Sr. Associate, Product Development and Production - Rhone Apparel, Inc.
Stamford, CT
About the Job
About the Company:
Founded in 2014, Rhone is a performance lifestyle brand dedicated to championing mental fitness. Engineered for optimal style, comfort, and performance, our clothing is designed to enhance every aspect of the active individual's life. Led by brothers Nate & Ben Checketts, Rhone is fueled by a clear vision: positively impacting lives through a commitment to physical and mental fitness, inspiring community, and crafting performance-driven products. Rhone's purpose is straightforward yet impactful: to inspire those who challenge themselves in their relentless pursuit of progress. In addition to a robust E-commerce business and a strong wholesale presence, Rhone currently has 15 retail stores across the U.S., all of which are used for building community through various initiatives such as the brand's signature Mind & Muscle events.
About the role:
Reporting to the Manager, Women’s Product Development and Production, the Senior Associate product development and production, will work cross functionally with Merchandising & Design partners and the Product Development & Production Team to deliver on the apparel product design strategic vision and tactical execution, with the ultimate goal: to create best in class product with thoughtful features and benefits that are unique to Rhone. We are looking for a tenacious, detail oriented and passionate talent to join our fast growing premium lifestyle brand’s dynamic growth focused team as a leader in the development of innovative products.
What you’ll do:
Responsible for specific product categories within the women's range, attend Design Handoff meetings with Designers and Technical Designers to determine prototype and/or mock up needs, review and ensure that all tech packs are complete with all information needed for sample development
Request, Reserve and track Proto/SMS yardage, handlooms, knit downs, lab dips, strike-offs and communicate the comments to Suppliers
Execute the request and tracking of product samples including prototypes, and SMS
Supports the manager in the costing lifecycle, providing solutions throughout the development process, from predictive costing through to final costing negotiation, ensuring that IMU targets are achieved or exceeded
Monitor key calendar deadlines to ensure timeliness of deliverables are met and troubleshoot all problems/issues that arise
Support communication of all style development and production information to the appropriate supplier with daily correspondence.
Attend weekly garment fittings and communicate any changes as needed to Suppliers and cross functional teams
Supports the manager with in-development and final bulk testing, escalating any risks during the design and development phases and providing alternatives to help reduce concerns Resolve any quality concerns that arise during development and production phase in both fabrics and garments, working with counterparts to ensure bulk product meets Rhone’s quality standards
Support manager with T&A calendars and commit date dates to ensure commitments and Purchase Orders are placed on time
Supports the team in weekly WIP reviews and track production progress, escalating production issues as needed to the cross functional teams
Additional tasks and responsibilities as required
AM/PM Supplier calls outside of normal business hours
Domestic and international travel as required, including product quality checks to the Distribution Center if needed
What You’ll Bring:
Bachelor’s or advanced degree preferred
4 + years of product development experience; women’s performance apparel experience preferred
Advanced knowledge of fabrics and trims
Understanding of fabric and production standards, costing and cost engineering and negotiation, trade regulations, product integrity, testing protocol, production cycle timeline, fabric and garment construction.
Computer proficiency with MS Office Suite, including heavy Excel use, and Google applications.
PLM experience preferred
Superior interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
Strong organizational skills with a sense of priority for deadlines and attention to detail
Strong problem-solving skills
Positive, optimistic and open-minded approach
What you’ll get:
Access to benefits, including medical, dental, vision, & commuter benefits
401K
Employee Assistance Program
Paid Time Off
Generous Holiday Schedule
Flexible schedule and work-from-home days
Company incentive plan
Parental Leave
Generous employee discount plus allotments
Job Type: Full Time - 4 days in office
Reports to: Manager, Women’s Product Development and Production
Location: Rhone HQ, Stamford, CT