Trim Manager

Veronica Beard•New York, NY

7d•$80,000 - $90,000

About The Position

The Trim Manager owns trim development for assigned product categories (which may include RTW Tailoring, VBJ Jeans Cut & Sew, and VBJ Denim) and supports the execution of production trim purchasing and order management. The role manages the end-to-end trim lifecycle—from seasonal concept launch, supplier development, costing, sampling, testing, and approval through purchase order placement, shipment tracking, receipt reconciliation, and production issue resolution. This position maintains day-to-day supplier relationships, negotiates costs and lead times, monitors calendar milestones, and collaborates with Design, Product Development, Production, factories, and other cross-functional partners to deliver quality trims on time and within cost targets. Strategic, cross-category, and high-impact decisions are escalated to the Senior Manager.

Requirements

5-7 years of trim, raw materials, product development, or production experience in apparel, with independent category, supplier, or order-management responsibility.
Experience managing trim development and bulk production workflows, including costing, lead times, MOQs, approvals, purchase orders, shipments, and receipt reconciliation.
Strong technical trim knowledge across hardware, buttons, zippers, labels, packaging, grommets, and specialty trims; hardware experience strongly preferred.
Experience reviewing testing, quality, compliance, shipping, customs, and supplier documentation and resolving discrepancies or production issues.
Experience in a ready-to-wear environment and with domestic and overseas suppliers is preferred.
Proven ability to manage multiple overlapping seasons, high order volumes, shifting priorities, and tight production deadlines.
Proficiency in PLM systems and Excel required; experience with VibeIQ or similar platforms is a plus.
Strong negotiation, organization, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, with proactive follow-through and close attention to detail.
Ability to work collaboratively across design, product development, production, suppliers, and factories in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

hardware experience strongly preferred
Experience in a ready-to-wear environment and with domestic and overseas suppliers is preferred.
experience with VibeIQ or similar platforms is a plus.

Responsibilities

Own seasonal trim development for assigned categories, launching brand concepts with suppliers and managing development through bulk approval and production handoff.
Manage day-to-day supplier relationships, including cost, lead time, MOQ, tooling, capacity, quality, and performance follow-up; escalate strategic or material commercial decisions to the Senior Trim Manager.
Manage molds and tooling, prototypes, SMS samples, lab dips, testing, pre-production approvals, revisions, and final bulk approval across overlapping seasons.
Issue and track trim, label, and packaging purchase orders, including blanket production orders, ensuring pricing, quantities, lead times, and delivery dates align with the production calendar and company needs.
Track domestic and overseas trim shipments, proactively follow up on open orders, update WIP reports, communicate delivery status, and escalate risks with chase and recovery plans.
Communicate incoming domestic shipments to cross-functional teams and factories; reconcile received quantities against purchase orders and packing lists and resolve discrepancies with suppliers and vendors.
Validate supplier shipping and customs documentation for accuracy and communicate compliance requirements and requests for certifications or vendor records.
Receive, review, and approve bulk production trims to ensure alignment with brand quality standards, specifications, packaging, labeling, testing, and care requirements.
Partner with design and product development on trim direction, feasibility, cost engineering, supplier options, and timely availability of pre-production trims for sampling.
Identify and resolve trim quality, compliance, receiving, and production issues, including plating deviations, strength or testing failures, application challenges, defects, and documentation concerns.
Review and validate BOMs, Trim Detail Sheets, care-related test results, and other development and production records to ensure complete and accurate trim information.
Maintain seasonal trim WIP reports, cost and order records, shipment documentation, trim libraries, sample boards, and trim kits for meetings, presentations, audits, and special projects.
Conduct regular inventory audits and seasonal clean-ups with domestic factories to support inventory accuracy and component accessibility.
Support sourcing strategy initiatives led by the Senior Trim Manager, including supplier evaluations, new supplier onboarding, dual sourcing, tariff and country-of-origin strategy, and process improvement.
Contribute to SOPs and process documentation and provide clear, timely communication across design, product development, production, factories, and suppliers.