Materials Developer, Trims & Labels (End-to-End)

Ariat International; San Leandro (CA); On-site; USD 76,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, and life ins.

Expanded wellness and mental health"

PTO, holidays, and volunteer days

401(k) with company match

Team member discount on Ariat merch

Job summary

Ariat International is seeking a Materials Developer to lead the strategic development, commercialization, and production readiness of trims and labels for assigned apparel categories. You’ll serve as the technical owner of the material portfolio, translating design intent into viable solutions that meet quality, performance, cost, sustainability, and scalability standards.

You’ll work with cross-functional partners and suppliers to drive development from concept through SMS and production

Qualifications

• BA/BS in Apparel Design, Textiles, or related field.
• 4–7 years of experience in the apparel industry.
• Hands-on experience approving lab dips and evaluating color accuracy.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Experience with Centric PLM, Excel, and Microsoft Office.
• Understanding of the end-to-end design and development process.
• Basic knowledge of textile properties, including dyeing, finishing, and fabric performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end seasonal development and commercialization of trims and labels for assigned product categories.
• Translate design intent into clear, manufacturable technical specifications while balancing aesthetics, functionality, quality, cost, sustainability, compliance, and production feasibility.
• Proactively identify technical, quality, manufacturing, and calendar risks during development and independently develop solutions or recommendations to mitigate potential impacts.
• Evaluate and recommend appropriate trim and label constructions, materials, finishes, colors, and technologies to support product performance and design objectives.
• Serve as the technical subject matter expert for assigned trims and labels, providing guidance and recommendations to cross-functional partners and suppliers.
• Reviewing and approving trim and label color submissions against established color standards and aesthetic requirements; troubleshoot color-related issues with suppliers.
• Ensuring all commercialized trims and labels are approved and production-ready within required calendar deadlines.
• Establishing and communicating material testing requirements based on product use, material construction, regulatory requirements, and company standards.
• Coordinating and monitoring material testing to ensure compliance with Ariat quality, performance, regulatory, and industry standards.
• Analyzing supplier performance and quality trends and addressing recurring issues to improve development execution.
• Maintaining ownership of trim, label, color, testing, and approval data within PLM.
• Leveraging PLM reporting and data analytics to identify development risks and bottlenecks.
• Recommending improvements to PLM data structure, reporting, workflows, and approval processes.
• Serving as a key technical partner to Design, Product Development, Sourcing, Production, Quality Assurance, and factories.
• Maintaining an organized trims and labels library and cataloging for knowledge sharing.

Skills

Lab dips

Color accuracy

Team collaboration

Problem solving

Time management

Communication

Education

BA/BS in Apparel Design, Textiles, or related field

Tools

Centric PLM

Microsoft Office

Excel

Job description

Ariat International is seeking a Materials Developer to lead the strategic development, commercialization, and production readiness of trims and labels for assigned apparel categories. You’ll serve as the technical owner of the material portfolio, translating design intent into viable solutions that meet quality, performance, cost, sustainability, and scalability standards.

You’ll work with cross-functional partners and suppliers to drive development from concept through SMS and production