Vice President of Product Development & Production
5 days ago
Los Angeles
Job DescriptionIn a world of noise, we find the signal — the pulse of potential. We weave the strands of talent, vision, and purpose into organizations that endure. Blending intelligence with intuition, we honor the human art of connection at the heart of every great company. Signal & Strand partners with organizations at pivotal moments — when vision is expanding, scale is accelerating, and leadership determines what comes next. Across the apparel and lifestyle landscape, we help build executive teams that turn creative ambition into disciplined, repeatable, high-performing systems. We've been retained by a confidential, high-growth apparel company to identify a transformative Vice President of Product Development & Production. This executive will architect the product engine that powers the next chapter of the business — elevating quality, accelerating speed, and unifying creative intent with operational precision. It's a rare opportunity to shape the discipline, culture, and strategic backbone behind a brand entering its most expansive stage yet. The Role The Vice President of Product Development & Production will lead the full product creation ecosystem — owning strategy, structure, talent, execution, and global production readiness. This leader will not simply guide seasonal calendars; they will redesign how the company develops, engineers, and produces apparel at scale. The role blends strategic vision with operational command: building multi-season roadmaps, tightening cross-functional cohesion, elevating vendor and factory performance, and transforming processes into competitive advantages. This is a mandate to innovate, strengthen, and future-proof the product engine — creating a platform capable of supporting category expansion, global growth, and elevated brand expression. What You'll DoStrategic Leadership * Build and lead a forward-looking product development and production strategy that strengthens quality, scalability, and long-term brand advantage. * Translate creative ambition into executable, margin-driven plans that maintain design integrity while advancing operational excellence. * Shape multi-season product frameworks that align category growth, innovation pipelines, and material strategy. Team & Organizational Leadership * Lead, inspire, and expand high-performing teams across Product Development, Technical Design, and Production. * Define organizational structure, capabilities, and processes that enable fast, disciplined, cross-functional execution. * Foster a culture of accountability, curiosity, and continuous improvement — where teams push standards higher each season. Product Creation Oversight * Own the full lifecycle from concept through bulk production, ensuring excellence at every gate: materials, construction, fit, feasibility, and costing. * Strengthen cross-functional handoffs, ensuring that Design, Merchandising, Raw Materials, and Sourcing operate with clarity and momentum. * Drive consistency in technical execution — ensuring product quality is predictable, scalable, and aligned with brand promise. Innovation & Materials Strategy * Advance innovation across materials, construction, sustainability, and product engineering. * Partner with Raw Materials and Design to elevate fabric performance, tactility, and functional excellence. * Introduce new manufacturing techniques and category capabilities that differentiate the brand. Vendor & Global Production Leadership * Shape sourcing strategies that balance speed, cost, quality, and capacity across a global vendor matrix. * Elevate vendor performance through clear scorecards, stronger partnerships, and aligned incentives. * Guide production readiness, compliance, and calendar discipline to support on-time, high-quality output. Systems, Process & Calendar Ownership * Own and refine the seasonal product development calendar — making it more visible, predictable, and efficient. * Implement strategic tools and systems (PLM, digital product creation, Adobe workflows) that enhance scale and transparency. * Establish processes that reduce cycle time, mitigate risk, and support sustainable growth. Data-Driven Operational Excellence * Use KPIs — IMU, fit approval rate, cycle times, sample accuracy, vendor scorecards — to guide decisions and sharpen performance. * Build dashboards and reporting frameworks that give leadership real-time visibility into product health and operational readiness. * Turn insights into action plans that evolve processes, remove bottlenecks, and improve predictability across seasons. What You Bring * 12–15+ years in apparel product development, technical design, production, or sourcing, with deep multi-category experience. * A proven record of building high-performing teams and scaling product operations inside fast-paced or complex environments. * Expertise across garment engineering, materials innovation, costing, global sourcing, and manufacturing. * Strength in cross-functional leadership and the ability to bring clarity and alignment to diverse teams. * Experience creating systems, processes, and tools that support multi-season growth and operational sophistication. * A balance of creativity and rigor — able to protect design ethos while championing commercial and operational discipline. Who You Are You are strategic, decisive, and energized by complexity. You build systems that not only support growth — they accelerate it. You thrive in environments where creativity meets operational excellence, and you understand that great product is the result of great partnerships, great process, and uncompromising standards. You bring a calm, confident presence that elevates teams, sharpens strategy, and inspires belief from design studios to factory floors. Base Compensation Range$250,000—$350,000 USD Equal Opportunity & Non-Discrimination Statement Signal and Strand is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We—and our clients—do not discriminate in employment or contracting on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, registered domestic partner status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws. We comply fully with the provisions of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We are committed to providing a workplace that is inclusive, respectful, and free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.