Product Development Mgr. – Apparel & Accessories

Department: Product Creation

Location: KX Lab HQ – Los Angeles, CA

Reports To: Director of Product Creation      

Salary Range: $80,000 -$95,000                                            

Job Summary:

As a Product Development Manager for apparel and accessories at KX Lab, you play a critical role in the development of knitted products for our clientele. You will work closely with knitting, manufacturing, and quality control teams to ensure that our created apparel and accessories product meets the highest standards of quality, comfort, and style while being produced on time and to cost targets.                                  

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Key Responsibilities:          

  • Product Development: Manage the product development process by supporting an effective transition of concept designs from prototyping into production.
  • Material Selection and Sourcing: With our Materials and Designs teams, collaborate to identify and source high-quality materials for production.
  • Collaboration: Work closely with external customers to receive Tech Packages and prepare/review with internal teams for sample making. Communicate all product, shipping, tracking, material/product feedback between internal teams and customers.
  • Project Management: Oversee the complete product creation process to ensure that samples are created and provided to the customer on time and to target costs where possible.                      
  • Prototyping: Manage the development of prototypes and samples of products for evaluation and testing, making necessary adjustments based on feedback and performance results.
  • Testing and Quality Control: Conduct rigorous testing and quality control assessments to ensure that knit materials and components meet industry and company standards.
  • Cost Management: Work to optimize the cost-effectiveness product attributes and raw materials while maintaining quality and performance standards.
  • Documentation: Maintain comprehensive records of material development, testing results, and specifications for reference and future use.

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Qualifications:                                        

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  • Bachelor's degree in Textile Engineering, Materials Science, or a related field is preferred.
  • 3+ years of equivalent work experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.                                  
  • 2-3 years experience as a product developer within a brand or manufacturing environment.
  • Strong understanding of knit and or woven product processes and technologies.
  • Proven track record of managing multiple products/projects on multiple delivery timeline schedules.
  • Knowledge of product construction and design principles.                                            
  • Proficiency in materials, material testing and understanding of QA procedures.              
  • Prior experience in seamless knit material development, preferably in the apparel or soft goods industries is a plus.                      
  • Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.  
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills.                                            
  • Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, team-oriented environment.      

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Skills and Competencies:                                          

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  • Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook or related software.                      
  • Experience with PLM/ERP Systems is a plus.                                          
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.                                                
  • Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.                                                
  • Outstanding organizational skills and attention to detail.                                              
  • Prior experience building and communicating Bills of Materials (BOMs).                            
  • Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.        
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.                                              
  • Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.                                          
  • Ability to manage through a problem, think and make decisions independently and proactively.
  • Ability to maintain confidential information.

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If you're excited‍ about this opportunity and believe you would be a great fit for our team, we would love to hear from you! Please send your resume to careers@kxlab.la. We look forward to reviewing your application.

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