics, and coordinating across multiple partners. - Curiosity, initiative, and willingness to grow with a fast-moving 0→1 brand. - Passion for the outdoors or technical apparel is a plus, not a requirement. Preferred Background Candidates may come from sourcing, textile engineering, design, merchandising, or related fields. Strong fits will come from NIFT, NID, Pearl Academy, NITRA, MSU Baroda, or from candidates with experience engaging with mills and manufacturers in India or abroad. We value ownership and craft over pedigree. What You’ll Learn You will get hands-on exposure to how materials, design, and manufacturing come together in a premium apparel brand. You’ll learn how fabric choices impact performance and pricing, how sourcing decisions shape brand identity, and how global supply chains are built from zero. Most importantly, you’ll help write the early blueprint for KanchenJ’s product and supply chain strategy.