Senior Designer

About PHOENIX 

PHOENIX Retail, LLC is a Direct-to-Consumer platform operating EXPRESS and BONOBOS in the United States. Grounded in a belief that style, quality and value should all be found in one place, Express is a brand with a purpose - We Create Confidence. We Inspire Self-Expression. - powered by a styling community. Bonobos is a menswear brand known for being pioneers of exceptional fit and a personalized, innovative retail model. Customers can experience our brands in over 400 Express retail and Express Factory Outlet stores, 50 Bonobos Guideshops, and online at www.express.com and www.bonobos.com.

Meet our Design team and learn more about what makes this team special.  Come join us and be a part of our future.

This position will support Women's Sweaters.

As our Women’s Sweater Senior Designer, you’ll be working with all facets of design development for our fully fashioned sweater category alongside the fun and highly talented Design team.  In the role, you’ll be diving into the design process headfirst.  You’ll be doing market research to understand our customers, sketching, working on new yarns, stitches, patterns and collaborating with our tech team during fittings and communicating daily with our Production and Merchandising teams. 

Reporting directly to our Director of Design, you will have the opportunity to get your hands dirty every step of the design process.  You will play an instrumental role in evolving our signature products, sweater tops, dresses, pants and skirts.  We have an all-hands-on-deck mentality where the sharing of ideas is encouraged.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Autonomously designs and innovates on products for their assigned categories without daily oversight
• Contributes to overall company product strategies
• Attends category cross-functional meetings with merchandising, production, tech design and planning, and is prepared to lead discussions and present relevant information
• Stays up to date on womenswear trends and presents those ideas cross-functionally
• Translates customer needs into viable product ideas
• Builds product related deadlines on top of company calendar
• Collaborates with merchandising team to bring new key ideas to categories
• Attends retail trade shows and visits factories to stay up to date on industry and product trends and production innovations when required
• Responsible for designing full sweater product lines inclusive of tops, dresses, and bottoms; keen eye for new yarns, stitches, pattern, trim, color and print, as well as maintaining cost targets and imu goals.
• Clear understanding of all technical aspects of fully fashioned sweater category design and development,
• extensive understanding of yarns and yarn capabilities with an eye for sourcing seasonally appropriate new yarns.
• Responsible for creating detailed and accurate tech packs (Adept at relevant design systems, BeProduct, Adobe, Miro, Microsoft)
• communicating innovative and unique stitch development to vendors and responsible for creating original stripe and pattern designs
• Contributes point of view in fitting and take notes/update tech packs and sketches accordingly
• Creates clear and directional design boards
• Comfortable speaking publicly and presenting designs in variety of settings
• Able to lead with confidence in assortment meetings with merchandising
• Attends seasonal detail meetings and directs conversation of assortment, responsible for selecting trims and product details.
• Keeps clear, open communication with production and merchandising
• Responsible for pulling - pattern, color inspiration and trims for categories, has great understanding of sweater patterning and yarn development and design
• Approves lab dips, handlooms, trim sheets, knit-downs, trim development, fit samples and pre-production samples
• Communicates all product details for site merchandising to input into website

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• 7+ years of experience and a degree in Apparel or Fashion Design related field
• 2+ years experience managing people
• Seasoned sweater expert and able to lead the associate designer to create women’s total sweater collection of tops, dresses,
  skirts and pants
• Extensive understanding of yarns and yarn capabilities with an eye for sourcing seasonally appropriate new yarns.

CRITICAL SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES

• A positive “all-hands-on-deck” type of attitude
• Good communicator in a variety of settings
• Organized and detail oriented
• Has the ability to sell ideas and clearly explain product designs
• Knowing when to make decisions vs. relying on manager
• Able to work collaboratively with team members to achieve team initiatives
• Understands how to shift priorities and workload as business needs shift
• Comfortable with calendar, deadlines and managing competing priorities
• Ability to delegate work to team as well as outside contractors
• Comfortable managing team in preparing for design reviews and other meetings
• Asks relevant questions and can work through data to come to a timely decision
• Takes feedback well and actions changes

Benefits and Compensation:

PHOENIX offers a range of benefits to help protect full-time associates health and long-term financial security including:

• Medical, pharmacy, dental and vision coverage
• 401(k) and Roth 401(k) with Company match
• Merchandise discount
• Paid Time Off
• Parental leave for new moms and dads

Part-time associates may be eligible to receive paid sick leave, public health emergency leave and to participate in the 401(k) and Roth 401(k) with Company match. Additionally, part-time associates are eligible to receive a merchandise discount, and to choose voluntary benefits through YouDecide. Full-time associates may be eligible to participate in our incentive plan.

Actual compensation offered is dependent upon a number of factors including, but not limited to, work location, education, relevant skills and experience of the candidate.

An equal opportunity employer, PHOENIX does not discriminate in recruiting, hiring or any other terms and conditions of employment hiring on the basis of any federal, state, or locally protected characteristic. PHOENIX only hires individuals authorized for employment in the United States. PHOENIX is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need an accommodation to search and apply for a job position due to a disability, please call 1-800-964-9793 and say 'Associate Relations' or send an e-mail to AssociateRelations@Express.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Notification to Agencies: Please note that PHOENIX does not accept unsolicited resumes or calls from third-party recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Master Service Agreement and approval from HR to submit resumes for a specific requisition, PHOENIX will not consider or approve payment to any third-parties for hires made.