Printfresh is a fast-growing, design-driven lifestyle brand known for whimsical hand-painted prints and premium sleepwear and apparel. As we scale, we are building a disciplined product organization that protects creativity while delivering operational excellence.

This role is hybrid, typically working in our Philadelphia office Tuesday-Thursday and from home Mondays and Fridays (occasional in-office M/F may be required for fittings, meetings, and other events).

Position Overview:

The Director of Product Development & Production is the single point of accountability for product creation execution at Printfresh, from concept through bulk placement.

This role leads Technical Design and Product Development to ensure launches stay on schedule, margins are protected, quality standards are upheld, and product is cleanly handed off to Supply Chain for production and delivery.

You will lead a small but high-impact team responsible for turning beautiful ideas into well-executed product, while maintaining strong vendor relationships and disciplined development processes.

Key Responsibilities:

Product Lifecycle Ownership

Own the end-to-end product development process from concept through bulk placement, including proto, SMS, fit approval, costing validation, and PO creation
Maintain the master development calendar through bulk placement and PO confirmation
Ensure tech packs are production-ready prior to bulk commitment
Validate costing and margin prior to bulk placement
Own PO creation accuracy in Fulfil, confirming costing, quantities, and ship dates with vendors before production begins
Oversee TOP process and sample approval workflows
Manage fit approval and grading accuracy in partnership with Technical Design
Provide weekly T&A updates to cross-functional stakeholders through bulk placement
Provide confirmed product data from the linesheet and PLM/PIM to the Operations data team following PO creation

Technical Design Leadership

Lead the Technical Design team (currently Alison and an additional Technical Designer)
Ensure clean, accurate, production-ready tech packs delivered on calendar
Drive disciplined fittings and grading accuracy
Monitor quality trends including fit, construction, fabric performance, and color consistency
Lead corrective actions when recurring quality issues emerge

Product Development Management

Lead the Product Development team (currently Molly and Kaylee)
Ensure development calendars are realistic, visible, and consistently followed
Oversee proto flow and sample management through SMS and fit approval
Drive adoption of PLM/PIM systems across Product Development and Technical Design teams
Maintain linesheet accuracy in partnership with Merchandising and Buying

Vendor Relationships - Product Side

Lead factory and agent relationships related to quality, development, costing, and compliance
Develop and maintain vendor scorecards evaluating quality, fit accuracy, and communication
Conduct quarterly vendor performance reviews
Oversee vendor compliance and audit programs
Travel to key vendors approximately 1-2 times per year (India, Peru, and other regions as relevant)

Margin & Cost Leadership

Establish FOB and landed margin targets in partnership with Merchandising before development begins
Negotiate pricing and challenge cost increases when necessary
Analyze landed cost including freight and duty in partnership with Supply Chain
Ensure costing accuracy to support margin reporting and planning
Partner with Merchandising on retail pricing alignment

Fabric & Material Strategy

Oversee fabric liability and greige planning
Own replenishment strategy for core fabrics and materials
Coordinate India packaging alignment with Design and Production

What Success Looks Like

High on-time launch rate through bulk placement
Improving gross margin performance season over season
Reduced QA issues and fewer fit corrections at bulk
Strong adherence to development calendars
Clean bulk placement with accurate costing and confirmed vendor readiness
Strong vendor product performance scores
Reliable product data within PLM/PIM systems

Requirements

8-12 years of experience in Product Development, Technical Design, or Production within an apparel or lifestyle brand
Strong global sourcing experience; India experience strongly preferred
Technical design fluency with the ability to read and evaluate tech packs independently
Strong costing and margin discipline
Experience leading and developing small teams
Highly organized with strong calendar management and execution discipline
Comfortable holding teams accountable to timelines and quality standards
Fluent in PLM systems and product data best practices
Thrives in a fast-moving, creative brand environment

Benefits

What We Offer

Health and dental insurance
PTO and paid holidays
401(k) with company match
Employee discount on all Printfresh products

About Our Culture

At Printfresh, we celebrate creativity, sustainability, and a customer-first mindset. Our core values guide everything we do:

Do the Right Thing
Just Say It
Do What It Takes
Just Off-Center
Customer-Centric
Learning Oriented

Why Join Printfresh?

Join a fast-growing, creative team dedicated to pushing the boundaries of fashion and design
Work in an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and professional growth

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