Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development

American Exchange Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellness benefits

401(k) plan with company match

Paid time off

Flexible Fridays

Health Savings Account

Flexible Spending Account

Commuter benefits

Employee discounts

Job summary

American Exchange Group in New York City seeks an experienced Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development to lead creative vision and merchandising for licensed and private label brands.

You will own concept-to-production across multiple watch lines, collaborating with executives, sales, licensors, and manufacturers to deliver compelling products and timely launches.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of watch design and product development experience.
• Proven track record developing successful watch collections for global brands.
• Expert knowledge of watch construction, movements, materials and manufacturing.
• Experience with overseas factories throughout product development.
• Strong merchandising, trend forecasting and consumer insights.
• Ability to balance creativity with costing and margins.
• Experience presenting to executives, licensors and major retailers.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.
• Leadership experience and mentoring abilities.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, PowerPoint and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead creative direction and seasonal product strategy for multiple watch brands.
• Develop innovative watch collections from concept through production.
• Research global trends, shop the marketplace and analyze competitors.
• Develop products aligned with brand positioning and target price points.
• Collaborate with leadership, sales teams and retail customers on assortments.
• Present concepts and collections to leadership, licensors and partners.
• Partner with overseas manufacturers to ensure design intent, quality, costing and on-time delivery.
• Work with licensors to meet brand standards and approvals.
• Analyze sales performance and market trends to guide future development.
• Mentor junior designers and foster a high-performing team.
• Manage multiple brands and launches with attention to detail and timelines.

Skills

Watch design

Watch collections

Watch construction

Overseas factories

Merchandising

Costing & pricing

Executive presentations

Adobe Creative Suite

PowerPoint & Excel

AI design tools

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

PowerPoint

Excel

AI tools

Job description

About Us

American Exchange Group is an industry leader in fashion accessory products and brand management. By facilitating distribution to major retailers internationally for their globally recognized brands, custom private label brands, and exclusive licensed brands—including footwear, tech wearables, watches, jewelry, handbags, fashion accessories, home, and beauty—American Exchange Group raises the bar by disrupting the status quo with value and quality, while staying at the forefront of trends.

Joining American Exchange Group means being part of a dynamic and diverse team where your contributions drive real impact—and where there’s always room to grow. If you're looking to be part of a company that blends heritage with hustle, we’re excited to meet you.

Visit our website at www.axnygroup.com

Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development

Join a fast-growing accessories company creating jewelry for some of the world’s most recognized fashion and lifestyle brands

Location: New York City (Hybrid: Monday through Thursday in office, Friday remote)

Reports To: Vice President of Product Development

About the Role

We're looking for an experienced and creative leader to join our Watch Team as Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development.

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Product Development, you'll own the creative vision, product development and merchandising strategy for multiple licensed and private label fashion and lifestyle brands, leading collections from concept through production.

This is an opportunity to shape established brands, launch new ones and help drive the future of our business. We're looking for someone with exceptional design instincts, strong business acumen and a passion for creating products that customers love.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creative direction and seasonal product strategy for multiple watch brands.
• Develop innovative watch collections from concept through production.
• Research global trends, shop the marketplace and analyze competitors to identify emerging opportunities and white space.
• Develop innovative products that align with brand positioning, customer expectations and target retail price points
• Collaborate closely with executive leadership, sales teams and key retail customers to develop compelling product assortments and merchandising strategies.
• Present concepts, trend direction and seasonal collections to executive leadership, licensors and retail partners.
• Partner directly with overseas manufacturers to ensure design intent, quality, costing and on time delivery
• Work closely with licensors to ensure products meet all brand standards and approval requirements.
• Analyze sales performance, customer insights and market trends to drive future product development.
• Mentor junior designers and foster a collaborative, high performing creative team.
• Manage multiple brands and product launches while maintaining exceptional attention to detail and meeting timelines.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of watch design and product development experience.
• Proven track record developing successful watch collections for national or global fashion or lifestyle brands.
• Expert knowledge of watch construction, movements, materials and manufacturing.
• Extensive experience working directly with overseas factories throughout the product development process.
• Strong understanding of merchandising, trend forecasting and consumer insights.
• Ability to balance creativity with commercial objectives, including costing, pricing and margin considerations.
• Experience presenting to executive leadership, licensors and major retail customers.
• Exceptional organizational, communication and project management skills.
• Ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously in a fast paced environment.
• Demonstrated leadership experience with the ability to mentor and inspire others.
• Highly proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel.
• Experience leveraging AI tools to support design and product development is a plus

Portfolio Required

Please include a portfolio showcasing your design process, trend research and examples of commercially successful product development.

What We Offer

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness Benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with company match
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays
• Flexible Fridays with shortened hours during both Summer and Winter seasons
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSs)
• Tax-free commuter benefits
• Exclusive employee merchandise discounts

Salary

The anticipated base salary is $110k– $120k annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, internal equity, and location.