Materials & Product Development Assistant

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Part Time Ossian, IN, US

Berne Apparel is a manufacturer and distributor of durable work and outdoor apparel, proudly serving hardworking Americans for over 100 years. We design clothing that is made right, made to work, and made affordable, with a strong focus on quality, functionality, and sustainability.

Our products are distributed throughout the United States through farm and home retailers, sporting goods retailers, uniform resellers, and promotional product distributors.

At Berne, we value hard work, teamwork, accountability, and practical solutions. Our teams work closely together to support the people who rely on our products every day.

We are looking for a motivated, detail-oriented, organized individual to provide part-time support to our Materials and Product Development team. This is a hands-on opportunity to work with materials, trims, color standards, samples, and product data while gaining exposure to the product development process.

The ideal candidate is interested in product development, materials, textiles, apparel, or sourcing and enjoys working with both physical materials and detailed information. An eye for color and strong attention to detail are a plus.

This is a great opportunity for someone interested in learning more about product development and materials while getting hands‑on experience with real product samples, color standards, suppliers, and the systems used to manage product information.

You will work closely with an experienced Materials team and gain exposure to how materials and trims move through the product development process—from samples and color standards to supplier information and final product execution.

• Maintain and organize physical material and color libraries
• Build and update material standards for active materials and suppliers
• Enter and maintain material, trim, color, and supplier information in Centric
• Organize zipper standards, including styles, sizes, colors, suppliers, pricing, and physical samples
• Confirm zipper and trim standards across multiple suppliers
• Build and maintain thread color library
• Add images and other product information to the materials database
• Assist with building and organizing future-material libraries
• Review and organize lab dips and color standards
• Assist with visual color approvals and communicate comments to mills and factories
• Enter material weights and other product information
• Help maintain an organized and accurate materials library
• Assist with general organization and special projects within the Materials team

• Degree in Product Development or related experience would be most helpful in this role but not required
• Interest in product development, materials, textiles, apparel, or a related field
• Strong attention to detail and organization
• Motivated and eager to learn
• An eye for color and ability to recognize differences in color or materials is a plus
• Comfortable working with physical samples, swatches, trims, and material libraries
• Able to follow detailed processes and keep information organized
• Comfortable with basic computer/data-entry tasks
• Good communication skills and willingness to ask questions when information is unclear
• Able to work independently while also collaborating with the Materials and Product Development team
• PTO
• Paid holidays
• Work-from-home days
• Supportive team environment

Berne Apparel is an Equal Opportunity Employer.