Product Development Manager

Centric Brands•New York, NY

5d•$90,000 - $100,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Centric Brands is a leading lifestyle brand collective that designs, sources, markets and sells high quality products in multiple segments, including women’s, men’s and kid’s apparel, accessories, entertainment and beauty. Centric Brands is focused on our customers and our brands that will drive the company’s future growth. We are defined by innovation as we seize new opportunities and thrive in an environment informed by creativity and thinking that is both analytical and outside the box. Centric Brands reflects a team built on respect, for others and for the hard work it takes to achieve our goals and build our bright future together. From sourcing raw materials to manufacturing, order placement, pricing, quality control and getting the finished product where it needs to be, our production/product development team is responsible for ensuring we keep our standards high and our business profitable at every step of the journey. If you are a focused, results-driven, tenacious and highly flexible team player, we’ll give you every opportunity to build a rewarding career with one of the world’s foremost major lifestyle brand collectives.

Requirements

Comprehensive understanding of the entire Product Development cycle, including fabric technology, color science, art applications, and garment construction.
Working knowledge of garment construction techniques, including sewing methods and seam classifications.
Strong understanding of materials such as woven labels, paper finishes and weights, metal trims, and various button qualities.
Excellent organizational and communication skills are required to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
Understanding of Child Safety Guidelines.
Ability to multi-task and meet deadlines with a high level of detail orientation and accuracy.
Proficient in FlexPLM, Microsoft Office; knowledge of Adobe Illustrator is a plus.
Superior organizational and communication skills; team-oriented.
Adaptable and flexible
Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Product Development.
In-depth knowledge of fabrication construction, including limitations and printing restrictions; superior skills in artwork setup, sizing, and placement across direct and fabric print techniques.
5+ years of product development or relevant experience

Nice To Haves

knowledge of Adobe Illustrator is a plus

Responsibilities

Leads seasonal product development needs by collaborating with a cross-functional team, including Production, Design, Sales, and Overseas offices, to develop and execute assigned product lines, with a primary focus on children’s apparel development and secondary on trim and packaging.
Collaborate with Design, Production, and Technical Design to ensure all deadlines are met while communicating status updates to all other departments. Establish an efficient and transparent process to maintain a consistent flow of approvals.
Participate in style-by-style milestone meetings with cross-functional teams to understand customer and brand visions, facilitating the creation of tech packs and initiating design operations.
Work directly with overseas vendors to review and approve product development submissions, including proto-samples, lab dips, strike-offs, sales samples, and pre-production samples, ensuring brand quality and integrity are maintained.
Evaluate lab dips with a strong understanding of color science to ensure color accuracy across products.
Utilize extensive knowledge of woven and knit fabrics, direct/fabric print techniques, and garment construction across multiple categories.
Evaluate initial tech packs through PLM while simultaneously creating comment logs and reviewing samples to ensure all details are executable by the factories.
Schedule proto review meetings with the Design team to ensure garment constructions, design details, and art placement from tech pack align with the designer’s vision.
Collaborate with Design, Production, and Sales teams to ensure development stays on schedule per the design calendar, continually monitoring deadlines and communicating status to all departments.
Lead department head review meetings on product and development, establishing direction and priorities while driving accountability across the team.
Drive fabrication and technique development, identifying opportunities for innovation and efficiency across product lines; partner cross-departmentally to develop new print technique options and treatments.
Identify and resolve errors and inconsistencies within raw arts, ensuring final production pack approvals guarantee arts will execute correctly in print.
Ensure color consistency within sets and collections; evaluate and approve factory output including strike-offs, lab dips, and trims, maintaining extensive follow-up on outstanding components.
Understand and review trims, labels, and packaging, including but not limited to woven labels, satin labels, damask labels, buttons, elastic labels, metal trims (such as snaps and shanks), and stickers.
Provide detailed feedback to suppliers to ensure consistency and quality across products while adhering to packaging and labeling requirements.
Catalog and maintain standard libraries of fabrics, prints, trims, packaging, and labels for future reference, ensuring easy access for the team.
Participate in cross-functional meetings to align packaging and trim strategies with overall product development initiatives.