Lead Costume Shop Supervisor

National Opera Center; Houston, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Paid time off

403b retirement plan

Professional development fund

Parking discount

Free tickets to productions

Job summary

Houston Grand Opera in Houston seeks a seasoned Costume Shop Supervisor to lead daily operations, manage staff, and ensure production quality across all costumes. The role requires strong leadership, meticulous organization, and hands-on knowledge of construction, fittings, and safety procedures.

You will oversee budgets, schedule fittings, mentor apprentices, and coordinate with designers and production teams to deliver costumes on time and within scope during peak productions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Costume Technology, Theatre Production, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 3–5 years of professional costume shop experience, including supervisory responsibilities.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize multiple deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Oversees daily operations and labor of the costume shop.
• Acts as Safety Coordinator for the Costume Shop and ensures compliance with OSHA standards.
• Oversees costume shop staff, freelance crew, and artisans during all phases of production.
• Tracks fabrics, trims, notions, stock supplies, and shop materials as approved within production budgets.
• Maintains organization and inventory of fabrics, notions, supplies, tools, and costume stock.
• Manages costume shop equipment and coordinates maintenance and repairs of all shop machinery and tools.
• Assist with the coordination of workflow and production priorities to meet fitting and production deadlines.
• Assist with staff with any HR documentation or time sheets, PTO, etc.
• Tracks costume fittings, alterations, and notes implementation.
• Maintains costume build records, shop paperwork, and production tracking.
• Coordinates shop safety training and safe use of equipment and materials.
• Assists with load-ins, load-outs, packing, and transportation preparation as needed.
• Works cooperatively with wardrobe, wigs/makeup, stage management, and other production departments.
• Assists the Associate Costume director in training and mentoring drapers, stitchers, apprentices, and interns.
• Oversees dyeing, crafts, millinery, or specialty costume techniques as applicable.
• Maintains shop calendars and daily work schedules.
• Implement quality-control procedures for all costume builds and alterations.
• Maintains OSHA compliance documentation and incident reporting.
• Maintains the fabric stock organization at the warehouse.
• Coordinates warehouse operations and costume inventory management in conjunction with the Costume Coordinators.
• Works closely with the Costume Director and Production Manager regarding safety protocols.

Skills

Costume construction

Tailoring

Draping

Patterning

Alterations

Leadership

Communication

Time management

Safety procedures

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Costume Technology, Theatre Production, or equivalent

Job description

Houston Grand Opera in Houston seeks a seasoned Costume Shop Supervisor to lead daily operations, manage staff, and ensure production quality across all costumes. The role requires strong leadership, meticulous organization, and hands-on knowledge of construction, fittings, and safety procedures.

You will oversee budgets, schedule fittings, mentor apprentices, and coordinate with designers and production teams to deliver costumes on time and within scope during peak productions.