Senior Director Product Development

The product development associate is a team player and passionate about product. This person is detail orientated, thorough and committed to seeing a project through on time. They can multi-task efficiently and effectively while being flexible to accommodate the changing needs of a fast paced business. This person understands production processes. The product development associate builds strong relationships with all cross functional teams. This is a self-motivated person that acts as an owner of their category and excels in a fast-paced work environment.

• Material Research and Development- maintains fabric and materials library for their categories. Supports Senior PD manager in material and fabric sourcing/development, establishing standards and submitting to overseas partners/vendors for counter sourcing. Requests/organizes all fabric details for costing reference.Technical fabric knowledge a must.
• Costing- works with Senior PD manager and production to identify opportunities for cost engineering improvements in development.
• PD Process Ownership- owns delivering product within parameters set by design, sales, and merchandising. Manages cross functional alignment on development goals. Owns weekly PD / production meetings for assigned categories. Daily management of development tracker (WIP chart). Communicates accurate details relating to sampling, costing and product details to all cross functional teams and vendors/factories. Tracks all development fees, reviews with Senior PD Manager for approval.
• Sample + Product Management- responsible for day to day organization of product workspace; together with sample coordinator, manages all seasonal salesmen samples and product archives where applicable in sample closets. Partners with design to coordinate and set up samples for milestone meetings and seasonal line sheet photoshoots.
• Vendor Development- in partnership with production, develops a deep understanding of vendor capabilities and uses knowledge to lead the team to develop best possible product within vendor limitations.
• Timeline Management- Drives adherence to all timing goals as set by development calendar; seasonal kick offs, sample due dates, product approval, final cost hand offs and product validation. Leads the communication on sample requests, follow ups and troubleshooting timelines, works with Senior PD manager on T&A building as needed.