Associate Product Designer: Accessories & Giftware

Jersey Digs; Mountainside (NJ); Hybrid; USD 68,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Little Words Project is seeking an Associate Product Designer to help bring our growing accessories assortment to life. This hybrid role reports to our corporate location in Mountainside, NJ and collaborates with the Design Director to translate trends into compelling product concepts across bag charms, jewelry, and lifestyle items.

You will create sketches, renderings, and production-ready files, manage color/material selections, and ensure designs are manufacturable and cost-effective for

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in physical product or accessory design, ideally within jewelry, fashion accessories, beauty, lifestyle, gift, or a similar consumer product category.
• Experience designing products for retail or wholesale distribution preferred.
• Strong understanding of physical product design and development from concept through production.
• Experience working with vendors and/or factories, including overseas partners.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Experience creating sketches, renderings, presentations, spec sheets, and production-ready artwork.
• Knowledge of materials, color, components, finishes, and manufacturing considerations.
• Experience with licensed products or licensor approval processes is a plus.
• Strong attention to detail and an ability to translate creative concepts into clear, actionable design specifications.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to receive feedback and work effectively across teams.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Portfolio required demonstrating physical product, accessories, packaging, or related consumer product design work.

Responsibilities

• Design & Concept Development: support the design and development of new accessories collections from concept through production, under the creative direction of the Design Director.
• Execute channel-specific and retailer-exclusive product designs as briefed by the Design Director and leadership team, tailored to the assortment, customer, and price architecture of key retail partners.
• Translate brand vision, trend insights, and retail customer profiles into compelling accessories designs across categories including bag charms, paper goods, soft goods, and giftable add-ons.
• Track trend, material, and competitive activity across the beauty, fashion, and lifestyle accessories landscape, including products and assortments performing at target retailers, to inform new product concepts.
• Create sketches, renderings, and prototypes to clearly communicate design intent to internal teams, retail buyers, and vendor partners.
• Support material, color, component, and finish selection with consideration for quality, cost, and brand alignment across retail price points.
• Product Development & Production: Create detailed spec sheets, tech packs, and production-ready files for factory and vendor partners, including complete Pantone/color references, dimensions, component standards, and other design specifications.
• Maintain organized, editable working files (.ai) with clear version control to ensure internal teams, factories, and external partners have access to current artwork.
• Review samples, manage design revisions, and provide clear, actionable feedback throughout development cycles to support retailer delivery timelines.
• Partner with Product Development to ensure designs are manufacturable, cost-effective, and scalable to wholesale volumes.
• Support cost-engineering efforts by adjusting materials, components, and construction to meet target costs without compromising design intent.
• Design with retailer-specific compliance, testing, labeling, and quality requirements in mind, partnering with Product Development, which owns verification.

Job description

Little Words Project is seeking an Associate Product Designer to help bring our growing accessories assortment to life. This hybrid role reports to our corporate location in Mountainside, NJ and collaborates with the Design Director to translate trends into compelling product concepts across bag charms, jewelry, and lifestyle items.

You will create sketches, renderings, and production-ready files, manage color/material selections, and ensure designs are manufacturable and cost-effective for