Fashion (Soft Goods) Design Manager

Main purpose of role:

This position will work closely with the Product Management team dominantly in development of Wheeled Goods and Car Seat collection and project executions.

The role is responsible for all Soft Goods related project deliverables and offers full service on that matter to Project Managers and released projects, being an integral part of the project team and process.

The Fashion Design Engineer/Manager will align Car Seat design and Wheeled Goods design to assure shared Britax design language, seasonal trends, colour cards, presentation materials, and samples for Product Management, suppliers, and sales teams.

The Design Engineer/Manager will create instructions for styling, cut and execution, as well as translating ideas into prototypes if needed through contacts with in-house Project Lead, Seamstress and technical Designers   or with external pattern makers.

The person in charge owns disciplinary and functional leadership of a team of Fashion experts and enables flawless project execution by ensured world-class organisation at high-level efficiency and visibility of internal and external capacities.

The Fashion Design Engineer/Manager is utilising skills of the employees and gathering comprehensive knowledge regarding Soft Goods development within the local Fashion team and global Peers and offers advisory lead for processes and tools applied within the function and project teams.

The Fashion Design Manager shall mange a function at high level of technical expertise and personal involvement in execution.

Key Accountabilities and Responsibilities:

The Fashion Design Engineer/Manager will work closely with Britax Product Management teams and Britax Product Development teams in the various regional and multi-regional projects.

Moreover, the Fashion Design Engineer/Manager will be a key element of the global Britax Design Center to ensure best practices are shared and applied, design directions and global alignments are agreed and transferred to execution, while regional priorities are respected and communicated into the global team.

Ensuring that deadlines are met, the Fashion Design Engineer/Manager must be able to conceptualize product concepts and communicate these into viable prototypes by the following steps:

• Coordinate with the Product Management and design teams to refine concepts as needed and work within target product prices to assure most effective results
• Initiate and interpret new product concepts to meet the needs of our customers across all large consumer segments and geographies
• Coordinate deliverables from individual department members, review and provide them to the projects
• Provide sketches/renderings, line art, design boards, and presentations to communicate design ideas
• Keep informed on current Americas regional products,  colors, fashions, patterns and material trends, and develop an annual presentation for internal teams and external customers
• Develop soft goods design concept ideas roadmap based on 5 year NPD roadmap and market trends
• Participate in design and product development reviews, trade shows supplier as needed
• Interact with global project team factories and work closely local product management teams to ensure timelines are met and consistent with specifications and cost
• Take action to achieve a best cost position already at design and material selection phase
• Ensures a team development to a world-class organization with development plan for individual team members in place and in execution.

Decision-Making Authority:

• Materials preselection
• Fabric colour preselection
• Cut and sew execution
• Mood boards & styling presentations