rag & bone · 4 months ago
Product Development Associate, Footwear & Raw Materials
New York, NY
Full-time
Onsite
Mid Level
$70K/yr - $80K/yr
3+ years exprag & bone is a fashion brand known for its modern design and quality craftsmanship. They are currently seeking a Product Development Associate for Footwear to support the design team's concepts, manage samples, and ensure effective communication with suppliers and factories throughout the product development process.
ApparelE-CommerceFashion
Responsibilities
Manage WIP files daily for:
A) Prototypes
B) Material trials and approvals
C) SMS
Manage Specs from SMS into Production, ensuring all information is accurate at all times
Monitor SKU counts by category and update each sample round
Participate in proto and SMS Fittings
Recap Merchandising and Production on any Design/construction changes from SMS into production
Attend cross functional meetings to ensure any changes to product are addressed in a timely manner
Responsible for sample tracking and communicating delivery status to cross functional teams
Participate in product reviews and note changes in design, material or cost
Call out any product concerns to Merch and Design during development and production stage
Manage Seasonal Product Knowledge for Market Wedge & E-commerce
Responsible for developing and sourcing all raw materials, development through to production. This includes leather, textiles and trims
Owns daily communication with material suppliers
Manage seasonal color standards and approvals from proto into production
Prepare and own sending all color masters out to factories and suppliers
Own organization of seasonal material books and ensuring references of all sample materials are received
Order seasonal pantones
Coordinate materials for trials and prototypes
Own compiling all LDS/FDS info from suppliers and relaying to factories in a timely manner
Counter source any materials that are out of price/moq targets
Evaluate suppliers based on specialty, cost, quality, leadtimes and conduct cost exercises
Pre-book sample materials for SMS and follow through on quality and color approvals into production
Manage timeline for materials including when factories need materials on hand to meet sample/production deadlines
Track certifications on all materials where applicable
Meet with existing and new suppliers for research and development purposes
Own maintaining material library and keep organized weekly with assistance from team and interns
Ongoing research of new competitive suppliers for costing and quality
Keep track of all sample liabilities
Ensure swatches and quantities are up to date each season
Code all Footwear sample and material invoices in Medius Flow and ensure invoices are submitted and paid on time
Qualification
Required
Minimum 3 years experience in Footwear Product Development or Raw Material Sourcing for leathergoods
Highly organized and able to work in a fast paced environment
Able to effectively manage competing priorities with tight deadlines
Excellent communication and follow up skills
Driven and solution-oriented with new and challenging projects
Benefits
Paid Time Off
Clothing Allowance
Generous Employee Discount
Paid Parental Leave
Membership to Calm and access to other wellness benefits
Medical, dental, vision and ancillary benefits
401k
Company
rag & bone
rag & bone is a fashion retailer that sells clothing, shoes, and accessories.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
rag & bone has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
unknownKey Investors
Irving Place Capital
2024-02-16Acquired
2013-01-02Private Equity
Leadership Team
N
Nicolas Vermot
COO
B
Benjamin Harris
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
Recent News
2025-11-25
DBusiness Magazine
2025-11-21
Morningstar.com
2025-11-07
Company data provided by crunchbase