Design Room Lead - Ready-to-Wear & Development

Zimmermann; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development plans

Product discounts

Career progression

Inclusive team culture

Job summary

ZIMMERMANN, founded in Sydney, invites a Design Room Manager to lead the end-to-end Ready to Wear design and development path. You will drive the critical path from concept to production handover, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver creative, high-quality collections.

You will manage PLM processes, vendor relations, and seasonal setup, ensuring craftsmanship and innovation align with brand standards and timelines in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 15+ years’ experience in a design or product development leadership role.
• A degree in Fashion Design or a related discipline.
• Strong leadership capability with experience managing cross‑functional and global teams.
• Deep technical knowledge of fabrics, garment construction, and pattern making.
• Advanced experience with PLM systems and Adobe Creative Suite.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end Design & Development Critical Path for Ready to Wear, from concept to production handover across all seasonal and capsule collections.
• Drive delivery against key milestones across design, sourcing, sampling, and product development—ensuring collections are on time and within budget.
• Partner with the Creative Director, Senior Design Team, and cross-functional stakeholders to translate creative vision into commercially viable collections.
• Continuously enhance design room operations, optimise workflows, and support innovation across fabrics, prints, trims, and techniques.
• Ensure strong governance and quality outcomes, including PLM accuracy, BOM integrity, costings, and margin alignment.
• Lead supplier, systems, and seasonal setup management, including sourcing strategy and sample budget tracking.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Communication

Time management

Fabric knowledge

Pattern making

Education

Degree in Fashion Design

Tools

PLM systems

Adobe Creative Suite

Job description

ZIMMERMANN, founded in Sydney, invites a Design Room Manager to lead the end-to-end Ready to Wear design and development path. You will drive the critical path from concept to production handover, collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver creative, high-quality collections.

You will manage PLM processes, vendor relations, and seasonal setup, ensuring craftsmanship and innovation align with brand standards and timelines in a fast-paced environment.