Manager, Fabric Research & Development
About The Position
What You’ll Be Responsible For: Sourcing: Drive Womenswear fabric sourcing across Knits, Hard Woven, and Soft Woven categories under the Sr. Director of Fabric R&D. Translate Design’s vision into raw material fabrications that align with the brand’s price, MOQ, lead time, and quality standards. Maintain and build global mill relationships that utilize regional specialties and showcase technical knowledge of mill capacities. Attend frequent meetings to speak to the fabric sourcing status and address risks with cross functional partners (Design, Product Development, Merchandizing, Tech, and Production). Serve as the liaison between internal teams and external mills to seamlessly communicate fabric status and deliver timely developments. Own the fabric process from start to finish. Gather all Fabric Detail Sheets for nominated qualities – carefully screening for accurate fabric specifications (content, weight, width), FOB/CIF pricing, lead times, test results, and COO. Manage the internal database (AirTable) with all FDS, fabric details, lead times, colorways, yardage tracking, and mill dates. Locate and ship any yardage to vendors when needed for proto, SMS, or bulk fit intent. Issue Purchase Orders for nominated qualities. Process all 1/4yd SMS cuttings for quality, weight, hand feel, and color. Organize the fabric library and maintain relevant sourcing.
Requirements
- Must have Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
- Minimum of three to five (3-5) years of experience in the apparel industry, specifically in raw materials, fabric sourcing/management
- Strong technical expertise in raw materials and sourcing
- Team Player with excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- Ability to negotiate and build consensus across multiple cross functional partners
- Ability to build and maintain strong vendor relationships, with knowledge of regional specialties and mill capacities
- Thorough understanding of testing protocol, product integrity requirements, product life cycles, timelines, and garment construction
- Proficient in Microsoft Excel and PLM software
Responsibilities
- Drive Womenswear fabric sourcing across Knits, Hard Woven, and Soft Woven categories under the Sr. Director of Fabric R&D.
- Translate Design’s vision into raw material fabrications that align with the brand’s price, MOQ, lead time, and quality standards.
- Maintain and build global mill relationships that utilize regional specialties and showcase technical knowledge of mill capacities.
- Attend frequent meetings to speak to the fabric sourcing status and address risks with cross functional partners (Design, Product Development, Merchandizing, Tech, and Production).
- Serve as the liaison between internal teams and external mills to seamlessly communicate fabric status and deliver timely developments.
- Own the fabric process from start to finish.
- Gather all Fabric Detail Sheets for nominated qualities – carefully screening for accurate fabric specifications (content, weight, width), FOB/CIF pricing, lead times, test results, and COO.
- Manage the internal database (AirTable) with all FDS, fabric details, lead times, colorways, yardage tracking, and mill dates.
- Locate and ship any yardage to vendors when needed for proto, SMS, or bulk fit intent.
- Issue Purchase Orders for nominated qualities.
- Process all 1/4yd SMS cuttings for quality, weight, hand feel, and color.
- Organize the fabric library and maintain relevant sourcing.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
Number of Employees
501-1,000 employees
