Role: Photo Editor – Integrated Lead
Team: Photo/Creative Studio
Scope: Individual Contributor, P3
Years of Experience: 5+ years
Location: Ventura, CA/Hybrid
General Summary
The
Photo Editor – Integrated Lead, within the Creative Studio’s Photography Department, is responsible for delivering decisive photography edits across Patagonia’s highest-volume digital touchpoints. This role utilizes the brand’s lifestyle photography archive to provide a trusted multi-sport eye ensuring consistency, authenticity, and performance across multiple cross-channel initiatives. Operating at the intersection of art and systems, the
Photo Editor – Integrated Lead balances the consistencies of Always-On Marketing with an agile responsiveness to quick-turn priority requests. They partner closely with Program Managers to fulfill a wide breath of requests from across the business, while collaborating with Photo Producers and Photo Archivists to strengthen the long-term health, accessibility, and performance of the brand’s photography archive.
What You’ll Do
- Provide a steady, reliable creative vision for the brand’s most consistent outbound communications — leading the AOM (Always-On Marketing) photo stream and delivering visual consistency across a large volume of emails and highly trafficked web placements annually.
- Respond decisively to high-priority Internal Communications requests — fast-paced, high-visibility projects that arise unpredictably but require quick alignment and editing.
- Serve as a trusted, informed, multi-sport photo expert, maintaining deep familiarity with our evolving photography archive across the brand.
- Develop and refine efficiencies in the AOM (Always-On Marketing) workflow — partnering with the Program Managers to streamline processes, strengthen image standards, and continuously improve how photography performs in email and digital channels.
- Lead and execute integrated photo work across Internal Communications, Provisions, Tradeshows, Wholesale, Retail, Conversion Campaigns, and Group Sales projects.
- Maintain clear communication and efficient organization within shared systems — supporting the broader Photo Department’s operating rhythm.
- Regularly assess the archive against Shape of the Season benchmarks to identify gaps in ingestion, metadata quality, and accessibility. Recommend process improvements or resource adjustments to optimize archive performance and support evolving production needs.
- Collaborate with Photo Archivists to enhance image searchability, taxonomy, and metadata standards that make photography easier to find and leverage across the company.
Who You Are
- Highly Organized – You bring structure and clarity to complex, high‑volume work, helping teams move efficiently without sacrificing quality.
- Brand‑Fluent – You have strong visual instincts and a deep familiarity with Patagonia’s sport and brand photography, selecting imagery that feels authentic and category‑appropriate.
- Adaptable – You stay calm and effective in fast‑moving environments, pivoting smoothly as priorities shift or new needs emerge.
- Systems‑Minded – You naturally look beyond individual tasks, thinking about how tools, workflows, and decisions connect and scale over time.
- Collaborative – You communicate clearly and partner confidently across Creative Studio, Digital Studio, Marketing, and Operations teams.
- Curious – You ask thoughtful questions, seek better ways of working, and value learning, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
- Detail‑Driven with Big‑Picture Awareness – You balance precision in daily work with thoughtful consideration for long‑term archive health and usability.
- Mission‑Driven – You’re motivated by Patagonia’s purpose and bring empathy, curiosity, and stewardship to how you work every day.
Experience You Bring
- 5+ years of experience in a photo editing role at a large brand or publication.
- Experience thriving in high‑volume, fast‑paced photo editing environments, maintaining accuracy and quality under shifting priorities.
- Proven ability to manage and balance ongoing AOM editing workloads alongside quick‑turn and short‑term production needs.
- Demonstrated experience supporting or leading high‑volume photo programs across digital channels.
- Deep understanding of the outdoor sports industry and its communities, including the role imagery plays in authentic representation.
- Strong background in photo management systems and DAM operations, with an eye toward long‑term archive health and usability.
- Experience contributing to workflow, tooling, or process improvements within a creative or photo operations environment.
- Working knowledge of creative development workflows in a large brand or studio setting.
- Hands‑on experience with Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, and Microsoft Office.
- Strong verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey context, priorities, and feedback.
- Extreme attention to detail and a consistent track record of meeting deadlines and maintaining schedules.
Hiring Range: $87,000 - $107,000 USD Annual
At Patagonia, pay ranges are assigned to a job based on the location specific market median of similar jobs according to 3rd party salary benchmark surveys. Individual pay within that range can vary for several reasons including skills/capabilities, experience, and available budget. Note, the full pay range for this role ranges from: $82,080 - $123,120 USD Annual. The Hiring Range reflects where in the range we intend to hire for this role.
Benefits
Patagonia offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, retirement and leave of absence plans. Benefit plans may vary slightly depending on the nature of your employment.
Workplace Location Overview
This position is Hybrid, with a standard schedule of Tuesday - Thursday on-site at our Ventura, CA office and remote work on other days. Occasional additional office visits may be required for team events or critical meetings.
Employee Conduct
It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.
Equal Employment Opportunity
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.
