Headwear Product Developer - Creative, Timely & Margin

Malakye; Carlsbad (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

San Diego Hat Company is seeking a Product Developer to join our creative team, supporting development and execution of headwear across women's, men's, and kids' categories. You will partner with Designers and cross-functional teams to bring concepts from idea to production.

The role reports to the Senior Design Director and serves as a bridge between design, factories, and internal teams, ensuring design intent, quality, target costs, and timelines are met while you manage multiple projects

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in product development, apparel, accessories, headwear, or a related consumer products industry.
• Bachelor's degree in Fashion, Product Development, Merchandising, or a related field preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite, including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
• Familiarity with PLM systems and sample tracking processes.
• Experience communicating and working directly with factories and suppliers.
• Strong understanding of product costing, margins, and commercial product development.
• Understanding of product construction, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Excellent communication and follow-through skills.

Responsibilities

• Follow the product development calendar and key milestones to ensure products and projects remain on schedule.
• Partner closely with Designers and Technical Designers to evaluate product concepts and provide recommendations on construction, materials, and other product details based on design intent, target costs, and factory capabilities.
• Identify and nominate appropriate factories for tech pack submissions and coordinate requests for samples, lab dips, and other development submissions.
• Communicate directly with factories to source new fabrics, materials, trims, and product options based on current trends and specific design requirements.
• Manage product development with factories from initial sample through approval, proactively identifying and resolving development challenges.
• Request, review, and negotiate factory costs throughout the development process to support target costs and margin goals.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date margin sheets and costing information.
• Coordinate sample orders for showrooms, trade shows, sales teams, and customer-specific programs.
• Partner with Design and cross-functional teams to review samples and communicate revisions, approvals, and required corrections to factories.
• Monitor product quality and identify issues, communicating necessary corrective actions to the appropriate factory or internal team.
• Maintain clear and timely communication with internal teams and factory partners throughout the development process.
• Manage multiple product development projects simultaneously while maintaining strong attention to detail and meeting deadlines.

Skills

3+ years product development

Headwear / accessories

Organizational / project management

Communication / collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Fashion / Product Development / Merchandising

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign)

Job description

San Diego Hat Company is seeking a Product Developer to join our creative team, supporting development and execution of headwear across women's, men's, and kids' categories. You will partner with Designers and cross-functional teams to bring concepts from idea to production.

The role reports to the Senior Design Director and serves as a bridge between design, factories, and internal teams, ensuring design intent, quality, target costs, and timelines are met while you manage multiple projects