Pattern Developer

Exemplis•Buena Park, CA

5d•$93,671 - $140,507•Onsite

About The Position

The Pattern Developer is responsible for developing, refining, and maintaining production-ready patterns for upholstered furniture products. This role translates design intent, engineering requirements, and prototype concepts into accurate, repeatable patterns that support product quality, manufacturability, material utilization, and efficient production. Working closely with Product Development, Design, Engineering, Upholstery, Sewing, and Manufacturing teams, the Pattern Developer takes products from prototype through production release while ensuring patterns meet dimensional, aesthetic, ergonomic, and manufacturing requirements.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in pattern development, upholstery pattern making, sewn-product development, or a related field
Strong understanding of sewing construction and upholstery techniques
Demonstrated ability to develop patterns from physical prototypes, design concepts, or technical information

Nice To Haves

Experience developing patterns for office seating, automotive seating, residential furniture, transportation interiors, or other complex upholstered products
Experience working with fabric, leather, vinyl, mesh, foam, and laminated upholstery materials
Familiarity with CAD systems and engineering drawings

Responsibilities

Develop upholstery patterns from sketches, CAD data, physical prototypes, existing products, and design direction.
Establish appropriate seam allowances, notches, grain/orientation requirements, match points, stretch considerations, and assembly references.
Develop patterns that balance design intent with repeatability and manufacturability.
Partner with prototype sewing and upholstery teams to build and evaluate first-off samples.
Identify pattern, sewing, upholstery, or construction issues during prototype builds and implement appropriate corrections.
Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering and production teams to ensure patterns and construction methods are practical for production.
Simplify construction where appropriate while preserving product appearance, quality, and performance.
Develop patterns with consideration for fabric, leather, vinyl, mesh, and other upholstery material characteristics.
Work with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for material and cost reduction without negatively affecting product quality.
Support pilot builds, production launches, and manufacturing troubleshooting related to pattern fit, sewing, and upholstery.
Investigate production issues and determine whether root causes are associated with patterns, materials, sewing processes, upholstery methods, foam, frames, or dimensional variation.
Create and maintain accurate digital pattern files and associated technical documentation.
Support development and improvement of pattern-development standards and best practices.