Director Product Development, Footwear

We are an American luxury lifestyle brand, founded in 2004. Anchored in the casual elegance of American sportswear, Tory’s design philosophy is defined by effortless silhouettes, innovative materials, eclectic juxtapositions of color, and the tension of past and present. The collections include ready-to-wear, handbags, footwear, accessories, jewelry, home and beauty.

Empowering women is the company’s guiding principle, expressed through Tory’s collections and reflected in the company culture as well as the work of the Tory Burch Foundation. Established in 2009, the Foundation provides women entrepreneurs in the United States with access to capital, education and community.

You are seeking a work environment where people are encouraged to dream, explore, discover and, as important, laugh together. If you’re prepared to work hard, create impact, and have fun while doing it, we would love to have you join #TeamTory. Apply today!

Life @ToryBurch is Special Because:

When you join us, you’re joining a global, purpose-led company on an exciting growth journey with an amazing culture and great benefits.

• Our culture is welcoming and inclusive -- everyone is empowered to make a difference.
• We have the best team in the world and believe in paying competitively and rewarding for high performance.
• Your overall well-being is important to us; we offer generous benefits to help you take care of your mental and physical health, create financial security, and achieve wellness in all areas of your life.
• We love seeing our employees wear our beautiful collections. You’ll receive a generous employee discount and access to exclusive sample sales.
• We are invested in your professional growth – you’ll have access to free executive coaching on-demand.
• We believe in the importance of giving back and you’ll have many opportunities to do just that through the Tory Burch Foundation and paid volunteer days.

This Role is Tailor-Made for You Because:

The Director, Product Development, Footwear is a strategic cross-functional leader responsible for driving the development, engineering, sourcing, costing, and commercialization of footwear collections from concept through production. Partnering closely with Design, Merchandising, Technical Design, Materials, Production, Quality, and global sourcing teams, this role ensures products are delivered on time and to the highest standards of quality, performance, and brand integrity while achieving margin and cost objectives. The Director leads seasonal development execution, manages key supplier relationships, drives process improvements, mitigates risk, and develops high-performing teams to successfully bring innovative products to market.

A Day in the Life:

DEVELOPMENT/PRE-PRODUCTION
•Lead all product development activities partnering with Design, Materials Team, Merchandising, Tech, and Global Sourcing.
• Partner with Technical team to assess and approve the engineering of all new constructions. Identify and understand technical issues and drive them to closure. Escalate to Sr Director as needed.
• Review and oversees issuance of all specs (BOMs/tech packs) for accuracy, completeness, quality, affordability, and compliance prior to release.
• Recommend enhancements, construction, and material options to elevate our brand, aligning with financial goals.  Resolves engineering that does not meet design, merchandising, production, or department IMU targets.
• Manages the pass-off of clean specs to manufacturing partners on behalf of design; communicates daily with overseas offices and direct suppliers on questions and changes to specs and standards; assists in interpreting design intent.
• Ensure critical fields are populated in PLM in support for KPI reporting. Ensure Data integrity
• Review all prototypes and market samples to ensure accuracy in execution to spec.
• Reports on sample status throughout the development process.
• Oversee the maintenance of all standards issued for brand consistency.
• Supervise confirmation samples to ensure exact execution of final design; reviews and approves all colors and materials, addressing variances with vendors and Merch team.
• Formalize and escalate issues to Sr. Director and Vice President, ensuring timely and accurate communication of critical matters for efficient resolution.

SOURCING
• Participate in on-going factory based performance reviews, and recommends improvements to factories, vendor base, and geography.
• Make recommendations on factory allocation in alignment with department sourcing strategies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on seasonal offering needs to provide options in materials, suppliers, techniques, and costs that are on brand.
• Work closely with merchandising, design, and production to identify and address delivery and material issues affecting production schedule.
• Partner with design, merchandising, and production to manage liability inventories via special cuts and/or liquidation.

COSTING

• Lead seasonal costing strategy across multiple footwear categories and product lines.

• Follow cost targets and deliver margin expectations in partnership with merchandising and sourcing.

• Drive year-on-year cost savings through supplier negotiations, material optimization and manufacturing efficiencies.

• Benchmark factory and supplier pricing across different countries, constructions and production methods.

• Develop costing strategies for new footwear technologies, materials and construction techniques.

• Present cost, margin and savings analysis to senior management and cross-functional teams

PRODUCT INTEGRITY
• Aims to instill quality in the product from onset of development through final production.
• Review all components with an eye for quality and performance.
• Ensure all components and constructions used are compliant for performance and restricted substances prior to production.  Work in tandem with quality, technical, and compliance to achieve these ends.
• Ensure testing of questionable materials and components for performance and compliance to prevent a lapse in production.
• Work across various footwear design teams to ensure logo usage compliance

CALENDAR
• Manage and flexes calendar, supervises milestone completion, and mitigates risk.
• Monitor calendar daily to promote flow of development; reviews and resolves calendar variances with team and management.

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
• Assist with new employee onboarding and training
• Maintain consistency with process execution and raise concerns to Vice President
• Drive process improvement and effectively communicate/manages changes to direct reports
• Allocate work according to skills and knowledge level of direct reports
• Identify and address development needs of direct reports
• Provide effective feedback and coaching to direct reports

To Land This Role:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Minimum 12 years of experience in footwear product development, sourcing, and/or production
• Experience working with PLM or other product lifecycle management systems
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and collaboration skills
• Ability to work in a fluid, fast-paced, multi-channel environment
• Ability to travel as needed

Why You'll Want to Join Our Team:

The Product Development and Production team is a talented group of problem-solvers who work diligently to bring our beautiful collections to life. Our focus is on fulfilling Tory’s creative vision and supporting our Design team in delivering extraordinary collections each season. We also collaborate closely with our internal partners and build strong relationships with premier manufacturers and luxury suppliers globally to ensure that our products are flawlessly executed and delivered on time. If you are a team player with a passion for product and an eye for detail, come join us!

How We Work Together

• Adaptable – We change before we have to
• Entrepreneurial – We own it
• Collaborative – There’s no “I” in Tory
• Client & Brand Focused – We put ourselves in Tory’s shoes
• Live the Values – We show up for each other
• Functional Expertise – We’re constantly learning and growing

#TeamTory Values

We show up with honesty & kindness, act with integrity & compassion, work with passion & humility and lead with excellence & humor.

Compensation Range

The compensation range for this position is 180,000.00 USD - 225,000.00 USD. Our offer will be based on your relevant experience and work location.

Benefits Information

We offer a generous set of benefits to help you take care of your health, create financial security, and achieve wellness in all areas of your life. Here are highlights of key benefits available to all eligible Tory Burch team members.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Tory Burch LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to an individual’s age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy) or sexual orientation, gender expression, military status, marital status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, disability or membership in any other protected class under applicable law. Likewise, we will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Ordinance No. 184652. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.

Disability Accommodation

Tory Burch is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment. If you require assistance or an accommodation with the hiring process, please contact [email protected].