Associate Product Development Manager (San Francisco, CA)

Our Customer is an American worldwise clothing and accessories retailer, founded in 1969. Over the last 50 years, the company has grown from a single store to a global fashion business with seven brands. Their clothes are availabile in 90 countries worldwide through over 3,100 company-operated stores, almost 400 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites and is still growing.

We are seeking an Associate Product Development Manager on a contract basis to support their business needs. This role is on-site in San Francisco, CA.

Responsibilities:

• Support the ideation, development, implementation, and execution of production and vendor capability strategies.
• Balance innovation, quality, and cost objectives throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Partner with cross-functional teams including Design, Merchandising, Technical Design, Quality Assurance, Sustainability, Fabric Research & Development, and Global Sourcing.
• Execute with strong attention to detail to ensure the product pipeline meets key product-to-market (P2M) milestones.
• Create seasonal strategies to reduce exposure to buying fabrics prior to line adoption.
• Execute vendor engagement strategies across divisions and product categories for both seasonal and fast-track pipelines.
• Ensure product availability across seasonal and fast pipelines at the product category level.
• Develop analytical processes to optimize post-line adoption performance.
• Adapt priorities to respond to customer and business partner needs.
• Provide front-line supervision to operational, service, or administrative teams.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience supporting production, sourcing, vendor management, merchandising, product development, or related functions.
• Experience working within a cross-functional product organization.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to develop data-driven processes.
• Strong attention to detail and execution skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed global organization.
• Experience supporting product-to-market (P2M) processes.
• Ability to balance quality, cost, and innovation objectives.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience developing vendor engagement strategies.
• Experience with fabric sourcing, line adoption, or production planning processes.
• Experience in the apparel, retail, or consumer products industries.
• Supervisory or team leadership experience.

We offer a competitive salary range for this position. Most candidates who join our team are hired at the median of this range, ensuring fair and equitable compensation based on experience and qualifications.

Contractor benefits are available through our 3rd Party Employer of Record (Availble upon completion of waiting period for eligible engagements) Benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.