Production Manager
2 days ago
Lodi
CALLING ALL DOGS: PRODUCTION MANAGER Location: Lodi, NJ — On-site / Hybrid Type: Full-time Reports to: COO Compensation: $60,000–$75,000 + benefits ABOUT FABDOG® Since 2002, fabdog® has been making human-quality apparel and toys that turn every pet into a fabdog®. What started in founder Cassie Cole's NYC apartment has grown into a beloved worldwide premium pet brand featured in Vogue, People, InStyle, and Oprah's picks. Our team is a true family of pet lovers, designers, and operators who care deeply about the craft and the dogs (and cats) we serve. We're hiring a Production Manager to help us deliver that quality at scale. THE ROLE You'll be the operational hub that keeps production moving across both sides of our business: our in-line fabdog® collection of toys and apparel, and our private label projects for B2B customers. From PO entry through quality, costing, inventory planning, and delivery, you'll keep every product on track and every detail accounted for. Day to day, you'll work closely with our design team, our private label customers, our manufacturing partners in China, and our freight forwarders. It's a coordination role at heart — heavy on organization, spreadsheets, follow-through, and clear communication. This is a hands-on role at a small company. You'll have real ownership and see the impact of your work on every product that goes out the door — whether it's heading to our Lodi warehouse or shipping direct from China to a private label customer. BASIC COMMANDS: Production & purchase orders • Enter, organize, and track purchase orders to our manufacturing partners in China across both in-line and private label production, • Manage production calendars and timelines — booking capacity with factories, sequencing POs, and protecting ship dates, • Build and maintain costing spreadsheets, tracking quoted costs, landed costs, and the moving pieces (materials, packaging, freight, duty) that drive them Design & customer coordination • Work closely with our design team to take new products from approved sample into production, translating designs and tech packs into clear instructions for our factories, • Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for our private label customers, confirming specs, timelines, and deliverables, • Manage all customer packaging requirements: case packs, carton markings, labeling, barcodes, and any private label-specific specs, • Complete customer-mandated vendor sheets — capturing the style numbers, UPCs, carton dimensions, carton quantities, and other product data each customer requires Quality control • Review pre-production and top-of-production samples; track quality issues with factories through to resolution, • Manage third-party inspections — booking inspectors, reviewing reports, and signing off (or not) before goods ship, • Manage product testing programs and maintain safety compliance documentation (CPSIA, ASTM, lead and phthalate testing, etc.), staying on top of customer-specific compliance requirements Inventory planning • Forecast inventory needs across the in-line collection based on sales velocity, seasonality, and upcoming promotions, • Set reorder points, manage safety stock, and time POs to keep our Lodi warehouse stocked without overcommitting capital, • Partner with sales and customer service to read demand signals and adjust the production plan accordingly Logistics & shipping • Coordinate with freight forwarders on shipments inbound to our Lodi warehouse and direct shipments from China to private label customers, • Manage import documentation (commercial invoices, packing lists, ISF filings, certificates of origin) and work with our customs broker on entries, HTS classifications, and duty, • Monitor production and shipping timelines, flag risks early, and keep internal teams and customers proactively updated Tracking & reporting • Keep production trackers, PO logs, costing sheets, and shipping records organized and current so the whole team has a clear view at any moment, • Track and report on KPIs — on-time delivery, defect rates, cost variance, inventory health — and share regular updates with leadership WHAT WE'RE BEGGING FOR: • 2–5 years of production, sourcing, or operations experience, ideally working with overseas (China) manufacturing, • Background in soft goods, apparel, plush, accessories, or another consumer product category, • Highly organized — you can manage dozens of POs, multiple customers, and shifting timelines without dropping a ball, • Strong Excel skills (you'll live in costing sheets, PO trackers, forecasts, spec docs, and vendor sheets); comfortable working in our ERP (Cin7) and picking up new customer-specific vendor portals as they come, • Detail-oriented, especially around packaging specs, carton markings, and customer-specific requirements, • A sharp eye for quality and the judgment to know when a sample is ready vs. when it needs another round, • Inventory planning or demand forecasting experience — comfortable balancing stock levels, lead times, and sales velocity, • Working knowledge of import logistics: freight forwarder coordination, customs paperwork, HTS classifications, FOB vs. DDP, ISF filings, • Excellent written communication — most factory and customer communication happens over email, • Comfort working across time zones with overseas partners WHAT WE'RE FETCHING: • Experience in the pet, toy, or children's product industries, • Familiarity with private label / contract manufacturing dynamics, • Familiarity with US safety standards (CPSIA, ASTM) for soft goods and toys, • Experience working directly with B2B customers on packaging specs and project timelines, • Hands-on experience with Cin7 or similar inventory/ERP platforms, and with major retailer vendor portals (Petco, Chewy, Amazon Vendor Central, etc.) WHO YOU ARE • A collaborator. You genuinely enjoy working with people — designers, customers, factory contacts, freight partners — and you build strong working relationships across all of them, • Self-motivated. In a small team like ours, you run with things and don't need a lot of oversight to keep the wheels turning, • A natural problem solver. When a shipment slips, a cost surprises, or a customer changes a spec at the last minute, you stay calm and find a path forward, • Extremely organized. Trackers, follow-ups, deadlines, details — you keep your own house in order, and you bring that same rigor to the team's WHY FABDOG® • Be part of a small, talented team where your work directly shapes the products and the business, • Premium, beloved brand with 20+ years of history and room to keep growing, • Dog-friendly office in Lodi, NJ, • Health insurance, • 401(k) plan HOW TO APPLY Send your resume and a short note about why fabdog® is interesting to you to . Bonus points for telling us about your own pet. — fabdog® is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.