Title: Associate Designer, Ski/Outerwear
Location: New York, NY
Company: Leading apparel brand
Salary: $85,000 DOE
Salary/Hourly rate is commensurate with experience and is an estimated range provided by JPSearch
Candidates should have at least 3 years of experience in outerwear, ski, active, outdoor, or performance apparel, with strong CAD, sketching, and trend research skills.
Position Summary
We are seeking a talented and motivated Associate Designer to support the design and development of Ski and Outerwear across Men’s, Women’s, and Kids’ categories.
The ideal candidate has experience in outerwear, active, outdoor, or performance apparel and a strong interest in ski and technical product. This is a hands-on design role requiring strong CAD skills, trend research, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple development projects.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the design and development of seasonal Ski and Outerwear collections across Men’s, Women’s, and Kids’.
- Create CADs, colorways, design details, prints, graphics, and presentation boards based on seasonal direction.
- Assist in developing jackets, puffers, shells, ski pants, midlayers, and related layering pieces.
- Conduct seasonal research on ski, outdoor, performance, and fashion trends.
- Research competitive products, fabrics, trims, insulation, and new technical features.
- Assist with fabric, trim, color, and material development.
- Prepare and maintain accurate design packages and development information.
- Communicate with overseas factories and vendors regarding CADs, fabrics, trims, samples, and design corrections.
- Review prototypes and development samples and prepare design comments.
- Participate in fittings and work closely with Technical Design on fit, construction, and design details.
- Update CADs and design packages based on internal, customer, and licensor feedback.
- Support preparation of seasonal presentations, line reviews, and customer meetings.
- Maintain organized seasonal design files, sample tracking, and development records.
- Work closely with Design, Merchandising, Product Development, Technical Design, Sourcing, and Production to meet development deadlines.
Qualifications
- 3–5 years of apparel design experience, preferably in outerwear, ski, outdoor, active, or performance apparel.
- Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design or related field preferred.
- Strong Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop skills.
- Excellent CAD and flat-sketching capabilities.
- Understanding of garment construction, fabrics, trims, and basic outerwear functionality.
- Technical outerwear knowledge is a plus.
- Experience working with overseas factories and vendors preferred.
- Strong trend and market research skills.
- Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage multiple projects and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong communication and presentation skills.