Director, Product Development - Kids Denim
About The Position
The Senior Manager / Director of Denim is a senior-level technical and product leader responsible for the end-to-end execution of kid’s denim—from early design partnerships through sourcing, development, and bulk production. Reporting into Sourcing/Production, this role serves as the enterprise authority on kids’ denim, ensuring products are age-appropriate, durable, safe, cost-effective, and scalable, while still delivering on brand aesthetic and innovation. This role acts as the denim center of excellence for the Kids business, balancing creative intent with commercial, quality, and compliance requirements unique to children’s apparel.
Requirements
- Director: 12–15+ years of denim leadership experience
- Deep expertise in denim construction, washing, finishing, and kids fit considerations
- Experience working with global denim mills, laundries, and factories
- Expert-level denim technical knowledge
- Strategic and commercial acumen
- Strong vendor leadership and influence skills
- Clear communication across creative and operational teams
Responsibilities
- Kids Denim Product & Technical Expertise
- Subject matter expert on kids’ denim, including fabric weights, stretch/recovery, durability, comfort, and safety considerations
- Guides design on age-appropriate constructions, washes, embellishments, and finishes
- Ensures denim meets performance needs for active children
- Design & Development Partnership
- Translates creative vision into technically executable and scalable denim products
- Advises on safe, repeatable wash aesthetics and hand-feel
- Supports fit, pattern engineering, and construction decisions
- Reviews and approves prototypes, lab dips, strike-offs, and wear tests
- Sourcing & Vendor Strategy
- Leads denim-specific vendor strategy for the Kids business
- Develop vendors capable of meeting kids’ quality and compliance standards
- Drives vendor performance across cost, quality, lead time, and innovation
- Production & Commercialization
- Oversees execution from development handoff through bulk production
- Mitigates risks related to shade, shrinkage, growth allowance, and wash repeatability
- Leads escalation and resolution of production issues
- Quality, Fit, Safety & Compliance
- Establishes kids denim quality and testing standards
- Ensures compliance with all children’s safety regulations
- Drives consistency of fit, color, and performance
- Costing & Margin Optimization
- Provides leadership input into denim costing
- Identifies cost efficiencies aligned to kids price architecture
- Partners with Merchandising and Sourcing on margin targets
- Sustainability & Responsible Manufacturing
- Champions responsible fibers and reduced-impact wash processes
- Partners with Sustainability and Compliance teams
- Process Excellence & Knowledge Leadership
- Establishes best practices for kids denim development and production
- Builds wash libraries, fit blocks, and vendor capability matrices
- Educates cross-functional teams on denim risks and innovations
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Education Level
No Education Listed
