Technical Designer/Pattern Maker

Hybrid's humble beginnings started in 1997 in the back of a print shop designing, selling, and printing tee shirts. Today, Hybrid is a global apparel industry powerhouse in brand and licensing management. Hybrid provides its expertise and fully vertical operations capability - design, merchandising, development, sourcing, production, and distribution - to a broad suite of branded, licensed, generic, and private label partners. Hybrid's full-service apparel design and manufacturing expertise extends across the apparel category, including knits, woven tops, bottoms, tees, and accessories.

As our organization has evolved, so has our philosophy of doing business. We have made concerted efforts to remove ourselves from the antiquated approach of other apparel manufacturers and doing things differently has been our focus. We are building a company ethos that breeds innovation, collaboration, integrity and excellence in customer service.

What is my role?

As a Technical Designer / Pattern Maker, you will take ownership of the technical design and pattern-making process for apparel products. You will work independently with minimal supervision, leading the creation of accurate patterns, tech packs, and specifications that meet design goals and manufacturing requirements. This role requires a high degree of autonomy and the ability to manage the technical development of multiple accounts and product categories, ensuring high-quality standards are consistently met throughout the entire process. Additionally, you will mentor and guide Tech Designers during fit sessions as needed to ensure that proper procedures and best practices are followed.

What You'll Do

• Pattern Creation & Development: Lead the creation, modification, and grading of patterns, ensuring fit, construction, and design integrity are maintained. Work independently to translate design concepts into pattern prototypes for sampling and production.
• Tech Pack Development: Independently develop detailed tech packs that include measurements, construction details, materials, trims, stitching instructions, and pattern specifications for each product. Ensure tech packs meet both internal design and account-specific requirements.
• Fit Sessions & Adjustments: Lead and conduct fit sessions independently, assessing fit, shape, and construction. Document fit comments and make pattern adjustments to ensure the product aligns with design intentions and sizing standards. Mentor and guide Tech Designers during fittings to ensure best practices are followed and that the appropriate technical solutions are applied.
• Private Label Management: Oversee the own private label process per account, ensuring each account's product specifications, grading, and branding requirements are met with precision. Work closely with internal teams and external suppliers to maintain accurate timelines and production schedules.
• Grade Rule Validation: Independently double-check and validate grade rules per account to ensure consistency and accuracy in grading, meeting the requirements for different size ranges while adhering to account-specific standards.
• Pattern Adjustments & Troubleshooting: Identify issues in pattern development, offering innovative solutions to improve fit, construction, or cost efficiency. Collaborate with the production team to troubleshoot any challenges that arise during the sampling or production stages.
• Communication with Factories and Vendors: Serve as a key point of contact with vendors and factories, communicating pattern and construction details and ensuring alignment with product specifications. Oversee technical aspects of sample production and provide feedback and revisions as necessary.
• Collaborative Design & Development: Partner with the design, merchandising, and production teams to ensure patterns and tech specs align with design concepts and are feasible for production. Act as the technical point of contact for cross-functional collaboration.
• Quality Assurance: Ensure high-quality standards for all patterns and finished products. Conduct thorough reviews during sampling and production to ensure the final product meets design and functional requirements, resolving any issues that may arise.
• Project Management: Take responsibility for managing multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely delivery of patterns, tech packs, and samples. Maintain effective communication with all involved teams to meet deadlines and resolve challenges.
• Attend Handover Meetings: Attend handover meetings with the design team to gather all required information and reference samples necessary to make production patterns. Ensure that all relevant details are clearly understood and implemented.
• Collaborate on Mock-ups and Samples: Develop and create patterns using the design team's sketches, taking into account fabric, silhouette, and proportion. Collaborate with designers and product developers to create mock-up samples and communicate fit updates to factories.
• Release Production Patterns: Release finalized production patterns, measurement specs, and sew-by samples to the production team.
• Ensure all documents are accurate and reflect the final product specifications.
• Evaluate Fit and Production Samples: Work closely with the tech design team on fit evaluations, providing feedback and suggesting construction options or alternatives to best translate design sketches into patterns.
• Pattern Updates: Continuously update patterns based on brand requirements, design changes, and fitting feedback, ensuring that all updates are reflected in the production documentation.
• Additional Duties: Perform other duties as assigned in accordance with company needs.

What You'll Need

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Apparel Design, Fashion Design, Textile Design, Pattern Making, or a related field.
• Experience:
  • 5+ years of experience in technical design and pattern making within the apparel industry, with a strong understanding of garment construction and fit.
  • Experience managing private label accounts and understanding account-specific requirements is highly preferred.
  • Expertise in creating patterns, grading, and fitting across various apparel categories (e.g., women's, men's, activewear, etc.).
• Skills:
  • Expertise in Fit, Draping, and Construction: Must have a keen eye for detail and an advanced understanding of garment fit, draping, and construction to ensure optimal product development.
  • Working Knowledge of PLM: Familiarity with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems and processes.
  • Fabric Knowledge: A strong understanding of different fabrics, their properties, and their suitability for various types of apparel and designs.
  • Gerber 10 Proficiency: Expertise in using Gerber 10 or similar pattern-making software for creating and modifying patterns.
  • Proactive, Intuitive, and Resourceful: Strong ability to anticipate and solve problems independently while staying organized and focused under tight deadlines.
  • Excellent Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills to work effectively with internal teams and external vendors/factories.
  • Multitasking & Time Management: Able to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines while maintaining attention to detail and quality.
  • Collaboration Skills: Ability to work with multiple team members daily, ensuring smooth communication and alignment of goals.
  • Problem-Solving: Strong 3-dimensional problem-solving skills, with expertise in sizing and fit to achieve optimal garment functionality.
  • Organizational Skills: Outstanding time-management and organizational abilities to handle a variety of projects efficiently and effectively.

Hybrid Apparel is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.