Fabric & Compliance Technologist

SUPERDRY; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Birthday day off

Company Pension

Life Assurance

Staff discount 50%

Onsite parking

Cycle To Work Scheme

Job summary

Superdry is seeking a Fabric & Compliance Technologist to lead fabric quality and supplier compliance across global operations. You will guide suppliers on product compliance, manage testing/certification, and support our chemical compliance roadmap while collaborating with regional offices.

The role requires a strong textile background, PLM familiarity, and the ability to communicate effectively across teams to ensure high fabric standards and timely delivery.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years' experience in textiles or technical textiles.
• University degree in a technical textile discipline.
• Experience with PLM systems and fabric testing platforms.

Responsibilities

• Guide Suppliers on product compliance and manage testing and certification.
• Oversee fabric quality from submission to shipment and manage non-conformities.
• Input comments and fabric specs into PLM and maintain Fabric/Colour Libraries.
• Support chemical compliance initiatives and REACH/ZDHC roadmaps.
• Collaborate with regional offices and stakeholders to meet regulations.

Skills

Textile expert

PLM systems

Supplier management

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

University degree in technical textile

Tools

PLM software

Fabric testing platforms

Job description

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join the Fabric & Compliance Team as a Fabric & Compliance Technologist. In this role, you will help to deliver our ambitious fabric programme - setting high standards, achieving best quality and consistency, and offering technical support to our Suppliers.

You will also guide Suppliers on product compliance, managing Superdry product compliance projects via product testing and certification, meeting international legislation and territory-specific requirements and supporting our Chemical Compliance Roadmap. As well as strong technical knowledge, the role requires great communications skills (both written and verbal) and a creative and solutions-focused approach.

You Will

• Manage Suppliers to deliver best quality fabrics and provide fabric submission comments in line with the departmental SLA, ensuring they are set up for successful bulk production and on-time delivery
• Encourage a right-first-time approach, challenging Suppliers to improve performance, communication and ways of working where necessary
• Actively take ownership of fabric quality and delivery, from photo sample though to shipment
• Engage in product risk assessment meetings, highlighting areas of concern and helping to advise on solutions and improvements, enabling a timely resolution
• Manage test results and product disposition on fabric testing platforms
• Actively manage failures, coordinating with all stakeholders on rejected base fabrics and ensuring fabrics are improved and re-submitted without delay
• Ensure Suppliers consistently adhere to testing requirements, providing weekly updates to highlight late and incorrect submissions
• Input all comments and fabric specifications onto our Product Lifecycle Management system (PLM) and ensure all Fabric and Colour Libraries are well managed, coded and up to date. You will also ensure standards are signed off and available to all stakeholders
• Support Sourcing initiatives, working with Suppliers where fabric developments are required and ensuring Superdry's high fabric quality standards are met and maintained
• Create relevant technical information, reports and manuals, developing the data in close collaboration with stakeholders to deliver quality and consistency
• Support your line manager with training for our Regional Office Tech Teams and Suppliers
• Issue updates to Superdry performance protocols
• Contribute to the development of a robust compliance strategy, based on a comprehensive understanding of international and territory-specific regulations and legislation
• Propose considered courses of action to ensure Superdry compliance to new legislation
• Manage all territory-specific compliance or retailer-specific requirements
• Manage Suppliers to be accountable for their product compliance, and collect all necessary product certification, e.g., Tencel, recycled fabrics, etc.
• Manage certification requirements, advising on renewal timelines, risk assessments / RAG ratings / product exclusions and factory audits as necessary
• Support the Lead Fabric & Compliance Tech on the delivery of chemical compliance strategy, including adherence to REACH and our ZDHC Roadmap to Zero
• Gather data for mapping projects, e.g. chemical elimination, working with Suppliers and Regional Offices and maintaining accurate records for seasonal analysis
• Support the delivery of fabric- and compliance-related training for Regional Office Teams and Suppliers
• Work in a flexible and agile way to promote Superdry as a sustainable global brand

You Are

• A textile expert with a minimum of 3 years' experience
• University educated in a technical textile discipline
• Knowledgeable in all aspects of fabric production and components, across wovens and knits, a wide variety of product categories, print techniques, wash and finishing processes
• Familiar with PLM systems, ideally with practical experience of using them to manage data
• Able to demonstrate expert understanding of product compliance challenges and solutions
• Experience in working on chemical compliance initiatives across multiple products types
• Experienced in the testing of fabrics and components, able to interpret the results and recognise the impact on product
• Able to work at pace, embracing change in a busy environment and coping effectively with the need to manage multiple demands
• Well organised and accustomed to delivering detailed and accurate information in a timely way
• Able to collaborate well with a team of talented Developers, Technologists, and Regional Offices, working across categories, mentoring and coaching to deliver fabric & compliance knowledge
• A flexible team player, with positive attitude and an agile approach within the Quality & Technical department

Working for Superdry has never been so rewarding...

• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, we also offer a holiday buying scheme
• An additional day off to celebrate your Birthday
• Family is massively important to us, so we have a broad range of family-friendly working policies in place, including enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
• Company Pension scheme
• All employees are covered by our Life Assurance policy whilst working at Superdry. We feel it's important to offer protection for your family and loved ones in such a situation and to support this we offer life assurance cover which pays a lump sum equivalent either twice or four times your annual salary
• A big staff discount - naturally. Because we know that you love to wear Superdry, you'll benefit from a 50% discount in store and online
• Our Head Office is home to our very own store for staff only where you can treat yourself to heavily discounted sample stock
• A health cash plan is open to all employees.
• Flexible working and core working hours between 10am - 4pm to help you achieve that all-important work-life balance
• Access to onsite parking and as part of our sustainable development goals, we have a selection of electrical car parking points freely available to staff.
• A range of learning and development materials to help you in your career and grow with us
• We like to give back, so we allow our employees time off for volunteering work
• A global employee assistance plan in place that you can access anytime you want - it's free and confidential
• You’ll also have access to a Cycle To Work Scheme
• A range of local discounts with businesses across Gloucestershire

At Superdry, everyone has a voice and we want to hear it. We create environments where individuality can flourish and is celebrated as part of who we are as a brand. We're incredibly proud that over 90% of our people feel strongly that they can be themselves at work.

We want to meet people with varied backgrounds because we understand that diversity of thought encourages new ideas to thrive, fuelling creativity and enabling us to do better work. We want to build a team which represents a variety of backgrounds, styles, perspectives, and skills; we hire people based on their merit and potential.

We also welcome conversations about flexible working for all roles at Superdry and will always accommodate it where possible.

Please note that some jobs may be closed earlier than the published closing date if we get a high volume of applications. We therefore advise that you complete your application at your earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.

Who we are

Superdry is a British, founder-led brand with a truly global presence. We've been proudly creating world-class product for almost two decades, offering genuine choice to our customers with our curated style collections.

Our mission is to be the No. 1 sustainable style destination, delivering product that is authentic with unmatched quality and true integrity, much like our people.

We are on an ambitious journey to serve our diverse community through a premium brand that's focused on the future, prioritises sustainability, leads with craft, and celebrates culture. We need talented people to join us on the adventure, is this you?