Director, Product Development (Women's Apparel)

Reformation • Vernon, CA

1d • $160,000 - $170,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Being naked is the #1 most sustainable option. We're #2. Since 2009, we've been on a mission to bring sustainable fashion to everyone. Named one of Fast Company’s Brands That Matter and winning a Best Carbon Footprint award, we have big goals like being Climate Positive by 2025, Circular by 2030, and pushing the whole industry forward along the way. Our work has gotten love in Drapers and Sourcing Journal, and TIME wrote about how great our CEO, Hali Borenstein, is. Basically, we're saving the Earth and looking damn good doing it. We're a global brand with 50+ stores (and counting) around the world, and our own sustainable factory in LA. We innovate across categories like accessories, swimwear, and sleepwear, and we reach millions of people with campaigns like this, this and this. None of this work is possible without the incredible people behind it. We're a mission-based company that invests in an inclusive culture, so we can innovate together and ensure everyone has the space to grow, thrive, and belong. And starting right now, we want to do all that with you.

Requirements

• 10+ years in apparel product development, with prior people-management experience at the manager or associate director level or above.
• A track record of owning costing negotiations, margin targets, and budget management — not just calendar or process oversight.
• Experience building and retaining supplier and vendor relationships, with direct negotiation experience on cost, quality, and capacity.
• Comfortable managing both import and domestic development processes, with an understanding of how calendar and capacity constraints differ by geography.
• Working knowledge of PLM/ERP systems and BOM/data maintenance across the product lifecycle.
• A natural mentor who genuinely enjoys developing people, not just managing output.
• Structured and nimble at the same time — you build process the team will actually follow, and you know when the 80/20 rule applies.
• Comfortable having hard cross-functional conversations that lead to win-win outcomes, even when that means asking other teams to compromise.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office / Google Workspace; comfortable working from live dashboards and BigQuery-backed reporting rather than static trackers.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the entire product development lifecycle in scope — concept, tech pack hand-off, sampling, costing, fit, and pass-off to production — as the single accountable owner of the calendar.
• Run the fast lane calendar, holding the team to established chase timelines for both domestic and import development.
• Work closely with the design team to translate creative direction into viable, manufacturable product, surfacing feasibility, costing, and timeline constraints early.
• Partner with R&D on fabric and trim selection to avoid margin or retail-price disconnects downstream.
• Own costing across all channels in scope, holding suppliers to target cost and margin goals through negotiation.
• Develop and manage the department's product development and production budget, tracking spend against plan and flagging variances early.
• Establish and maintain strong, accountable relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, and vendors in scope.
• Own vendor performance conversations — cost, quality, delivery — and bring recommendations on capacity allocation and vendor mix.
• Own the deadstock and trim sourcing process, balancing development speed, sustainability commitments, and data integrity.
• Maintain style bill of materials and product data accurately in PLM/PIM across the full product lifecycle across the teams managed.
• Align development plans with merchandising and planning so the calendar reflects business goals and allocation-to-plan, not just internal PD capacity.
• Ensure every style in scope meets compliance and quality standards before pass-off, partnering with QA on garment care, testing, and labeling requirements.
• Work with Fit Tech to maintain the fit approval schedule and own final fit-to-production sign-off for styles in scope.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing product development team.
• Build and manage the org structure needed to execute, proposing changes to the VP as the business evolves.
• Drive productivity tracking and process improvement across the team, owning the metrics behind it.
• Take on special projects outside the standard calendar as the business requires.

Benefits

• Employer-sponsored private medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Competitive paid time off policies including vacation, sick leave, and company holidays
• Retirement planning support with the option to invest in Environmental Social Governance-aligned funds
• Access to fertility care support through Carrot, and up to a $5,000 USD reimbursement for related fertility expenses after 1 year of employment
• Donations to community efforts on a yearly basis
• Clothing discount
• Culture events (like our annual Ref Values week and Volunteer Time Off)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed