Senior Product Development I

About the Role

We have an exciting and unique career opportunity to be a part of the product team as a Senior Product Development I. The Senior Product Development I is a member of the product team who reports directly to the Manager of Product Development. This is a salaried, exempt position whose primary responsibility is to develop quality products with our factories that meet calendar, cost and design requirements while ensuring technique, functionality and quality are sound for commercialization of the product.

Responsibilities

• Owns maintaining product development dates within the Product Lifecycle Calendar; Ensure accuracy, update daily with any changes, communicate any risks associated with the shift and issue remediation when off calendar.
• Supports Product Development Manager or Director in rebuilding any dates from Design Concept to Launch.
• Champion for adherence to all applicable product development dates, and team needs to execute product on time, and per our quality standards.
• Coordinate with Materials & Product Integrity team to ensure material sourcing timelines, product specifications, sample orders, approvals and all steps of development align in total according to established calendar.
• Build and maintain all sample development information in PLM across all categories.
• Coordinate with Product Development Manager, Sourcing Team and Materials & Product Integrity Team on vendor placement based on development capabilities, sample lead times, and development capacity.
• Oversee tracking of all sample phases and proactively inform internal departments of delays by outlining reasons for the delays and solutions.
• Partner with Product Development Specialist to enforce sample ship dates according to the Product Development calendar and communicate priorities to our vendors.
• Reviews, approves, and tracks all sample invoices from the vendors, and works closely with accounting to issue payment in partnership with the Product Development Specialist.
• Proactively collect and document design or merchandising direction and aesthetic goals to provide clear communication to vendors, track progress, provide feedback, options, and trigger decisions driving development through production.
• Create, maintain, and finalize Style BOMs in PLM with design supplied mockups, and product details to provide comprehensive instructions and specifications to aid factory in development, sampling, and production.
• Manage development sample communication and tracking with vendors to ensure quality and on time shipments throughout all development sample phases.
• Ensure all products are vetted for engineering, quality, functionality, and risk.
• Evaluate development samples and materials for accuracy against product specifications and established standards.
• Request and negotiate costs through all development phases and manage up target IMU risks to Product Development Manager or Director for alignment at each stage of development.
• Complete on time product information handoff to Production once an assortment is finalized.
• Build strong cross functional partnerships with Design, Merchandising, Production, Vendors and Agent, and intuitively know when to effectively engage teams to support department needs.
• Provide productive feedback to vendors and agencies when needed, and track downfalls & wins including, but not limited to, lead times and on-time delivery, throughout the quarter to aid in the completion of the partnership survey for the quarterly scorecards.
• Representation of functional area when management is unavailable or traveling.
• Identify areas of opportunity and align with key cross functional partners on solutions to remove any roadblocks or to improve ways of working.
• Produce seasonal hindsight's, including total styles sampled, style adoption, total team workload and total costs accrued, presenting risks and opportunities, and reporting on the evolution of the season.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business, Design, Product Development, Fashion Merchandising, or related fields.
• 3-5 years’ experience in Product Development for a high-growth company.
• Jewelry experience is a plus.
• A proven ability to execute with consistent delivery and reprioritize based on evolving business needs.
• Strong multi-tasking skills and ability to react quickly in a fast-paced environment.
• Solution-oriented mindset with strong problem-solving skills.
• Excited by a challenge and can execute projects with limited or no direction.
• Deadline focused, detail-oriented and highly organized; Not fazed by complexity, multiple timelines, and competing priorities.
• Understanding of retail product development, technical design, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience working with domestic and overseas vendors as well as third-party agencies.
• Experience developing, implementing, and communicating new processes and tools.
• A strong ability to build cross functional partnerships and work collaboratively.
• Strong communication skills with a proven ability to build relationships and make effective decisions.
• A growth mindset: desire to learn, grow and embrace new ideas.
• Expertise in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• PLM experience is a plus.