Materials and Products Testing Specialist

About the role

The Materials and Products Testing Specialist works closely with sourcing, quality and product stewardship teams to reduce product compliance risk and improve product quality. The role sets testing standards, provides technical support to sourcing offices and manages all material and product testing activities within VF’s testing data management system.

Key responsibilities

• Develop testing protocol templates for specific materials and products based on manuals and brand requirements.
• Ensure proper testing procedures are followed for development and bulk production testing.
• Participate in seasonal product line reviews, offering technical advice, risk assessments and corrective suggestions.
• Verify that material suppliers and garment vendors submit complete test reports in line with safety and quality manuals.
• Track test requests, review test reports, provide technical comments and assess risks.
• Coordinate with vendors, sourcing and quality teams to address testing failures, conduct root‑cause analysis and plan corrective actions.
• Manage final approval processes based on test results and maintain country‑specific certificates of conformity.
• Communicate testing results and action plans across teams and educate suppliers on testing requirements.

Required profile

• Minimum 2 years of experience in consumer product testing.
• BS degree in a technical field such as textile science, engineering or testing (preferred).
• Strong communication skills and ability to explain technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Self‑directed and able to work independently.

Required skills

• Apparel and footwear material and product testing.
• Exceptional analytical abilities and attention to detail.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word).