Jobs at Gearhouse

Our purpose

Gearhouse is a third place for outdoor people in Seattle: part coffee shop, part gear library, part outdoor community. Members get access to a shared fleet - skis, splitboards, packrafts, climbing racks, camping kits - plus the trips, classes and weeknight gatherings that get them actually using it and the people to make their Seattle memories some of their happiest.

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Our goal isn't simply to offer activities. It's to help people build the skills, relationships and confidence to sustain an outdoor life in Seattle. Gear on a wall doesn't do that. Someone who texts a member "hey, there's space on Saturday, you should come" does.

 

The Job

We need help on the event side, and that's where you'd spend your best hours. Hosting and co-hosting trips and gatherings within a couple hours of Seattle - trail runs, bike nights, beginner ski days, intro climbing sessions, hikes, paddles, potlucks at the shop. Some of it is programming we already run and need a second capable host for. Some of it will be yours to propose and build.

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You'd start by shadowing experienced hosts and supporting events someone else is leading, then take on your own as you get comfortable. How fast that happens is up to you.

The other piece: café and gear counter shifts. Events don't fill a schedule on their own, especially in shoulder seasons. Our team fills the rest of the week on bar - pulling shots, running opens and closes - and at the gear counter, checking equipment in and out and helping members find the right kit.

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We're upfront that this isn't a side note. It's most of the hours in a typical week, it's where members get to know you, and a willingness to do it well is part of the job. If pulling espresso all Tuesday morning sounds like a chore you'd tolerate rather than a shift you'd enjoy, this probably isn't the right fit.

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Ski and gear tech work is also available if you have or want bench skills - tunes, waxes, binding checks, boot fitting. Winter is our busiest season and that bench gets deep starting in November.

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Only want the events piece? Tell us. We'll take a strong part-time, events-only host. You'll just have fewer hours available.​

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Example trips might include:

• Day hiking trips

• Paddleboarding trips to local or distant mountain lakes

• Kayak camping trips to local islands

• Backcountry ski/split touring days

• Bouldering at local crags

• Bike rides ranging from city wide waterfront tours to bikepacking to mountain biking

• Foraging in the Pacific Northwest

• All to supplement our relaxed in house game nights, talks, and skills classes

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Core Responsibilities:

1. Host events. Lead, co-lead or support social and outdoor programming. Set the tone: welcoming, unpretentious, nobody feels dumb for asking a basic question.
    

2. Run the logistics. Registrations and rosters, permits and parking, gear staging, headcounts, driving a member van, photos, and the follow-up message afterward. Good events are 20% charisma and 80% having the right things in the right place.
    

3. Build the calendar. Contribute ideas, help fill under-subscribed events, and tell us what members are actually asking for. You'll be closer to that than anyone.
    

4. Cafe shifts. Make consistently good coffee, keep the bar clean and stocked, run opens or closes, and be a reason people come back.
    

5. Gear counter. Check gear in and out, inspect and organize the fleet, and help someone who has never clipped into a ski binding feel like that's a normal thing to not know.
    

6. Be useful. We're a small team, so everyone occasionally works outside a tidy job description.

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About you

We care more about judgment and warmth than credentials. Strong applicants tend to have some of this - not all of it.

• You've made plans happen for other people. Leading trips, teaching classes, organizing group rides or runs, coaching, camp staff, club or nonprofit organizing, or just being the friend who always gets six people to the trailhead on time. This is the experience we weight most heavily.
   

• You're good with people, including nervous ones. Our members range from ex-guides to people who've never slept in a tent. Both should feel equally welcome.
   

• Café, restaurant, or bar experience. Most of our strongest team members have it, and it's the best predictor we've found for handling a busy shift without losing the plot. It's a strong preference rather than a hard requirement - but you do need to genuinely want the bar hours, not just accept them. If you've never pulled a shot, we'll teach you.
   

• Real outdoor experience in one or two disciplines. Skiing, splitboarding, climbing, biking, paddling, backpacking, running, XC, snowshoeing. Depth in a couple beats a shallow list, and knowing Washington - the passes, the Olympics, the I-90 corridor, where to send a beginner in October - goes a long way.
   

• Evening and weekend availability. That's when events happen. This is the one that's genuinely non-negotiable.
   

• A driver's license. Most outings involve one of our vans. If you don't drive, tell us and we'll talk.
   

• Gear or bench skills are a bonus. Ski tuning, boot fitting, bike mechanics, shop or rental fleet experience. Helpful, not expected.
   

Certifications like WFR or WFA are a plus and we're glad to support you in getting one. They are not required to apply.
 

If you read this and thought "I'm most of that," please apply. We'd rather talk to someone curious and a little underqualified than skip them because they didn't check every box.

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What We Offer

• $22–24/hr depending on experience, plus tips on every bar shift.

• Event hours are paid hours. Hosting a trip is work and we pay it as work. This isn't a volunteer-and-we'll-buy-you-a-beer arrangement.

• A free Gearhouse membership with full access to the gear library. Skis, boards, rafts, racks, kits — take them out on your own time. That's the point.

• Programming you can actually shape. If you want to run a thing, propose it. We're small enough that good ideas get scheduled instead of studied.

• Training and room to grow. We'd rather build someone into a confident lead host than post two more job listings. Hours and responsibility increase as you're ready for them.

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Candidates must have or obtain a Wilderness First Responder certification and candidates with a few years of guiding or professional outdoor trip organizing experience and entrepreneurial experience valued.

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A note on schedule

Events happen evenings and weekends. Coffee happens all day. Winter shuttles happen early. We'll build a consistent weekly schedule with you, but this role doesn't fit inside 9-to-5, and December through March is our busiest stretch.

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How to apply

Email your résumé - or a summary of relevant experience - and a few sentences on why you're a good fit to evan+adventures@joingearhouse.com, emeraldl@joingearhouse.com and seanp@joingearhouse.com.

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If it's helpful, touch on:

1. An event, trip or group you've organized or led. What went well, and what you'd do differently?

2. Your café, restaurant or customer-facing experience, and how you feel about bar shifts

3. The outdoor activities you know best, and how well you know Washington

4. Your availability - especially evenings and weekends

5. How you heard about us

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No formal cover letter needed. Tell us what you're good at and what you'd like to get better at.

Gearhouse is an equal opportunity employer. We're building a place where someone brand new to the outdoors feels as welcome as someone who's been guiding for a decade, and we hire the same way.