What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate Product Development Manager position at Ivy City Co.?
As our Associate Product Development Manager, you will own the product development process from design handoff through TOP sample approval. You will manage vendor relationships and timelines, approve styles to bulk production, and partner closely with our Design and Technical Design teams to solve issues before they become delays. This role is a great fit for an experienced product development professional who loves bringing beautiful product to life on time and to standard.
About Ivy City
Founded by three women in the early days of motherhood, Ivy City Co. was born from a shared dream: to rewrite the story that moms must lose themselves to be good mothers. Our brand celebrates the woman within motherhood. Her beauty, her strength, her confidence, and her joy. Known for our signature Mommy & Me and family-matching styles, Ivy City Co. creates pieces that help women feel radiant while making meaningful memories with the people they love. With truly size-inclusive designs (baby, girls, and women’s XXS–5X), exclusive in-house prints crafted by our women-led Utah team, and classic feminine details, our pieces are made to last and made to feel magical. Cherished by moms everywhere and trusted by icons like Joanna Gaines, Serena Williams, Kristen Bell, and Chrissy Teigen. Ivy City Co. is a place where beauty, confidence, and community flourish.
Core responsibilities :
Product Development calendar and timelines
- Own the product development calendar from design handoff through TOP sample approval, keeping every style on track for critical due dates.
- Proactively identify timeline risks and build recovery plans with vendors and internal teams.
- Gather and review weekly vendor reports, resolve delays directly with vendors, and escalate to management when needed.
Vendor management
- Serve as the primary point of contact for vendors, consolidating style details and communicating requirements and timelines for each style.
- Negotiate timelines, sample rounds, and quality resolutions with vendors.
- Track vendor performance, including on-time delivery, quality, and responsiveness, and share trends with management.
- Send consolidated vendor comments within 24 hours of review for bulk swatches and within 48 hours of review for PP and TOP samples. (Fit sample comments are sent by Technical Design.)
Approvals and quality
- Approve all styles to bulk production, including bulk swatch, PP sample, and fit sample review.
- Receive, check in, and review all bulk swatches, PP and fit samples, and TOP samples, logging comments and approvals in Airtable.
- Own QC issue resolution: identify the root cause, partner with vendors on corrective action, and keep management informed.
- Measure samples according to Technical Design’s needs.
- Strong understanding of how fabric, trim, construction, fit, and finishing choices impact the overall aesthetic and perceived quality of a garment.
- Able to provide thoughtful, design-minded feedback during fittings, sample reviews, and development without overstepping the role of Design.
- Ability to balance aesthetic considerations with cost, quality, manufacturability, timeline, and commercial objectives.
Systems and process
- Maintain detailed and accurate Airtable records for all production stages
- Upload fitting photos to SharePoint and Airtable after fittings.
- Recommend and implement improvements to production workflows, the trafficking calendar, and Airtable processes.
- Keep samples organized, including weekly rack audits by month and collection
- Order, track and hand off photoshoot samples to the creative team.
Qualifications
- 3 to 5 years of apparel product development experience, ideally in women’s wear or dresses
- Proven experience approving bulk production, including fabric, PP, and TOP samples
- Experience managing overseas vendors directly, including negotiating timelines and resolving quality issues
- Strong knowledge of garment construction, fit, measuring, and quality standards
- Adobe Illustrator experience preferred
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Excel
- Experience with Airtable, Asana, Slack, and WhatsApp is a plus
- Excellent written and verbal communicator who gives clear, direct feedback to vendors
- Highly organized, detail oriented, and analytical, with the judgment to prioritize when everything feels urgent
- Collaborative, flexible, and calm under deadline pressure
This is a 6-month temporary position. If you love great product and the people who make it happen, we would love to hear from you!