Associate Designer

As an Associate Designer, you are an adaptable, detail-oriented professional with experience in costume jewelry and accessories design.You balance creative innovation with operational precision, supporting the development of new designs from technical drawings through production. You manage vendor communication, coordinate development, negotiate pricing, and maintain accurate product data around design, production, and manufacturing within our internal systems.You thrive in a small, fast-moving company, enjoy wearing many hats, and bring a proactive, solutions-driven approach to your work. Where You Fit In: Report to the Design Director. Collaborate closely with the Design Director, Senior Design Director, Creative Director, and cross-functional teams including Production, E-commerce, and Sales. Act as a key contributor and a bridge between Design and Production. What You Will Do: Design & Collection Development: Collaborate with the design team to develop unique, commercially viable designs that align with the Lizzie Fortunato aesthetic and meet sales objectives. Understand the accessories landscapeand peer market, as well as retail and wholesale pricing targets and design accordingly. Lead design iterations, creating new colorways, refining existing styles, and managing projects from concept to final pieces. Present with conviction, taking feedback and adjusting as needed. Develop detailed and accurate specs to communicate design intent clearly to vendors, ensuring consistency in scale, construction, and aesthetic quality. Research trends, materials, and techniques to inform collection development, translating findings into innovative concepts and designs. Create proto samples, mock-ups, and final samples for photoshoots and marketing campaigns. Make final samples with refined jewelry-assembly techniques, including expert crimping, wire working, and stringing for market samples shown to buyers. Build and maintain a comprehensive digital library of inspiration and references. Create an archive of spec templates and materials and work with production to streamline back-end. Serve as the primary liaison as DVO [Design Vendor Owner] tonumerousvendors; communicate design intent, troubleshoot sampling challenges, and pricing and timeline requirements. Review and update technical specs based on production and sampling feedback. Communicate independently with vendor; assess when appropriate to elevate issues. Oversee the material management process, track materials used in development and ensure accurate record-keeping for seamless production handoffs. Manage vendor billing, payments, and expense / account reconciliation for all relevant vendors. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Production to resolve design and production issues (sourcing, technical design, etc.) and maintain the integrity of the original concept through production. Provide constructive feedback and guidance to team members, modeling leadership and problem-solving. Lead smaller projects independently while supporting larger team efforts (ex: sample sale prep, one-off designs, etc.) Other Duties: Ensure organization within the design office by assisting with material inventory and maintaining internal systems with a strong attention to detail. Initiate go-backs and precise bagging and organization of materials during and after design periods so materials can be tracked and allocated without loss. This requires both physical and virtual precision. Complete administrative tasks such as invoicing, vendor payments, and documentation preparation for shipments when necessary. Contribute to photoshoot ideation and collection presentation, including mood board assembly and deck creation around seasonal collections. Manage and delegate to design interns, who will assist with tech pack creation, midtown vendor coordination and errands, design room material organization, and more. What You Will Bring: Minimum 2 years of experience in jewelry or accessories design. Exceptional project management and organizational skills, with a strong ability to balance creative vision with deadlines, budgets, and business goals. Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration Fluency in Adobe Creative Suite and Excel. Operational excellence and attention to detail, with a highly organized, proactive, and self-directed approach to managing complex workflows. A passion for the Lizzie Fortunato brand and a deep appreciation for independent, design-driven businesses. A hands-on, entrepreneurial mindset and team-oriented attitude—no task is too small, and every detail contributes to the bigger picture. Details: Starting salary: $75-80k with room for growth Year-end bonus opportunity #J-18808-Ljbffr