Associate Designer, Licensing

Carter's Inc.; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid in-office environment (Buckhead

Job summary

Carter’s Inc. is seeking a Design Associate to support the Brand Heat & Licensing Team in Buckhead, Atlanta, in a hybrid in-office environment. The role emphasizes trend-driven storytelling, collaborations, and creating prints and graphics for collections.

The candidate should have strong Illustrator skills, a portfolio, and experience in graphic design and print development. The position involves leading meetings, presenting concepts, and collaborating across functions to move projects forward.

Qualifications

• Proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Miro and Microsoft Office. Must have a portfolio.
• Experience with graphic design and print and pattern creation.
• Strong visual presentation skills with the ability to help create compelling decks, boards, and concept materials.
• Confidence in leading meetings, presenting concepts and design work, and delivering clear, constructive design feedback to cross-functional partners.
• Strong interest in collaborations, licensing, trend research, brand storytelling, and culturally relevant product creation.
• Ability to work independently with limited day-to-day direction while managing multiple priorities.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work through challenges proactively before escalating for support.

Responsibilities

• 50% Design Process & Communication: Support fast-turn concept development for Brand Heat initiatives, including collaborations, licensing capsules, trend-driven storytelling, and culturally relevant product opportunities.
• Prepare polished concept decks, presentation materials, and product boards that clearly communicate creative direction to leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Partner closely with design, merchandising, product development, marketing, brand leadership, and license partners to align on deliverables, provide design feedback, and move work forward.
• Create original prints, patterns, and graphic artwork for collections, and apply them to product sketches and CADs
• Manage day-to-day execution of special projects, including line sheets, Miro updates, silhouette tracking, color palettes, and ongoing communication with internal teams.
• Support product execution through pre-production art review, fittings, sketch updates, and design detail edits that impact final commercialization.
• 30% Product Line Development: Support development of special capsule collections and collaboration concepts that may sit outside of core seasonal line architecture.
• Adapt existing silhouettes or create newness for collaboration, licensing, and trend-right product opportunities while maintaining accuracy across style details, graphics, trims, materials, and presentation assets.
• Sketch technical drawings in Illustrator, apply prints and graphics to working line sheets, update the silo matrix, and independently design portions of a program with supervisor mentorship.
• 20% Creative Concept: Research consumer trends, popular culture, competitive collaborations, influencers, artists, and licensing opportunities to inform Brand Heat ideation.
• Translate consumer insights and trend research into brand-right collaboration ideas, creative concepts, and storytelling across silhouette, trim, color, print, and graphic direction.
• Contribute to inspiration boards, collaboration decks, sample requests, and presentation-ready creative materials for internal and external reviews.

Skills

Adobe Illustrator

Miro

Microsoft Office

Portfolio required

Design critique & presentation

Trend research & storytelling

Tools

Adobe Illustrator

Miro

Microsoft Office

Job description

Serving the needs of all families with young children,

Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT:

This Design Associate role will support work tied to the Brand Heat & Licensing Team, a cross-functional and agile team focused on driving aspiration and energy through product, storytelling, collaboration, licensing, consumer insights, and culturally relevant brand moments. This role requires a strong sense of trend awareness, urgency, creativity, confidence and the ability to support special projects that move outside of traditional seasonal process timelines. This role typically reports into a Design Director is based in our Buckhead office in our hybrid/in-office work environment (4 days/week in-office).

50% Design Process & Communication

• Support fast-turn concept development for Brand Heat initiatives, including collaborations, licensing capsules, trend-driven storytelling, and culturally relevant product opportunities.
• Prepare polished concept decks, presentation materials, and product boards that clearly communicate creative direction to leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Partner closely with design, merchandising, product development, marketing, brand leadership, and license partners to align on deliverables, provide design feedback, and move work forward.
• Create original prints, patterns, and graphic artwork for collections, and apply them to product sketches and CADs
• Manage day-to-day execution of special projects, including line sheets, Miro updates, silhouette tracking, color palettes, and ongoing communication with internal teams.
• Support product execution through pre-production art review, fittings, sketch updates, and design detail edits that impact final commercialization.

30% Product Line Development

• Support development of special capsule collections and collaboration concepts that may sit outside of core seasonal line architecture.
• Adapt existing silhouettes or create newness for collaboration, licensing, and trend-right product opportunities while maintaining accuracy across style details, graphics, trims, materials, and presentation assets.
• Sketch technical drawings in Illustrator, apply prints and graphics to working line sheets, update the silo matrix, and independently design portions of a program with supervisor mentorship.

20% Creative Concept

• Research consumer trends, popular culture, competitive collaborations, influencers, artists, and licensing opportunities to inform Brand Heat ideation.
• Translate consumer insights and trend research into brand-right collaboration ideas, creative concepts, and storytelling across silhouette, trim, color, print, and graphic direction.
• Contribute to inspiration boards, collaboration decks, sample requests, and presentation-ready creative materials for internal and external reviews.

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF:

Must have:

• Proficient in Adobe Illustrator, Miro and Microsoft Office. **Must have a portfolio**
• Experience with graphic design and print and pattern creation.
• Strong visual presentation skills with the ability to help create compelling decks, boards, and concept materials.
• Confidence in leading meetings, presenting concepts and design work, and delivering clear, constructive design feedback to cross-functional partners.
• Strong interest in collaborations, licensing, trend research, brand storytelling, and culturally relevant product creation.
• Ability to work independently with limited day-to-day direction while managing multiple priorities.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work through challenges proactively before escalating for support.

Preferred skills and experience:

• Has basic knowledge of garment construction, silhouettes, colorways, sewing techniques, fabrication, and trim.
• Working knowledge of Product Lifecycle Management tool preferred.
• Ability to shift between long-term seasonal work and quick-turn opportunity projects.
• Comfort working in an agile, highly collaborative, and fast-evolving environment.
• Understanding of print scale, repeat, placement, and how graphic and print execution impact final product.
• Comfort giving thoughtful design feedback that helps move work forward and improve execution.

MAKE A CAREER AT CARTER’S:

Career Development: Success starts from within, and we have several paths from which you can choose to enhance your career evolution. From Carter’s University to Toastmasters to mentorship programs and more, we encourage you to utilize these tools to elevate your professional prowess.

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.