What's the Short Version?
The Lead Sr Designer, Product Brand & Vision owns product and brand clarity across a portfolio of private label and licensed retail brands. This role is accountable for designing and managing the clear, differentiated product solutions, strategies and seasonal narratives, ensuring consistent brand expression, customer and consumer relevance, and alignment with business goals.
What Will You Be Doing?
- Define and own product direction from inspiration and concept through execution, ensuring design solutions deliver against brand vision, customer and consumer relevance, and commercial goals.
- Create and deliver compelling design concepts, seasonal presentations, and strategic storytelling tools that inspire alignment and drive executive decision-making.
- Collaborate with merchandising and other cross-functional team members to determine and gain agreement on direction and execution throughout the product creation process; establish understanding of the product and process to facilitate buy-in from the team and management.
- Own and drive product-brand clarity across assigned brands, ensuring each maintains a distinct, consistent, and compelling market position.
- Serve as the product brand steward, accountable for translating creative vision into cohesive seasonal product direction that strengthens brand equity and business performance.
- Lead the development of brand-right product narratives, seasonal frameworks, and creative strategies that align consumer needs, market opportunities, and business objectives.
- Design and champion seasonal concepts, material platforms, and product visions across apparel, bags, accessories, and headwear categories.
- Establish and communicate clear creative direction for color, materials, graphics, silhouettes, construction, and product architecture across assigned brands.
- Partner with category designers to guide product creation, influence design decisions, and ensure consistent execution of brand strategy across all product categories.
- Interpret macro trends, consumer behaviors, cultural movements, and competitive insights to proactively shape future product opportunities and brand evolution.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen differentiation, eliminate duplication, and improve cohesion across the brand portfolio.
- Balance creative ambition with market realities, ensuring product concepts are innovative, scalable, and commercially viable.
- Influence cross-functional partners and senior stakeholders to align product vision, development priorities, merchandising strategies, and go-to-market execution.
- Raise the quality and consistency of design output through active review, coaching, and creative oversight of product and brands across the apparel, bags and headwear categories.
- Mentor, develop, and inspire junior and associate designers by providing ongoing feedback, skill development, and career guidance that builds organizational capability.
- Foster a culture of accountability, creative excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the design organization.
- Demonstrate expert proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and current digital design tools to create highly detailed product illustrations, renderings, technical artwork, and presentation assets that support product development and execution.
- Communicate product vision, design rationale, and strategic recommendations with confidence and influence across all levels of the organization.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- Comply with all policies and standards.
What Are We Looking For?
- Bachelor's Degree in Design, Apparel Design, Product Design, or related field, or equivalent experience
- 5+ years years of progressive design experience across apparel, accessories, bags, headwear, or related categories
- Strong ability to connect brand strategy, consumer insight, and product design.
- Experience with product storytelling, seasonal concept development, and brand differentiation.
- Experience mentoring or providing direction to junior design talent.
- Expert level Adobe suite, Microsoft office, AI and 3D rendering software (NewArc, Viscom, Clo).
- Portfolio demonstrating concept-led design and brand-right execution.
- Strong understanding of color, materials, graphics, silhouettes, and construction.
- Ability to design across multiple brands while maintaining distinct identities.
- Strong communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.
What's Our Offer?
Salary Range: You`ll earn between $120,000 - $160,000 annually, depending on experience.
Bonus: You`ll be eligible for an annual discretionary bonus up to 10% of base salary.
Paid Time Off: You`ll accrue paid time off on a bi-weekly basis based on hours worked up to 112 hours per year to start. Employees also receive 8 paid holidays and 1 paid family day off.
Additional Benefits:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
- 401k plan and matches $1 for $1 up to 4% of earnings, matched & vested at every pay cycle
- Life insurance
- Short/long-term disability coverage
- Paid maternity/paternity leave
- Pet insurance
What Should You Expect?
Hybrid: SanMar's Eastpointe office is located in Issaquah, WA in the Seattle metropolitan area. Employees are required to work in our offices Tuesday through Thursday each week and additional days may be added based on business needs. Our standard working hours are 8:00-5:00 PST. Periodic travel may be required. The employee is regularly required to sit for extended periods while working on a computer and participating in virtual and in-person meetings. Frequent use of hands for keyboarding and standard office equipment is required. Occasional standing, walking, and reaching may be needed to attend meetings or collaborate in an office setting. The role requires the ability to perform close visual work on a computer for extended periods. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 10–15 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be available to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.
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