Apparel Development & Production Manager

Location: Boston, MA
Employment Type: Full-Time, hybrid

Tracksmith is an independent running brand. We honor the Amateur Spirit upon which the sport was founded and champion the Running Class – the non-professional yet competitive runners dedicated to the pursuit of personal excellence. We offer well-considered and authentic products for training, racing, and rest day. In everything we do, we aim to celebrate, support, and add to running’s distinct culture.

We are looking for an experienced Apparel Development & Production Manager to oversee sourcing, development, and production for our performance and lifestyle running apparel. This role blends technical expertise with strategic oversight, focusing on material development, garment construction, and manufacturing processes, while managing seasonal timelines. A passion for running, innovation, and delivering athlete-focused solutions is essential.

Key Responsibilities:

Sourcing and Production

• Sourcing Strategy: Lead sourcing efforts for materials, trims, packaging, and finished goods, aligning with business objectives and product goals.
• Vendor Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with factories, mills, and suppliers, ensuring ethical practices, compliance, and alignment with brand values.
• Material Development: Identify and develop material solutions for high-performance applications, leveraging a deep understanding of performance materials and vendor landscapes.
• Capacity Planning: Coordinate production capacity and seasonal buy processes with sourcing partners to ensure on-time delivery.
• Commercialization & Quality Control: Oversee the commercialization process to transition designs into scalable production, maintaining strict adherence to quality standards.

Development & Construction

• Project Planning & Calendar Management: Drive cross-functional understanding of product calendar milestones and ensure timely execution.
• Garment Expertise: Leverage expertise in garment construction, pattern making, fabrication, drape, silhouettes, trim, and advanced construction techniques to create superior products.
• Prototyping & Sampling: Partner with factories to develop functional prototypes and pre-production samples, ensuring designs meet performance goals.
• Fit Review Process: Support the fit review process in collaboration with product and technical development teams, assisting with fit notes and updating tech packs, BOMs, and CADs on schedule.
• Weartesting: Facilitate sample tracking, wear-testing processes, and incorporate results to validate and refine product functionality and quality.
• Innovation: Challenge and disrupt the performance product status quo by integrating athlete insights, advanced manufacturing methods, and a passion for sport progression into innovative solutions.
• Best Practices: Establish and uphold standards for construction, fit, and manufacturability to ensure consistency and excellence across all products.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Mentorship: Lead and mentor the development and technical design teams, fostering growth, efficiency, and innovation.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with design, marketing, and product teams to align development efforts with brand vision, market needs, and consumer expectations.
• Process Improvements: Continuously identify opportunities to enhance workflows, streamline operations, and drive innovation.

Requirements:

Experience

• 8+ years of experience in apparel development, production, or sourcing, with a focus on performance and lifestyle categories.
• Proven expertise in garment construction, technical applications, and athlete-driven innovation.

Skills

• Strong knowledge of costing, BOMs, quality control, and manufacturing standards.
• Expertise in performance materials, advanced manufacturing methods, and material vendor landscapes.
• Exceptional project management, organizational, and communication skills.
• Proficiency in PLM systems, Adobe Creative Suite, and Microsoft Office applications.

Passion & Culture

• Genuine enthusiasm for running and endurance sports, with a strong understanding of their culture and lifestyle.
• Experience working with competitive athletes and incorporating athlete insights into performance-driven product solutions.

TO APPLY:

If you are interested in applying for this position, please submit your resume to

development@tracksmith.com.

Due to internet hiring scam attempts, we encourage applicants for open positions listed at Tracksmith to apply through the following site: tracksmith.com/pages/team. All communication with the hiring team at Tracksmith will come directly from a @tracksmith.com email address. Please reach out to careers@tracksmith.com if you have any questions or concerns.

View all openings