What are the responsibilities and job description for the Contract Industrial/Product Designer: Soft Goods & Pet Products position at Carolina Pet Company, LLC?
Contract Industrial/Product Designer: Soft Goods & Pet Products
Location: Remote (US-based)
Engagement: Part-time contract, approximately 20 hours per month, with potential to grow
Reports to: VP of Product Design
Compensation: $60–100 per hour, depending on experience
About Us
Carolina Pet Company is a small, hands-on team developing an assortment of design-inspired products for dogs and cats. Our main categories are beds, toys, collars, and leashes, sold under our own brands, through licensed collections including Pendleton and Body Glove, and as private label programs for retail partners. We're committed to designing high-quality products at competitive retail prices.
The Role
Working directly with our VP of Product Design, you'll take new products from concept through pre-production across our own brands, licensed brands, and private label programs. You'll bring soft goods and sewn-product expertise to a team with deep industrial design and hard goods experience, and help us find the materials and partners behind new development.
What You'll DoDesign
- Ideate and develop new, innovative products through sketching, CAD, patterning, and hands-on prototyping
- Present concepts to the VP of Product Design and refine them through multiple rounds of feedback
- Bring soft goods expertise to plush toys, beds, collars, and leashes, including construction methods and material selection
- Nominate fabrics, materials, and trims, and identify opportunities for innovation and sustainability
- Create custom prints, patterns, and colorways when applicable, following each brand's guidelines
- Design with pet safety, durability, and real-world pet behavior in mind, including chew resistance, washability, and sizing across dog and cat breeds
Development & Sourcing
- Create and maintain factory-ready tech packs with flat sketches, dimensioned specs, bill of materials, seam and stitch details, trims, hardware, and labeling requirements
- Research and source materials, components, and hardware (fabrics, fills, foams, webbing, buckles, D-rings) for new development
- Help identify and vet suppliers and factories for new product categories
- Review samples and provide clear, annotated feedback for revisions
- Provide direction on fit testing and size grading across pet sizes
- Review costing during development and refine designs to meet target price points and customer requirements
What You Bring
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Fashion Design, or equivalent experience
- 5 years of product design and development experience in technical soft goods or sewn products; pet industry experience strongly preferred
- Experience working remotely and independently with suppliers and factories, domestic and/or overseas
- A portfolio showing products taken from concept to production, including at least one full tech pack
- Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for tech packs, as well as surface and print pattern design
- Strong follow-through to make sure designs are executed correctly in production
- Clear written and verbal communication, especially when giving feedback to factories and suppliers
- Curiosity, strong problem-solving skills, and a genuine love of dogs and cats
- Takes feedback in stride and keeps iterating toward the best solution
- Self-directed and organized, comfortable with shifting priorities on a small, entrepreneurial team
Nice to Have
- Experience working with licensed brands and their approval processes
- Knowledge of sourcing best practices, including costing, minimum order quantities, and product compliance testing
- 3D CAD experience (Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Rhino, or CLO 3D)
- Hands-on cut-and-sew prototyping or 3D printing ability
- A pet of your own (unofficial product tester)
How to Apply
Submit your resume along with a link to your portfolio, your hourly rate, and your availability.
Carolina Pet Company is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fair and equitable treatment of all applicants regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, physical ability, veteran status, socioeconomic background, or culture.
Pay: $60.00 - $100.00 per hour
Expected hours: 4.0 – 5.0 per week
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Prosperity, SC 29127
Salary : $60 - $100