Apparel Technical Designer

United Sports Brands; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Employee discounts

Time off

Job summary

United Sports Brands in Costa Mesa, CA is seeking a Technical Designer / Product Developer to drive protective apparel, equipment, and accessories from concept to production. You will own technical execution, fit, construction, and factory communications to meet performance, quality, and cost targets.

You will lead development with designers, sourcing, product management, and quality teams, while maintaining development status, BOM trackers, and tech packs.

Qualifications

• +7 years of product development or technical design of sports performance products with experience working with product manufacturers (international).
• Degree in Technical Design highly desired.
• Ability to produce tech packs with bill of materials, CADs and measurements.
• Product development or tech design experience with soft goods (primary) and hard goods (secondary).
• Extensive knowledge of soft goods construction, product end-use, fit, and garment costing.
• Skilled at costing and providing cost updates for their respective categories during the development phase.
• Excellent creative skills associated with innovative product design.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator.
• Ability to work well under pressure, to anticipate and troubleshoot issues of consequence to quality and delivery with ease.
• Proficiency in using MS Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) is required.
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
• Self-starter, team player, strong follow up skills, and sense of urgency.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to succeed within a team-driven business environment.
• Demonstrate strong work ethic, reliability, teamwork, and flexibility.
• Ability to manage multi-task requirements on a daily basis.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Must be available for a flexible schedule of domestic and international travel (about 10%).

Responsibilities

• Lead direct communication with factories to develop prototypes, test new materials and applications, and refine construction and fit.
• Provide clear, actionable feedback to ensure alignment with design intent and technical requirements.
• Own and lead all fit sessions; document and communicate fit comments to factories.
• Maintain and enforce established fit standards and measurement specs across all stages.
• Manage and maintain WIP trackers and BOM indexes to ensure real-time visibility of product status.
• Ensure all styles have accurate, up-to-date development status and documentation.
• Own and continuously update tech packs based on development feedback, fit changes, and construction updates.
• Ensure all technical details are clearly documented for factory execution.
• Translate design concepts and sketches into commercially viable products, balancing performance, cost, and manufacturability.
• Identify and resolve construction or costing challenges early in development.
• Partner closely with design, sourcing, product management, and quality teams to resolve development and quality issues.
• Act as the key liaison between internal teams and factory partners.
• Support sales and team business by adapting existing styles into custom products for teams and athletes.
• Review prototypes and samples with design; communicate detailed feedback to factories to ensure accurate execution.
• Drive improvements across proto, fit, size set, and pre-production stages.
• Ensure all development stages meet key milestone dates and approval gates.
• Proactively manage risks to avoid delays in product launches.
• Ensure all prototypes and sales samples meet USB quality standards and are delivered on time for approvals.
• Contribute to ideation, material selection, and construction innovation.
• Support testing and validation of new materials and product concepts.

Skills

Communication

Teamwork

Multitasking

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Self-starter

Creative thinking

Time management

Education

Degree in Technical Design

Experience with international manufacturing

Tools

CADs

Adobe Illustrator

MS Office

Job description

The Technical Designer / Product Developer supports the product creation team across all USB brands, with a focus on protective apparel, protective equipment, and accessories.

This role is responsible for driving product from concept through production by owning technical execution, factory communication, fit, and construction—ensuring all products meet performance, quality, and cost targets.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Factory Communication & Development

oLead direct communication with factories to develop prototypes, test new materials and applications, and refine construction and fit.

oProvide clear, actionable feedback to ensure alignment with design intent and technical requirements.

Fit & Product Validation

oOwn and lead all fit sessions; document and communicate fit comments to factories.

oMaintain and enforce established fit standards and measurement specs across all stages.

Development Tracking & Organization

oManage and maintain WIP trackers and BOM indexes to ensure real-time visibility of product status.

oEnsure all styles have accurate, up-to-date development status and documentation.

oOwn and continuously update tech packs based on development feedback, fit changes, and construction updates.

oEnsure all technical details are clearly documented for factory execution.

oTranslate design concepts and sketches into commercially viable products, balancing performance, cost, and manufacturability.

oIdentify and resolve construction or costing challenges early in development.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

oPartner closely with design, sourcing, product management, and quality teams to resolve development and quality issues.

oAct as the key liaison between internal teams and factory partners.

Custom Product Development

oSupport sales and team business by adapting existing styles into custom products for teams and athletes.

Sample Review & Execution

oReview prototypes and samples with design; communicate detailed feedback to factories to ensure accurate execution.

oDrive improvements across proto, fit, size set, and pre-production stages.

Timeline & Milestone Management

oEnsure all development stages meet key milestone dates and approval gates.

oProactively manage risks to avoid delays in product launches.

Quality & Delivery

oEnsure all prototypes and sales samples meet USB quality standards and are delivered on time for approvals.

oContribute to ideation, material selection, and construction innovation.

oSupport testing and validation of new materials and product concepts.

POSITION SPECIFICS

This is a full-time position

Typical workdays are Monday – Friday

This position is based out of the Costa Mesa, CA office

This position requires in-office attendance at least 4 days per week (subject to increase in future).

This position is expected to travel approximately 1-2 a year to overseas factories.

PAY TRANSPARENCY

The Company is committed to fair, equitable, and transparent compensation. Final compensation will be determined by various factors such as your relevant work experience, education, certifications, skills, and geographic location.

The salary range for this role in Costa Mesa, CA is $85,000.00 - $95,000.00.

In addition, you may be eligible for additional compensation, such as a bonus. Employees may also be eligible for a wide range of other benefits, including health & wellness benefits, retirement, time off, employee discounts, and others.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position does not have any leadership requirements and/or responsibilities.

REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

+7 years of product development or technical design of sports performance products with experience working with product manufacturers (international)

Degree in Technical Design highly desired.

Ability to produce tech packs with bill of materials, CADs and measurements.

Product development or tech design experience with soft goods (primary) and hard goods (secondary)

Extensive knowledge of soft goods construction, product end-use, fit, and garment costing

Skilled at costing and providing cost updates for their respective categories during the development phase

Excellent creative skills associated with innovative product design

Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator

Ability to work well under pressure, to anticipate and troubleshoot issues of consequence to quality and delivery with ease.

Proficiency in using MS Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) is required

Excellent communication skills both written and verbal

Self-starter, team player, strong follow up skills, and sense of urgency

Strong interpersonal skills and ability to succeed within a team-driven business environment

Demonstrate strong work ethic, reliability, teamwork, and flexibility

Ability to manage multi-task requirements on a daily basis

Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail

Must be available for a flexible schedule of domestic and international travel (about 10%)