Technical Development Manager

FutureStitch is a vertically integrated manufacturer building innovative, responsible products for leading brands, including New Balance. Our work connects material innovation, technical product development, manufacturing, and meaningful employment opportunities. SECONDS is our materials-led brand focused on giving overlooked people and discarded materials a second chance—transforming recovered inputs into purposeful workwear, knitwear, and everyday products.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are seeking a hands-on Technical Development Manager to take ownership of cut-and-sew apparel development from design concept through production approval. This role spans durable woven workwear, knitwear, underwear, and performance base layers for SECONDS and New Balance. You will translate creative direction into excellent, manufacturable products; make decisive material, fit, pattern, and construction choices; and keep teams and factories accountable to timelines, quality, and cost. This is a development leadership role, not a tech-pack-only or design-only position.

YOUR MISSION: SECONDS 3/20 GO-TO-MARKET

The immediate priority is to deliver a technically validated, production-ready SECONDS launch assortment for March 20, 2027. The manager will own the technical critical path for assigned styles, partnering with design, sourcing, production, and brand leadership to achieve:

• A locked style-level development calendar with clear owners, sample rounds, material approvals, testing gates, and production decision dates.
• Complete and factory-actionable tech packs, patterns, graded size specifications, BOMs, approved trims, construction details, and quality tolerances for every launch style.
• Approved fit, function, workmanship, and wash/durability performance; documented corrective actions for failed samples and tests.
• Production-feasible solutions for recycled or variable-input materials, with clear controls for consistency, yield, reinforcement, and quality.
• On-time production handoff, pre-production sample sign-off, and first-production quality monitoring—escalating launch risks early with proposed solutions.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

1 | SECONDS: workwear and knitwear

• Develop durable woven workwear—pants, jackets, overshirts, utility garments, and related silhouettes—with attention to movement, reinforcement, pocket engineering, abrasion, seam strength, hardware, and repairability.
• Develop cut-and-sew knit garments such as tees, fleece, jersey, rib, and other knitwear; specify stretch-compatible seams, necklines, shrinkage controls, hand feel, and dimensional stability.
• Collaborate on innovative recovered textiles and nontraditional materials; assess cutting, sewing, bonding, finishing, care, and repeatability constraints before committing to production.
• Protect the SECONDS design intent and material story while ensuring product can be built consistently, safely, and at a commercially viable cost.

2 | New Balance: underwear and performance base layers

• Own assigned technical development for underwear, first-layer, and performance cut-and-sew programs, including body mapping, fit, coverage, mobility, comfort, and next-to-skin seam placement.
• Engineer appropriate knit constructions, elastic applications, waistbands, gussets, flatlock/coverstitch/overlock seams, and other assembly methods.
• Specify and validate stretch/recovery, opacity where relevant, pilling, laundering, dimensional stability, colorfastness, moisture management, and wear performance against agreed product requirements.
• Build reliable fit blocks and grading rules across sizes, and partner with commercial teams and factories to balance performance, target costing, and production scalability.

3 | End-to-end development systems

• Lead concept feasibility, prototype development, sample reviews, fit sessions, pattern corrections, grading, testing, cost engineering, and production readiness.
• Create and maintain accurate version-controlled tech packs, technical sketches, measurement points, tolerances, BOMs, sewing instructions, test plans, and sample comments in the company PLM or agreed system.
• Own a transparent style tracker with stage gates, issue logs, responsible owners, and due dates; no style advances with unresolved critical construction, fit, material, or quality issues.
• Work directly with domestic and international mills, trim suppliers, sample rooms, and factories; troubleshoot on the factory floor when needed.
• Establish category-specific construction libraries, approved fit blocks, workmanship standards, and vendor-ready specifications; mentor teammates and raise development discipline.

SUCCESS MEASURES

• On-time achievement of agreed development and production-release milestones, particularly the SECONDS 3/20 assortment.
• Percentage of styles with complete, accurate, version-controlled tech packs and approved BOMs before production.
• First-pass sample/fit approval rate, average sample rounds, and time to close technical issues.
• Reduction in recurring construction and fit defects, production rework, and preventable quality failures.
• Performance against agreed product testing standards, target cost, and manufacturing feasibility.
• Reliable cross-functional communication: early risk escalation, clear decisions, and no surprise launch delays.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & CAPABILITIES

• 7+ years of apparel technical development, product engineering, or hands-on cut-and-sew development experience; at least 5 years of substantial combined work across BOTH woven workwear and knitwear (candidates must demonstrate credible development ownership in each category).
• Proven ability to take garments from concept and first prototype through fit approval, testing, pre-production, and bulk production.
• Strong practical command of patternmaking, fit, grading, fabric behavior, stitch and seam selection, garment engineering, and factory sewing operations.
• Deep familiarity with woven workwear durability requirements and knitwear stretch, recovery, shrinkage, and construction behavior.
• Ability to independently diagnose samples, propose corrective actions, communicate pattern/construction changes, and hold suppliers accountable.
• Advanced tech-pack and Adobe Illustrator proficiency; working fluency with PLM, spreadsheets, and digital development workflows.
• Experience collaborating directly with overseas and domestic manufacturing partners; willingness to travel to factories as required.
• Excellent project management, urgency, documentation discipline, and ability to work across multiple concurrent product programs.

STRONGLY PREFERRED

• Underwear, compression, activewear, or technical next-to-skin/base-layer development.
• Industrial or heritage workwear, reinforced construction, garment wash, and performance testing experience.
• Experience with recycled, reclaimed, deadstock, or otherwise inconsistent material streams and material qualification.
• Hands-on sewing, sample-room leadership, pattern adjustment, factory line setup, and cost engineering.
• Experience implementing PLM processes and building scalable development standards in a growing organization.

HOW WE WORK

We value resourcefulness, curiosity, accountability, technical rigor, and respect for the people who make our products. The right person moves quickly without compromising fundamentals, communicates problems before they become surprises, and finds practical ways to turn ambitious design ideas into exceptional products.

INTERVIEW / PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT

Finalists should be prepared to review a woven workwear sample and a knit/base-layer sample, identify fit and construction defects, recommend pattern and manufacturing changes, and explain how they would recover an at-risk launch timeline. A portfolio of personally developed, commercially produced styles is expected.