Technical Designer
2.7 August Apparel, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, United States
The Fit Technician role is key to developing and producing a top-quality product at a competitive cost for the company. Technical Designers should inspire innovation within construction/fit and work closely with product development to collectively make great apparel. This person must embody a balance of hard and soft skills needed to scale the department for growth: oversee grade standards, monitor vendor quality/consistency, fit cadence to ensure calendar dates are met and facilitate individual development plans within the team.
Duties / Responsibilities:
Guides and monitors the fit process to ensure intended fit is met.
Proactive approach to QC and evaluates potential QC issues pre-season and again at sample stages.
Attending and leading fit sessions to relay fit comments to our overseas factories and ensure it is accurately executed.
Involved in the final development stage of the products daily, checking the garments' fitting, measurements, and workmanship.
Communicates daily with domestic & international vendors to supplement sourcing strategy, enhancing respected relationships for combined growth.
Assesses vendor base performance related to fits to allocate appropriately based on strengths and quality.
Tracks fit evolutions from factories.
Works to improve fit and quality through review of customer's comments, sales feedback, and understanding of competition.
Collaborate with the merchandising team to analyze return rate reports and enhance carry-over products if necessary.
Work closely with the Designer to ensure great-fitting products reflect the design intent.
Create and maintain technical packages in company standard format with data accuracy in a neat and organized manner.
Send tech packs to the corresponding vendors, including detailed garment measurements, construction, and BOM.
Responsible for sending clear fit comments with illustrations to factories from 1st fit through TOP.
Execute fit comments in a timely manner to ensure the fit sample review process stays on time with production timelines.
Spec garments before all fittings. Take and track notes to ensure final fit, quality, and construction meets brand quality standards.
Cross-examine the sample against style Tech Pack and previous fit samples to ensure comments have been corrected.
Perform accurate measurements to ensure size grading standards are within tolerance levels for specific fabric types.
Participate in fit sessions by fitting on a live model, recording comments, and communicating with the team and vendors.
Maintain a shared file of all fit tech packs for design and production.
Track and monitor execution to time-and-action calendar; record and track all packages, track fit and pre-production (PP) samples or other reference samples as required; keep an archive of fit samples.
Analyze fit, construction, and workmanship issues and accurately communicate all PP and TOP corrects to factories overseas.
Qualifications/ Skills:
Minimum 5 years of experience in fabrics and garment construction
Minimum 5 years of experience in technical design and product development
Minimum 5 years of experience in patterns.
Minimum 5 years of experience in communicating with vendors overseas is required.
Minimum 5 years of experience in Global markets regarding fit conversion, grade, and size charts.
Degree in tech design, pattern-making, and equivalent work experience.
Expertise in understanding fit, patterns, construction, measuring and evaluating samples, materials, workmanship, function, and production feasibility.
Knowledge of benchmarking fit and quality standards against other key competitors to ensure best-in-class fit and construction.
Detail-oriented with experience prioritizing and managing multiple tasks efficiently.
Excellent Problem-solving skills.
Must be team-oriented, open to taking direction, and able to work well under pressure.
This role requires an experienced sourcing professional in the apparel industry with extensive knowledge of product development, production, and quality assurance.
Ability to develop & implement strategies according to plans, monitor progress, and make the necessary adjustments to achieve objectives.
Exceptional time management and organizational skills with the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced and changing environment. Strong planning skills with expertise in multitasking.
Computer Skills: Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop, especially Microsoft 365.
A strong written and verbal ability to establish trustworthy and durable relationships with suppliers and colleagues.