Position Overview
We are looking for an experienced Technical Design Manager to lead a team of Technical Designers and support the day-to-day development of our children's apparel business. This is a hands-on role that combines people leadership with direct technical design responsibility across multiple retailers, brands, and seasonal calendars.
Working closely with Design, Product Development, Merchandising, Sourcing, Production, Quality, and overseas factory partners, this person will help the team stay organized, make sound technical decisions, and keep development moving as business needs evolve. The right person will enjoy coaching others, solving problems, and bringing clarity to a busy, collaborative environment.
How You Will Contribute
• Give the team clear priorities, practical guidance, and the support they need to do their best work.
• Help keep development on track across multiple retailer calendars, communicating clearly when priorities or timing change.
• Recognize workload or timing conflicts early and work with the appropriate partners to resolve them.
• Maintain strong standards for fit, construction, and technical documentation while supporting a high seasonal style count.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership and Prioritization
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Technical Designers, building accountability, sound judgment, and technical consistency.
• Translate multiple retailer calendars and seasonal milestones into a clear team workload plan with weekly priorities and owners.
• Balance planned development, urgent requests, fit approvals, and production needs; reallocate work quickly as business priorities change.
• Maintain visibility to style status, capacity, bottlenecks, and upcoming deadlines; identify risks early and resolve or escalate them with a recommendation.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings, performance reviews, development planning, onboarding, and technical training.
Technical Design Execution
• Maintain hands-on ownership of assigned product categories while overseeing the quality and timeliness of the team's work.
• Lead fit sessions and make clear, commercially sound decisions on fit, construction, grading, pattern interpretation, and product integrity.
• Create and review technical packages, specifications, fit comments, grading, and construction details for accuracy and production readiness.
• Partner directly with overseas factories and sourcing teams to resolve technical issues, reduce unnecessary iterations, and protect calendar timing.
Cross Functional Partnership
• Partner closely with Design, Product Development, Merchandising, Sourcing, Production, and Quality throughout the development process.
• Communicate concise status updates, risks, decisions, and next steps so partners can act quickly and stay aligned.
• Balance design intent with fit, quality, cost, manufacturability, and speed to market.
• Serve as the first point of escalation for team workload and technical challenges, involving the VP when broader direction or support is required.
Operational Excellence
• Establish consistent technical standards, fit philosophy, documentation practices, and approval discipline across the team.
• Use PLM and working trackers to maintain accurate, current visibility to style status and milestone progress.
• Identify practical improvements to workflow, communication, tools, and team efficiency, and support implementation of department processes established by the VP.
• Partner with the 3D team, where appropriate, to identify opportunities to reduce development iterations and improve speed to market and production readiness.
Qualifications
Required Experience
• 7 or more years of progressive Technical Design experience in apparel.
• Demonstrated success managing a high-volume product workload across multiple calendars, customers, or business units.
• Advanced knowledge of garment construction, fit, grading, patternmaking, specifications, and apparel manufacturing.
• Experience working directly with overseas factories and global sourcing partners.
• Proficiency with PLM systems, Microsoft Excel, and other tools used to track development and communicate technical direction.
Leadership Profile
• Able to lead and develop others while remaining credible and effective as a hands-on technical contributor.
• Highly organized and calm under pressure, with the judgment to distinguish what is urgent, what is important, and what can move.
• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and adjusting quickly as retailer needs or priorities change.
• Clear, direct communicator who builds trust across functions, cultures, and time zones.
• Strong follow-through, attention to detail, and personal accountability for both team output and business results.
Preferred Experience
• Previous people-management experience; strong team leadership or mentoring experience will also be considered.
• Children's apparel, mass-market retail, and multi-retailer experience.
• Experience using 3D tools and working cross-functionally with 3D teams to streamline development and accelerate speed to market or production.
Salary
Starting at $120K
