Product Development Assistant

Hot Topic & BoxLunch • Hot Topic HQ - City of Industry, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Product Development Assistant partners with the Product Development team to help bring music- and pop culture-inspired fashion to life. The role is based at the company’s headquarters in City of Industry, California, and is on-site five days per week. It supports product development operations through cross-functional communication, sample tracking and processing, reporting, vendor follow-up, and administrative assistance.

Requirements

• Strong communication, organization, initiative, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple projects.
• Detail-oriented.
• Expert skill set in Excel.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Word and Outlook.
• Regularly able to sit, stand, bend, and lift or move up to 50 pounds.

Nice To Haves

• Associate or bachelor’s degree, or equivalent job experience.
• Knowledge of Hot Topic and BoxLunch licenses.

Responsibilities

• Communicate daily with Design, Merchandising, Technical Design, Product Development colleagues, and supervisors, and support the department with administrative tasks.
• Update weekly work-in-progress (WIP) reports for multiple seasons, maintaining accurate information for cross-functional partners.
• Manage the Sample Tracker and ensure sample requests are made when a collection closes, including licensor, photo, buyer, and marketing samples.
• Follow up on sample due dates to ensure samples arrive on time.
• Open and sort daily parcels, check samples into the tracker, and pass them to the appropriate teams for review.
• Sort submits, pair them with the corresponding style folders, and pass them on for review.
• Review strike-offs and trim submits for color approval and send comments to vendors.
• Assist the Production Manager with day-to-day functions, including accurate record-keeping.
• Communicate by email with offshore vendors and factories to advance product development events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree