Apparel Designer (Part-Time)

Sniffies; New York (NY); On-site; USD 96,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sniffies seeks a designer who blends graphic design with apparel product development to take each season from creative direction through to factory-ready samples. You will own prints, art files, and tech packs, and work directly with overseas manufacturers on fit, fabric, placement, and construction decisions.

This ownership role requires hands-on production knowledge and a portfolio showing apparel graphics, capable of managing several products at different stages with minimal supervision.

Qualifications

• Portfolio demonstrating apparel graphic design work, not just brand/digital projects.
• Working knowledge of tech packing and fundamentals of apparel production.
• Familiarity with decoration methods (screen print, embroidery, puff, applique, sublimation) and cost/constraints.
• Fluency in Illustrator and Photoshop.

Responsibilities

• Translate each season's creative direction into a designed, merchandised line (silhouettes, fabrics, colors, graphics, trims).
• Own all prints and embellishments from concept to factory-ready art files; select decoration methods with cost awareness.
• Build and maintain tech packs and line sheets with construction details, measurements, materials, trim specs, and artwork scale.
• Be the direct contact with overseas manufacturers on samples, revisions, and production questions; manage the sampling calendar and drive rounds to approval.
• After a line is signed off, own calls on fit, fabric, placement, and construction with merchandising and production; manage multiple products with limited oversight.

Skills

Graphic design

Illustrator

Photoshop

Communication with factories

Organization

Tools

PLM tools

Line sheets

Tech packs

Job description

Hours: 15–20 hours per week, across 4 days

Rate: $70–$80 per hour

Company Description

About the Role

We launched our store five years ago and have grown it into a fully custom apparel line sold globally. We develop and produce 70–100 SKUs per year across tees, fleece, headwear, underwear, swimwear, and accessories, including licensed capsules and brand collaborations.

Every product we make carries a graphic, so this role is deliberately a hybrid of graphic design and apparel product development. You will take each season from creative direction through factory-ready specs, and stay with it through to a production-approved sample. That might be a graphic designer who has spent years working in apparel and learned the garment side along the way, or an apparel designer whose graphic work is genuinely strong. We care more about the combination than about which half came first.

This is an ownership role as well as a design role. Once a line is signed off, the calls on fit, fabric, placement, and construction are yours, made in collaboration with merchandising and production. It suits someone who has spent years having their placements overruled or their tech packs second-guessed and would rather make those decisions themselves.

It is also the only position of its kind on the team. You would work closely with merchandising and production rather than inside a larger design group, with no art director above you and no project manager behind you. For the right designer, that is the appeal; it is worth being honest that it will not suit everyone.

Key Responsibilities

The Line

• Translate each season's creative direction from the core creative team into a designed, merchandised line, covering silhouettes, fabrics, colorways, graphics, and trims.
• Work across tees, fleece, headwear, underwear, swim, and accessories, plus licensed capsules and brand collaborations.

Graphics

• Own all prints, artwork, and embellishment across every category, taken from concept through separations to factory-ready art files.
• Choose decoration methods with a practical view of what each one costs and constrains.

Tech Packs and Line Sheets

• Build and maintain tech packs and line sheets, including construction details, measurements, materials, trim specs, and artwork placement and scale.
• Hold version control across a full season of files, callouts, and revisions.

Factory Communication and Sampling

• Serve as the direct point of contact with our overseas manufacturing partners on samples, revisions, and production questions.
• Manage the sampling calendar, review prototypes, write the fit and construction comments, and drive rounds through to approval.

Execution Decisions

• Once a line is signed off, own the calls on fit, fabric, placement, and construction, in partnership with merchandising and production.
• Keep several products moving at different stages at once, with limited oversight.

Qualifications

• Proven graphic design work, with a portfolio that includes apparel rather than only brand or digital projects.
• A working understanding of tech packing and the fundamentals of apparel production.
• Familiarity with decoration methods including screen print, embroidery, puff, applique, and sublimation, and a practical sense of what each one costs and constrains.
• Fluency in Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Comfort communicating directly and professionally with overseas factories.
• Enough organizational discipline to hold a season of files, callouts, and revisions without a project manager behind you.
• The ability to manage several products at different stages at once with limited oversight.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in streetwear, action sports, tour and band merch, or any category where the graphic is the product.
• Prior work with knits and cut-and-sew.
• Familiarity with PLM or line sheet tools.
• Experience with underwear or swim, where fit tolerances are tighter.
• Experience on licensed capsules or brand collaborations.

Please include a portfolio with your application.