Apparel Product Developer

About the position

The Product Developer (P.D.) is responsible for executing the Business through the entire development process from 1st proto to bulk production-ready status. This involves coordinating with the US and PCC teams to oversee the development, approvals, and production-ready status of all styles of the designated product line. Analyze the development progress, consult with management to fix items that are missing deadlines, and recommend corrective action plans if/ when timelines cannot be met.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for Calendar adherence by executing against the Product Development Calendar timelines and prioritizing the flow of materials, art, and Tech packs.
• Create BOM, complete Tech Pack, ensuring it meets global product standard and post them to designated database.
• Communication with the PCC for any discrepancies and update the PD tracker.
• Building and maintaining a close working partnership with Design. Acting as the technical partner for design, attending presentations and meetings, providing feedback on technical feasibility, brainstorming ideas, and solutions to ensure the design vision is translated into product meeting margin requirements & inclusive of pre-costing activities.
• Partner with Sourcing on timely approval of costing, factory allocation & potential options for cost-savings.
• Work with the PCC & internal cross functional partners to follow up on development testing and fix any potential quality issues through Risk Assessment covering entire design, development commercialization process.
• Monitor proto, SMS, or other pertinent sample delivery to ensure factories are hitting calendar timelines. Communicate with PCC on any corrective action plans to improve delays or resolve licensing roadblocks.
• Drive SMS Buy Ready with cross functional business direct partners to meet on time performance for go to market & production buy ready activities.
• Inform any style re-development with PCC at the substitute factory & ensure the product meets all financial and product requirements to standard.
• Support preparation for seasonal key milestone meetings; Proto/ Costing Review, Line freeze & TP Strategy Meetings. Ensure all necessary inputs & tools are on hand.
• Attend fit meetings creating calendar awareness on any product change request & ensure consistency across collections, inclusive to complying to all global standards.
• Identify downstream impacts of changes that delay deliverables & provide solution-oriented support to partners.
• Input concept data points (Tracker, PLM, Box) are available & updated for PCC to commercialize across all available leagues/ teams.
• Monitor & audit team out color-up on PLM.
• Preparing PP licensing samples for approval, ensuring they are on time & audit against approved tech pack.
• Partner with the cross-functional team when issue is escalated as a risk to buy-ready, per season.
• Monitor work in progress (WIP), maintain tracking and all PD-related record keeping, data input, and in/out parcel coordination.
• Facilitate timely communication with internal and external parties between US offices & PCC.
• Compile weekly metrics & analysis to support PD KPI's.
• Partner with Sr PD/ Manager to identify opportunities within the process to increase speed, efficiency & quality.
• Input report card metrics for on-time sample performance, quality & communicate with PCC on suggested action plans.
• Support SOP documentation, distribution, and training relevant to necessary process updates for internal & external partners. Inclusive of being a SME in cross-functional SOP validation.
• Travel as necessary to finalize the development of product.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Product Development or related field
• 3-7 years of related experience in Sportswear development & management.
• Technical knowledge of fabric, trim, construction, embellishment, and product engineering.
• Experience working for a US global company with international offices working with factories throughout the region.
• A team player with a good attitude, strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient in product line management (PLM), databases, and MS Office applications
• Advanced Excel skills. 3D development experienced is preferred.
• Must be detail-oriented, able to multitask, and punctual in meeting deadlines.
• Willing and able to travel extensively, often to foreign and/or remote locations.
• Ability to juggle multiple deadlines and tasks in a fast-paced environment. Strong sense of urgency and intuitive sense of priorities and accuracy.
• Identify opportunities within the process to increase speed, efficiency and quality.