Reason for Hiring:

Under the slogan “YOUR FREEDOM: The freedom to reinvent yourself,” GU offers fashion that everyone can enjoy, leveraging its strengths in trends, affordability, and speed.
In 2026, Francesco Risso—who has earned high acclaim worldwide—assumed the role of Creative Director at GU. Leveraging the manufacturing foundation GU has cultivated, the brand is stepping into its next phase, driven by a clearer creative vision and the development of products of the highest quality.
Even within the constraints of mass-production feasibility, reproducibility, and value for money, there is a greater demand than ever for the planning, development, and design capabilities needed to turn these challenges—viewed not as limitations but as new opportunities—into viable products.
Within the R&D organization, you will work closely with related departments—including Merchandising, Production, and Material Development—to enhance product quality without compromising the creative vision, all while building on a deep understanding of pricing, costs, and production contexts.

Department Overview:

GU’s R&D Department is a product development organization dedicated to bringing the brand message “YOUR FREEDOM” to life through our products. It comprises designers and patternmakers from all departments selling at GU—including Men’s, Women’s, Kids, and Merchandise—who work tirelessly every day to deliver fashion that all customers can enjoy worldwide.
We handle everything from market and trend research to material selection, specification design, and product development with an eye toward mass production. While prioritizing price, quality, and speed, we deliver products that balance fashion and practicality to customers around the world.

Job Description：

In this position, as a women’s patternmaker, you will play a key role in bringing the stories and concepts behind the designs to life under a new creative framework, balancing comfort, structure, and mass-production feasibility.
Main Responsibilities

• Pattern design based on a thorough understanding of the designer’s intent and vision
• Exploring trend-driven silhouettes and new design balances (including materials, construction, and volume)
• Verifying silhouettes and proposing improvements through toile creation and fittings
• Creating pattern specifications and sewing instructions with production in mind
• Collaboration with overseas production sites and related departments (Design, Merchandising, Production)
• Size design and ensuring suitability for mass production with a focus on global expansion

Target items include categories such as outerwear, bottoms, shirts, knitwear, innerwear, and loungewear; however, upon joining the company, your specific item category will be determined based on your area of expertise.

• The Job Description may change within the scope of duties related to each department at headquarters due to department transfers or organizational changes.

Career Path

Depending on your aspirations and aptitude, there are diverse career opportunities available as a patternmaker, including changes within the Women’s division, rotations to different gender and age groups such as Men’s and Kids, and future career development at global locations.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in patternmaking for women’s apparel
• Experience with apparel-specific CAD software
• Ability to actively gather market and media information and apply it to pattern-making work

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

• At least 2 years of experience in grading
• Experience using English for internal tasks, such as email correspondence and creating simple documents

*During the selection process, you may be asked to submit design sketches, samples of your work, etc., that you have created in the past

Company Name: GU Co., Ltd.

Employment Type: Contract Employee (Fixed-term contract with a 3-month probationary period)

(Depending on your performance and evaluation during the first year of your contract as a contract employee, if you meet our criteria for regular employment, we will consider hiring you as a regular employee starting in the second year.)
* The employment contract as a contract employee will end after a one-year term and will not be renewed.
* If you are not hired as a regular employee, your employment contract will end upon expiration of the contract term

Annual Salary

• Annual Salary Range: 4.25–8.64 million yen (Monthly Salary: 280,000–540,000 yen)
• Allowances: Commuting allowance, overtime pay, etc. (*All subject to company regulations)
• Bonuses: Semi-annual bonuses twice a year, year-end bonus (eligibility and amount determined based on company performance and performance evaluations)
• Promotions twice a year (determined based on performance evaluations)

*Salary will be determined based on company regulations, taking into account your previous annual income and experience, in addition to the above criteria

Working Hours

Either the standard work schedule or the flex-time system
(Determined based on job duties, expected role, and assigned department; to be notified during the job offer interview)

• Standard Work Hours System

8 hours of actual work and 1-hour break between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

• Flexible Work Hours System

Standard daily working hours: 8 hours; break: 1 hour
Core hours: 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Flexible hours: 6:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Overtime may be required

Holidays and Leave

Two days off per week (Saturdays and Sundays), annual paid leave, special and bereavement leave, childcare and family care leave systems, etc.
*Whether public holidays are considered days off in addition to the days off listed above will be specified individually in the contract for part-time employees
*In addition to paid leave, special leave is granted in the first and second halves of the fiscal year (the number of days granted varies depending on employment status and the company to which the employee belongs)

Insurance Coverage

Social Insurance (Health Insurance, Employees’ Pension Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, Workers’ Compensation Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance)

Employee Benefits

Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Mutual Aid Association, Partnered Welfare Programs, Employee Discount Program, Cafeteria, Dedicated Shuttle Bus (for commuting to the Ariake Office), Defined Contribution Pension Plan (full-time employees only)

Other

• Our company actively recruits mid-career professionals across various Group companies (Fast Retailing, UNIQLO, GU, etc.). We would appreciate it if you could review the information below and consider applying.
• Within the Fast Retailing Group, you may apply to multiple companies simultaneously. However, please note that even if the selection process proceeds at multiple companies, you can only advance to the final selection stage for one position at a time.
• Based on your submitted resume and interview evaluations, we may contact you to discuss opportunities with other companies or positions within the Fast Retailing Group.

• Measures Against Secondhand Smoke: As a general rule, smoking is prohibited on company premises and indoors, and we do not have designated smoking rooms. (Smoking is prohibited during working hours, including break times.)

Ariake Headquarters: 1-6-7 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo, UNIQLO CITY
*Your location may be changed to a location designated by the company, including overseas locations.