Production Design Assistant - Development & Production

PepsiCo•New York, NY

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Production Design Assistant Development & Production plays a critical support role within the Global Lifestyle Merchandise team, partnering closely with the Development and Production Lead to execute product creation from concept through delivery. This role is highly operational, ensuring timelines, samples, vendor communications, and production workflows run efficiently and accurately. This individual will serve as the connective tissue across Design, Brand Marketing, Legal, Procurement, and external vendors—helping to bring lifestyle merchandise to market on time, within budget, and at the highest quality standards.

Requirements

At least 3 years of experience in product development, production, merchandising, or supply chain
Strong organizational and project coordination skills with high attention to detail
Familiarity with costing, production timelines, and supply chain fundamentals
Experience with design tools including Adobe Illustrator
Proficiency in Excel and project tracking tools
Highly organized with strong follow-through and attention to detail
Effective communicator across cross-functional teams and external partners
Proactive problem-solver with ability to manage multiple priorities
Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment
Collaborative mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability

Nice To Haves

Exposure to lifestyle categories such as apparel, footwear, or accessories preferred

Responsibilities

Maintain and update Time & Action (T&A) calendars to track all development and production milestones
Coordinate cross-functional approvals across Design, Brand, and Legal teams
Track project status and proactively flag risks, delays, or resource gaps
Prepare status reports, recaps, and documentation to support stakeholder visibility
Support budget tracking, invoice processing, and financial reconciliation
Assist in managing the end-to-end prototyping process, including sample tracking and revisions
Maintain accurate records of product specs, costing updates, and design changes
Coordinate sample requests, shipping, and internal distribution for reviews
Support costing exercises, margin tracking, and vendor quote comparisons
Help maintain and organize sample archives (development + final approvals)
Partner with Design to ensure briefs are translated accurately into production-ready products
Support order management processes including line lists, order files, and PO creation
Track production timelines and ensure on-time delivery against key milestones
Coordinate logistics, shipping documentation, and freight partners
Assist in managing vendor communications related to production updates and issue resolution
Support quality assurance processes, including documentation, testing coordination, and compliance tracking
Help troubleshoot production issues and escalate to Lead as needed
Maintain and update vendor database, factory profiles, and system records
Assist in onboarding new suppliers and managing required documentation
Track vendor performance, timelines, and quality metrics
Support development of tools, trackers, and process improvements to enhance efficiency