Sr. Manager, Digital Technical Design

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are

At Rhone, we cultivate a work culture that is empowering and rooted in our core values. We are gritty, approaching challenges with resilience and determination. We are responsible, holding ourselves accountable to each other and the work we do. We strive for excellence, pushing boundaries to deliver our best every day. We remain authentic, embracing honesty, humility, and individuality. And above all, we are team centered, knowing that true success comes from collaboration and shared purpose.

About The Role

The Sr. Manager, Digital Technical Design leads Rhone’s 3D technical design function — owning the strategy, standards, and team behind how the brand designs, fits, and visualizes product in a virtual environment before it reaches a factory floor. This role leads the CLO 3D Expert(s) and is accountable for how deeply and effectively 3D is embedded across Rhone’s product creation process: determining which categories, styles, and development stages are best suited to 3D-first design, development, and commercialization, and where physical execution still leads. Equal parts technologist, team leader, and process owner, this person partners closely with Design, Merchandising, and the PCC Technical Design team so that digital work created at HQ carries cleanly into physical production — and champions the tools, training, and workflow improvements that let Rhone get more out of 3D every season. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands both the craft of 3D garment development and the operational realities of building performance apparel at scale, and who is genuinely curious about how far the technology can take the brand.

What You'll Do

• Lead, coach, and develop the CLO 3D Expert(s) / 3D Technical Designer team — setting technical standards, providing hands-on guidance in CLO 3D pattern making and virtual fitting, and building a clear career path for the discipline.

• Own Rhone’s 3D technical design strategy for assigned gender: define which product categories, styles, and development stages — Concept, Realization, Commercialization — are best suited to 3D-first design, development, and commercialization versus traditional physical sampling, and evolve that approach as the business and technology mature.

• Act as the connective layer between HQ digital fit development and the PCC Technical Designer team — clarifying where 3D work is owned by the brand and where it hands off to in-country pattern development and production readiness, so nothing is duplicated.

• Partner with the Director, Technical Design and PCC leadership to translate the Quality Stages framework into practice — clarifying ownership, decision rights, and hand-off criteria between HQ and PCC at each stage of development.

• Partner with Design, Merchandising, and GTM teams to align 3D outputs — colorways, prints, styling, avatars, fabric simulation — with brand aesthetic and go-to-market timelines.

• Build and govern Rhone’s digital asset library (avatars, block patterns, trims, fabric simulations) as a shared, brand-wide resource, ensuring consistency and reuse across categories and seasons.

• Champion a continuous improvement mindset for the 3D workflow — track cycle time, sample count, and fit-approval metrics, identify friction points, and lead process changes that make 3D development faster and more reliable each season, including enabling digital sell tool’s.

• Stay current on advances in 3D design, virtual fitting, and digital sampling technology; evaluate and pilot new tools or capabilities that could expand what Rhone can achieve digitally, bringing a genuinely curious, test-and-learn approach to where the technology is headed.

• Set and monitor quality standards for 3D output, ensuring digital garments — specs, BOMs, fit — translate accurately to physical samples and reduce rework downstream.

• Represent the digital technical design function in cross-functional planning, communicating progress, risks, and opportunities to Design, Merchandising, Production, and senior leadership.

What You'll Bring

• 8+ years of technical design experience, including meaningful hands-on experience in CLO 3D or comparable 3D design / pattern-making software.

• Prior experience leading, managing, or mentoring a team, with the ability to set technical standards and develop talent.

• Strong foundation in garment construction, pattern making, and fit standards for performance apparel, with the judgment to know when 3D is the right tool and when it isn’t.

• Demonstrated ability to balance strategic ownership — workflow, standards, technology roadmap — with hands-on technical involvement.

• Experience partnering across Design, Merchandising, Production, and overseas / PCC teams, with the communication skills to align stakeholders with different priorities.

• A genuinely curious, improvement-oriented mindset — comfortable questioning existing process, piloting new tools, and iterating based on results.

• Familiarity with PLM systems (Centric or equivalent) and Adobe Creative Suite.

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience.

What You'll Get

• Competitive compensation

• Health, dental, vision, and ancillary benefits

• 401(k) with company incentive savings plan

• 10 company holidays annually

• Discretionary time off policy

• Career growth and advancement opportunities

• Clothing discount plus semi-annual gift card allotment

Other Details

Job Type: Full Time

Reports to: Director, Technical Design

Location: Onsite - Based in Stamford, CT 

Our Commitment

Rhone Apparel, Inc is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, training and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and make all employment decisions without regard to any protected status.