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The Director of Technical Design will lead, elevate, and scale the technical design function for a dynamic, fast-growing brand environment. This role requires a unique balance of executive leadership, strategic systems optimization, and hands-on technical execution.

Reporting to product leadership, you will manage a team of 4–6 technical designers while maintaining direct category ownership and actively leading fit sessions. Due to the evolving nature of our business, you will act as both a team leader and a hands-on technical expert—evaluating current PLM software and tech tools, optimizing workflows, and forecasting departmental workload to scale infrastructure alongside brand growth.

What you’ll do

Strategic Leadership & Team Management

Team Leadership & Mentorship: Lead, direct, and nurture a team of 4–6 technical designers; establish individual career growth paths, clear performance metrics, and accountability frameworks.
Workload & Capacity Planning: Analyze departmental bandwidth and resource allocation relative to seasonal SKU counts, proactively planning headcount and freelance support to scale with business growth.
Fit & Quality Governance: Establish and enforce global fit, grading, and construction standards across all product categories to maintain brand consistency and high quality.

Hands-On Category Ownership & Fitting

Direct Category Ownership: Maintain full end-to-end technical responsibility for designated core product categories—from initial design concept through commercialization and production.
Lead Fit Sessions: Facilitate and lead live-model fit sessions for assigned categories, providing real-time pattern, construction, and balance corrections to maintain creative design intent while ensuring optimal fit.
Technical Excellence: Partner closely with Design, Merchandising, and Production to solve complex construction and technical fitting challenges.

Systems, Tools & Digital Process Optimization

PLM & Tech Audit: Continuously evaluate current PLM systems, digital tracking tools, and technical workflows to ensure they meet the needs of the evolving brand or make recommendations for software upgrades.
Process Innovation & AI/Tool Adoption: Research, pilot, and implement emerging technical design tools (such as 3D digital sampling, automated spec generation, or enhanced PLM modules) to drive operational efficiency and shorten development cycles.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Create, update, and maintain comprehensive brand technical manuals, master spec blocks, construction guidelines, and digital libraries.

Vendor Engagement, Costing & Supply Chain Alignment

Factory Partnerships: Build strong relationships with international and domestic factory technical counterparts; conduct vendor capability assessments to ensure technical alignment.
Cost & Commercialization Balance: Partner with Sourcing and Production to optimize garment construction for commercial viability, targeting production efficiency and yield without sacrificing design integrity or quality.
Vendor Onboarding: Establish standardized onboarding protocols and technical execution packages for new factory partners.

Cross-Functional Integration & Continuous Improvement

Voice of Customer (Fit Analytics): Collaborate with Customer Service, Merchandising, and E-Commerce teams to analyze customer return rates, reviews, and fit feedback, integrating data insights directly into seasonal fitting adjustments.
E2E Calendar Accountability: Oversee the technical development pipeline to ensure all milestone dates on the end-to-end (E2E) calendar are consistently met by the TD team.

What you’ll have

Required

Experience: 12+ years of progressive technical design and patternmaking experience in the apparel industry, with at least 3–5 years in a direct team management or departmental leadership role.
Hands-On Expertise: Proven track record of managing direct reports while simultaneously owning product categories and running live fittings.
Systems Mastery: Deep knowledge of PLM systems (e.g., Centric, FlexPLM, Bamboo Rose), CAD patternmaking software (e.g., Gerber, Lectra), and 3D fashion design/fitting tools (e.g., Browzwear, Clo3D).