Andy Hytjan

Founder @ Mountain Equipment Lab

About

I’m an experienced mechanical engineer and product developer specializing in winter sports, with 18 years of expertise in ski and snowboard design (focused on composites, not graphics). I’ve successfully take products from concept to testing and into production. My background spans global operations, budget management, and P&L oversight, and I excel at engaging with staff, customers, professional athletes, and media alike. I’ve led both hardgoods and softgoods teams, working on technical and lifestyle products, laboratory operations, and product showrooms. Today, I continue to thrive in all these areas, balancing my technical understanding of materials and manufacturing with a passion for connecting with sales teams and consumers about what makes our products truly exceptional. As a hands-on engineer, I’m equally comfortable designing, programming, and operating CNCs as I am diving into new projects and launching new brands.

Country

United States

City

Park City

Industry

Sporting Goods

Skill

P&L Accountability, Strategic Vision, Project Portfolio Management, Product Road Mapping, Composites, Manufacturing Operations Management, Business Development, Product Strategy, Manufacturing Engineering, Problem Solving, Communication, Operations, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Customer Service, English, Windows, Research

Experience

Founder

Mountain Equipment Lab

2026-1 - Present · 9 mos

Park City, Utah, United States

Independent product design and analysis studio with expertise in ski and snowboard products

Senior Product Development Manager

evo

2022-4 - 2025-11 · 3 yrs 8 mos

Park City, UT

Product Development & Engineering Manager

evo

2019-5 - 2023-1 · 3 yrs 9 mos

Park City, UT

All things product and operations

season eqpt.

2019-9 - 2025-11 · 6 yrs 3 mos

Engineering and much more at Season Eqpt

Director Of Product and Business Development

Armada

2018-7 - 2019-5 · 11 mos

Park City, UT

Innovation Manager

Armada

2017-4 - 2018-7 · 1 yr 4 mos

Park City, UT

Hardgoods Development Manager

Armada

2014-10 - 2017-4 · 2 yrs 7 mos

From conception through delivery and sell-through I support all aspects of our hardgoods program. Market analysis for opportunities, design and engineering of the actual products, hands-on prototype creation and testing followed by DFM and process development at our factories. Bringing new products to life is my everyday responsibility.

Ski Category Manager - K2 Skis - Line Skis - K2 Marker Bindings

Elevate Outdoor Collective

2010-1 - 2014-8 · 4 yrs 8 mos

Greater Seattle Area

Engineering/Product manager responsible for all K2 Skis, K2 Marker Bindings and Line Skis. Develop and implement plans for on-snow testing, lab testing, product definition, ski design, BOM management, Financial planning, production planning, model-line specific definition and communication to global markets. Works closely with sales & marketing to define products and bring them to markets. Molding prototypes, mounting on-snow test skis and sweeping the floors as necessary.

Ski Design Engineer

Elevate Outdoor Collective

2008-1 - 2010-1 · 2 yrs 1 mo

Seattle WA

Ski design engineer creating sidecuts, profiles, ski tooling, new product development and production support. Engineer for both Line skis and some K2 models. Travel to factories, ski tests and trade-shows

Ski Engineering Technician

Elevate Outdoor Collective

2007-1 - 2008-1 · 1 yr 1 mo

Seattle WA

hands-on prototyping, ski building, tuning and other support. All things related to prototype ski building for Line and K2 Skis

Field Engineer

BCI Wireless

2005-5 - 2005-12 · 8 mos

A Field engineer focusing on the analysis of steel thickness', pipe diameters, guy-wire size and tensions, antennae placement and underground anchors on radio and cell structures. Travel-to, climb, map, diagram and draw the forces acting on wireless structures.

Student Assistant - Machine Shop

University of Colorado

2002-8 - 2005-12 · 3 yrs 5 mos

General help within the machine shop assisting our full-time machinists. Extensive knowledge of anodization, 3-axis CNC machining, EDM manufacturing, part finishing, machine maintenance and inventory control. Utilized CAD / CAM software to draw and program various machines.