Senior Product Developer

Fourth Floor; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Fourth Floor is seeking a Senior Apparel Product Developer to drive end-to-end product development and production from concept handoff to landed delivery in Los Angeles. You will own local and overseas production including sourcing, development with blanks, wash houses, strike-offs, and coordinating with Asia and domestic teams to ensure design intent and calendar adherence.

You will manage calendars, samples, and vendor relationships, push for on-time delivery, and continuously refine processes

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Product Development, Supply Chain, or related field is required.
• Minimum 7 years of apparel product development, sourcing, or production management experience.
• Strong understanding of apparel construction, BOMs, and technical specifications.
• Hands-on experience with full-service production sourcing — blanks, wash houses, print shops, and strike-off development, both local and overseas.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the product development calendar and SOPs; track milestones from tech pack to delivery.
• Ensure all checkpoints (proto, fit, SMS, PPS) are delivered on time and accurately.
• Manage daily communication with factory partners and Asia-based teams to ensure timelines, quality, and costing targets.
• Own full-service local and overseas production; source and vet new vendors and partners; coordinate strike-offs and lab dips.
• Assist logistics to ensure landed delivery is accurate, on time, and at the correct destination.
• Track samples against tech packs and BOMs; lead fit sessions and ensure timely corrections.
• Act as central hub between design, PD, operations, sourcing, logistics, and Asia teams; build scalable processes.

Skills

Cross-functional coordination

Process improvement

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Product Development, Supply Chain, or related field

Tools

PLM

ERP

WMS

Job description

The Senior Apparel Product Developer ensures efficient execution of the product development and production process, from concept handoff through landed delivery. This role owns full-service local and overseas production — including sourcing, coordination, and development of blanks, wash houses, print shops, and strike-offs — alongside administrative oversight, development/production tracking, and accountability of Asia-based and domestic product teams. The role also assists and provides oversight in partnership with the logistics team to help ensure landed delivery is intact. The role drives accuracy, efficiency, and quality throughout the lifecycle, flexibly managing multiple concurrent projects while building the structure, workflows, and processes that scale the team's output.

Success will be measured by adherence to the development calendar, sample accuracy, information accuracy, process efficiency, on-time delivery, landed logistics integrity, and margin.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Development & Calendar Management

• Own and manage the product development calendar and SOPs in partnership with Asia team members; track milestones from tech pack or fabric submission through production approvals, commerciality, and delivery.
• Ensure all checkpoints (proto, fit, SMS, PPS) are delivered on time and accurately.
• Hold Asia-based teams accountable to deadlines and accelerate risks proactively.
• Manage daily communication with factory partners and Asia-based development teams to ensure execution against timelines, quality standards, and costing targets.

Sourcing & Production Management (Local & Overseas)

• Own full-service local and overseas production, including sourcing, coordinating, and developing with blanks suppliers, wash houses, print shops, and strike-off vendors.
• Source and vet new vendors, mills, and trim/print/wash partners to expand capacity and capability across categories.
• Coordinate strike-offs, lab dips, and wash/print development to ensure approvals align with design intent and tech pack specifications.
• Manage vendor onboarding, capacity planning, and allocation across local and overseas production partners.
• Partner with costing/sourcing teams to negotiate pricing, minimums, and lead times that protect margin targets.

Logistics Oversight & Support

• Assist and oversee the logistics team to help ensure landed delivery is intact — accurate, on time, and to the correct destination.
• Partner with the logistics team on freight forwarder, customs, and warehouse coordination, surfacing production-side context needed to keep shipments on track.
• Proactively flag production and development risks that could impact downstream logistics or delivery commitments, and elevate to the logistics team as needed.
• Support reconciliation of shipment and landed-cost data against purchase orders and production records.

Sample & Quality Control

• Track and evaluate all sample submissions against tech packs and BOMs.
• Lead fit sessions (if needed), document feedback, and ensure timely correction by development teams.
• Verify resubmitted samples reflect approved changes with no recurring errors.

Process Oversight & Communication

• Act as the central hub between brand design, PD, operations, sourcing, logistics, and Asia-based development teams.
• Log all approvals, rejections, and comments with version control.
• Identify and implement process improvements to reduce inefficiencies or repeated errors.
• Flexibly manage and prioritize across multiple concurrent projects, programs, and customers without losing calendar or quality discipline.
• Build and continuously refine structure, workflows, and standard processes that support scale across development, production, and logistics.

Systems & Data Management

• Utilize PLM, ERP, and WMS systems to manage product data, development tracking, purchase orders, inventory, and shipment status.
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date records across all systems so cross-functional teams work from a single source of truth.
• Identify opportunities to improve or better integrate PLM/ERP/WMS workflows to reduce manual work and errors.

Reporting & Accountability

• Provide weekly reporting on development progress, production status, logistics/landed status, risks, and calendar adherence.
• Track key performance metrics for sample accuracy, on-time delivery, on-time landed shipments, and issue resolution.
• Deliver post-season analysis to recommend improvements in efficiency, quality, sourcing, and logistics.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Product Development, Supply Chain, or related field.
• Minimum 7 years of apparel product development, sourcing, or production management experience.
• Strong understanding of apparel construction, BOMs, and technical specifications.
• Hands-on experience with full-service production sourcing — blanks, wash houses, print shops, and strike-off development, both local and overseas.
• Working knowledge of international shipping, freight, and customs processes, with experience supporting and overseeing landed delivery integrity alongside a logistics team.
• Excellent organizational and administrative skills; detail-oriented with a focus on accuracy.
• Proven ability to manage cross-border communication and hold internal and external vendors accountable.
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and build scalable structure, workflows, and processes.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office/Google Suite; Adobe experience; hands-on proficiency with PLM, ERP, and WMS systems.

TRAITS FOR SUCCESS

• Highly structured, process-driven, and detail-obsessed.
• Confident in holding cross-functional and international teams accountable.
• Solutions-oriented problem solver who thrives on efficiency.
• Excellent communicator with strong follow-up and tracking discipline.
• Comfortable operating across multiple projects at once, bringing order and structure to ambiguity.

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