Contract Photo Editor Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Role: Producer & Photo Editor, Climb

Team: Category Photo Edit

Scope: Individual Contributor

Years of Experience: 5+

Level: P3

Location: Ventura, CA (Hybrid)

About the Role

Patagonia is seeking a Producer & Photo Editor to lead photography production and visual storytelling across our Mountain Sports categories, with a primary focus on traditional and alpine climbing. This role combines deep sport expertise, creative judgment, and operational excellence to bring authentic stories to life through photography. Working closely with photographers, athletes, and cross-functional partners, you will create, curate, and deliver imagery that reflects the culture of the sport, supports seasonal campaigns, and strengthens Patagonia's distinctive visual identity.

What You'll Do

• Cultivate and maintain an extensive Photographer roster, ensuring consistent communication and creative alignment across all touchpoints. Provide feedback, mentorship, and clear creative direction that elevates both the Photographer's craft and Patagonia's photography ethos.

• Engage directly with the climbing and mountain sport communities to remain the Creative Studio's leading expert in mountain sports with an expertise in traditional and alpine climbing, as well as general knowledge of Trail Running, Mountain Biking, Fly Fishing, and Snow Sports. Bring deep, evolving knowledge of each sport's culture, craft, and technical progression to every project.

• Lead sport photography production for Go-To-Market campaigns. Accountable from interpreting the Concept Brief-In through final asset delivery for assigned seasonal campaigns. Create and manage photo briefs, seed samples, assign photographers, track budgets, and ensure every asset reflects Patagonia's visual identity and storytelling standards.

• Champion the Patagonia photography point of view across every stage of campaign development collaborating with Creative Studio, Marketing, and Product partners to align imagery with our brand storytelling guidelines and campaign creative needs.

• Produce and edit photography entering our DAM for all Mountain Sports as well as key collaborative categories: Lifestyle Essentials, Performance Foundations, Provisions, and Equipment. Build the imagery pipeline that fuels Always-On Marketing

• Collaborate with Sport Category Marketer and Sports Network Partner to progress sport Ambassadors presence in photography.

• Co-manage Full-time Contract Photographer's projects, maintaining visibility and efficiencies through the full production cycle.

• Oversee color correction for assigned projects, working closely with the Program Management team to ensure consistency and quality that reflect the Photo department's standards.

• Provide editorial storytelling opportunities within your assigned sport community focus, ensuring narratives remain authentic, diverse, and true to the sport's spirit.

• Support emerging photo department initiatives as they evolve, contributing to the production, editing, and community expertise to new systems, tools, or programs that strengthen the department overall.

Who You Are

• A mountain sports expert with expert fluency in the Climbing community, tuned in to athletes, culture, and the evolving edge of performance in traditional and alpine disciplines. Additional knowledge of across trail run, mountain bike, fly fish and snow sports is a plus.

• A hybrid photo producer and photo editor who thrives at the intersection of creativity, logistics, and community. Equally comfortable briefing photographers, editing submissions, and balancing campaign timelines.

• Expertly understands the full product line to ensure the seeding of the right technical and lifestyle garment style for each sport project.

• An editorial eye with strong creative conviction. Able to curate cohesive image sets, articulate the art direction behind your choices, and confidently advocate for the photography that best expresses the campaign's concept and brand voice.

• A natural collaborator and communicator. You bring calm, clarity, and alignment to every project, balancing multiple stakeholders and priorities without losing focus or quality.

• Deeply organized and accountable, with proven ability to manage complex workflows and large volumes of imagery while adapting quickly to change.

• A relationship builder. You maintain trust and transparency with photographers, teammates, and cross-functional partners through honest feedback and thoughtful communication.

• Grounded in visual storytelling with respect to the nuance of Patagonia's unique and consistent photography voice.

• Curious and resourceful; you value process improvement, clarity, and clear communication as much as craft.

• Motivated by Patagonia's mission and the belief that authentic photography has the power to connect sport, people, and planet.

Experience You Bring

• 5+ years of experience in a photo producer role at a large brand or publication.

• Strong background in rock climbing and its culture.

• Experience thriving infast paced work environment.

• Proven ability to manage and balance multiple projects fast paced projects.

• Deep understanding of the outdoor sports industry specifically in the rock climbing media landscape.

• 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.

• Handsonexperience with Figma, Adobe Lightroom, and Microsoft Office.

• Strong verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey context, priorities, and feedback.

• Extreme attention to detail and a consistenttrack recordof meeting deadlines andmaintainingschedules.

Hiring Range:$95,000 - $105,000 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. 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 isHybrid, with a standard schedule ofTuesday - Thursdayon-site and remote work on other days. Occasionaladditionaloffice visits may berequiredfor 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,customersand 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.