Product Development Manager; Contemporary Background

CANDIDATE MUST COME FROM A CONTEMPORARY BACKGROUND, PLEASE ~ THANKS!

XíRENA is a women's contemporary apparel brand rooted in a clean, elevated California aesthetic. The brand distributes across wholesale, e-commerce, and retail channels with a product line spanning woven, knits, sweaters, swim, bottoms, and emerging accessories categories.

The Product Development Manager owns the import development pipeline from fabric concept through production-ready hand-off. The role requires equal fluency in fabric and trim sourcing, vendor management across India and China, costing discipline, and PLM operations. This is a high-accountability position at the intersection of Design and Operations, requiring tight cross-functional coordination without losing calendar velocity.

• Manage the seasonal development calendar for all import categories from design intent through production sign-off
• Translate design direction (Creative Director, Head of Design) into sourceable, cost-viable fabrics and trims; own the material development process from mill outreach through final approval
• Build and maintain complete style records, BOMs, and tech packs in Exenta PLM; serve as the system of record owner for all import development data
• Coordinate the full sample workflow: development, fit, and pre-production: tracking status and driving resolution independently
• Lead cost engineering in partnership with Technical Design: evaluate construction, fabrication, and vendor alternatives to close gaps between initial cost and target margin
• Deliver accurate costed BOMs at each seasonal milestone (Line Adoption, Pre-Buy, Final Adoption)
• Partner with Design on color, print, and material development; manage lab dip, strike-off, and bulk approval workflows through to sign-off

• Develop and manage import vendor relationships across fabric mills, trims suppliers, and finished goods manufacturers in India and China
• Lead annual or bi-annual vendor reviews covering price, lead time, quality performance, and capacity
• Negotiate fabric, trim, and CMT/FOB pricing; build and maintain cost benchmarks by fiber, construction, and vendor tier
• Identify and qualify new import vendors aligned with the brand's quality standards and category strategy
• Manage import documentation in coordination with freight and logistics partners; flag duty and lead time exposure proactively
• Monitor and communicate vendor performance against quality, delivery, and cost commitments throughout the season

• Own the import development calendar; set and defend milestone dates across sampling, costing, and approval workflows
• Track open items across the development pipeline and elevate blockers proactively
• Conduct seasonal post-mortems documenting root causes of cost overruns, late deliveries, and quality escapes

• 7+ years of progressive experience in product development and/or sourcing within women's apparel
• Direct experience managing import vendor relationships in India and/or China
• Strong technical foundation: ability to read and redline tech packs, interpret construction specifications, and evaluate fabric and trim submissions independently
• Hands-on PLM experience (Exenta preferred; comparable systems considered)
• Demonstrated costing discipline; experience building cost sheets, negotiating with mills and agents, and hitting margin targets
• Working knowledge of import compliance, inbound freight coordination, and basic duty/HTS classification

• Experience with in contemporary or advanced contemporary ready-to-wear
• Print and textile development experience: lab dips, strike-offs, engineered prints
• Familiarity with both woven and knit construction across multiple fabrication categories

• Calendar-driven and autonomous
• Operates effectively on a lean team with broad scope
• Clear, direct communicator across Design, Operations, and Finance
• Rigorous on PLM and system accuracy non-negotiable
• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Clothing allowance
• PTO and company holidays

Our policy is to provide equal opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, marital or family status, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or other protected classes prohibited by applicable law. Company policy prohibits harassment of…