Based in the Tribeca neighborhood of NYC, Stateless is a team of fashion design, brand strategists, and production management experts. Stateless is contracted by apparel brands around the world and across categories, for the design, development, and production of their apparel lines.
Position Summary
The Head of Product is responsible for “quarterbacking” the team, delegating to assistants and other team members, and holds all accountability for the development process and a smooth transition into bulk production.
- The Head of Product is client-facing, must be confident and organized enough to troubleshoot in real time and consult with confidence, is energetic and articulate, yet extremely professional in both appearance and stature.
- The Head of Product is extremely detail oriented and takes a lot of pride in his/her work.
- The ideal candidate for the Head of Product position is experienced in both domestic and international apparel development and possesses strong communication skills to effectively engage with diverse factory partners.
- Primary responsibilities include sourcing materials, developing product, working closely with the Design, Tech Design, and Production Management departments.
- The Head of Product is responsible for the creation and execution of new products in conjunction with the design, production, and technical team.
- The Head of Product manages external development and research partners and identifies new opportunities to create a competitive advantage, ensuring to bring stellar products to the Stateless client experience.
- Our Head of Product should be an expert at fabrication, fashion garment construction, and design. Must have deep knowledge of fabrics to be able to offer solutions and source viable options that clients will approve.
- The role of the Head of Product is to ensure the product design is interpreted and manufactured to client aesthetic and Stateless’ standard.
Primary Responsibilities
- Develop strong relationships with strategic manufacturing partners and members of internal cross-functional departments.
- Communicate with the Chief Project Officer regularly regarding the efficient flow of goods and services affecting development/pre-production; evaluate, manage, and mitigate potential risks to deadlines and new initiatives.
- Organize, monitor, and prioritize tasks to meet calendar milestones; manage compliance with the T&A calendar in conjunction with important milestones. Must update sample tracking charts and follow up with factories weekly to maintain sample due dates.
- Enforce that the T&A calendar and project milestones are met and elevate any potential delays to management as needed.
- Facilitate regular cross-functional team meetings with design and production to troubleshoot and resolve development or quality issues.
- Identify sourcing, and manage and execute effective sourcing strategies (materials and factories)
- Responsible for building the development and WIPS chart for all styles and materials per season; maintaining and updating weekly as needed.
- Work with clients to select fabrics and trims to meet design aesthetics, price points, and quality needs.; identifying alternative solutions so garments meet cost requirements
- Ensure that costing is accurate and up to date; create and maintain project tools and databases; follows up with factories on all styles in development, holding factories accountable for agreed dates
- Document and communicate accurate records of style FIT corrections, communicating all design changes/updates to appropriate internal and external partners.
- Ensure that all samples are 100% correct and on time.
- Provide situational leadership at an advanced level.
- Provide client-facing services at a high-level of professionalism and expertise
- Perform related duties as directed when such duties are a logical and appropriate assignment to the position.
Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree required; 7-10 years of development experience required
- Advanced knowledge of construction and materials sourcing; ability to leverage analytical skills to evaluate information carefully and solve complex problems
- Previously honed factory relationships (both domestic and overseas)
- Consulting experience preferred
Skills:
- Excellent communication and follow up skills (phone, e-mail, and presentations); outgoing and confident
- Writing skills and the ability to speak in the tone of the brand; intentional communication, being able to communicate well both online and offline and across different departments
- Ability to think quickly and adapt to changing requirements and technologies
- The candidate must be extremely detail-oriented and organized, with the ability to track and manage products throughout the entire development cycle.
- Knowledge of: Google Drive, Excel, basic AI usage
