Head of Technical Design - J.Crew & J.Crew Factory

Head Of Technical Design

The head of technical design is a senior enterprise leader responsible for elevating and unifying the technical design function across J.Crew and J.Crew Factory. Reporting directly to the J.Crew Group Chief Sourcing Officer, this role serves as the critical bridge between creative vision and product execution—leading a high-performing team and ensuring that design intent is translated into exceptional fit, quality, and consistency across all categories. This is a rare opportunity to shape the technical foundation of two iconic American brands at a pivotal moment of growth.

What You'll Do

• Build, mentor, and inspire an industry-leading technical design organization, including category leads and patternmakers across women's, men's & kid's divisions, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous development.
• Serve as the primary technical design partner to the design teams, developing deep, trusted relationships that ensure design intent is accurately and beautifully interpreted into fit, construction, and overall garment execution.
• Own the end-to-end fit and construction standards across all product categories—knits, sweaters, denim, wovens, and beyond—establishing consistent, brand-right fit philosophies for both J.Crew and J.Crew Factory while honoring the distinct identity of each brand.
• Partner cross-functionally with production, materials, and merchandising teams to drive efficient, high-quality product development processes from proto through final approval, maintaining accountability to calendar and cost targets.
• Implement and continuously improve technical design systems, grading standards, spec processes, and PLM workflows to drive operational efficiency and scalability across a multi-brand, multi-division portfolio.
• Build and strengthen relationships with key vendors and mills, aligning on construction capabilities, quality standards, and innovation opportunities to support both brands' evolving product strategies.
• Champion a culture of innovation within technical design—staying ahead of industry trends in fabrication, construction techniques, and sizing to continuously elevate the customer experience and product quality.

Qualifications:

Who You Are

Required:

• 15+ years of progressive technical design experience within the apparel industry, including significant time in a senior leadership role overseeing large, multi-category teams.
• Proven expertise across men's, women's, and kids' product categories, with deep hands-on knowledge of all material types including knits, sweaters, denim, and wovens.
• Demonstrated track record of building and developing high-performing technical design organizations, with experience recruiting and retaining top talent at all levels from category leads to patternmakers.
• Exceptional ability to cultivate collaborative partnerships with design, acting as a trusted translator of creative vision into technical reality while maintaining the integrity of each brand's aesthetic point of view.
• Comprehensive understanding of garment construction, pattern engineering, grading standards, and fit development across a wide range of fabrications and silhouettes.

Preferred:

• Experience working across both full-price and value/factory brand environments, with an understanding of how to deliver brand-appropriate quality and fit within varying cost architectures.
• Proficiency in PLM systems (e.g., Centric, Gerber WebPDM) and strong working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator; experience with digital product creation tools is a plus.
• Prior experience at a multi-brand retail or specialty apparel organization; familiarity with domestic and international sourcing and vendor landscapes is a strong advantage.
• Bachelor's degree in fashion design, apparel technology, or a related field; equivalent industry experience is equally valued.

We welcome you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes. Our passion is scouting life-long learners who are driven by curiosity, and who feel connected to our brands and share our desire to make an impact. We're always seeking bright new talent who leverage their unique experiences to discover, grow and evolve with our teams.

Benefits + Perks

• Health & Well-being - Eligible associates and family members receive medical, dental, prescription and vision insurance, family planning (fertility, adoption & surrogacy support), fitness discounts, medical travel and more.
• Associate Discount - We love our products just as much as you do! That's why we offer a great associate discount across all of our brands (J.Crew, J.Crew Factory, and Madewell).
• Summer Fridays - In addition to our hybrid work model, we also close our office at 1:00 PM every Friday during the Summer months.
• Community Impact - We support the communities where we live and work through our philanthropic efforts and the J.Crew Cares Program.
• Winter Break - In addition to our PTO package, J.Crew Group offers a winter break at the end of December to eligible full-time associates at the Home Office to provide time to refresh and recharge.

Note: Availability of these benefits and perks may be subject to work location & employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements.

Salary Range: $230,000.00 - $305,000.00

At J.Crew Group (JCG) we aim to pay competitively for our company's size and industry. The base salary offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the candidate's geographic region of work premises, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. The base salary is just one component of J.Crew Group's competitive total rewards strategy that also includes the opportunity for bonus, competitive benefits and perks.

One of our core focuses here at JCG is creating a community and culture that builds belonging. We are deeply committed to our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and we warmly welcome job applicants of all backgrounds.

JCG is proud to affirmatively provide equal opportunity to all associates and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin or citizenship, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, legally protected physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other basis protected under applicable law.