NHS, Inc., a privately held company based in Santa Cruz, CA, was established over 40 years ago, and is considered one of the most respected and recognized SKATE, SURF, SNOW and APPAREL companies in the world today. Our brand names include Santa Cruz Skate, Snow and Surfboards, Independent Truck Company, Creature Skateboards, Krux Trucks, Bullet products, Ricta Wheels, SlimeBalls Wheels, Mob Grip, Skateboarding is Not a Crime, Bronson Speed Co. and Nor Cal Apparel.

We're looking for an Apparel Designer / Developer who specializes in Cut n Sew garments.

This position is a key member of the NHS Apparel Development staff, reporting to the Apparel Department Manager, working closely and cooperatively with Creative, Design, Marketing, Sales, Production and other members of the NHS team. This is a full-time, in-house position. Must live near or be willing to relocate to Santa Cruz, CA.

Job Duties include but are not limited to:
• Responsible for bringing Men’s CNS garment designs for all NHS brands from concept through the development stage to production ready products meeting or exceeding design, fit, and quality requirements
• Work closely with the Brand Manager, Art Director and Illustrator/Graphic Designers for Santa Cruz, Independent and Creature brands to ensure on trend and on brand designs for Men’s apparel (knits, wovens and backpacks)
• Attend and participate in all brand related meetings related to design, development and branded products
• Research local and overseas markets for trends and provide guidance to Brand Manager, Art Director and Illustrator/Graphic Designer teams
• Work with Sales and Merchandising to get feedback on collection input for future range development of apparel
• Work with Santa Cruz, Independent and Creature design team to set Men’s seasonal color palette
• Collaborate with Santa Cruz, Independent and Creature design team on the development of graphics intended for Men’s CNS knit and woven apparel lines
• Responsible for creating style guides and technical drawings for Men’s CNS knit, woven and backpack range in illustrator ensuring they are easy to understand and accurate for factories
• Prepare and send out technical packages to vendors for Men’s CNS knit and woven range; this also includes updating data systems and internal and external customers/suppliers as product changes in the development cycle
• Determine appropriate fit and grade rules and accurately apply to garments
• Source and develop trims, fabrics and embellishments for Men’s CNS knits and woven lines
• Work closely with Apparel Accessory Product Developer on backpack product development
• On time hand off of all stages of design and development
• Accurately measure development samples against spec in preparation of fittings
• Review prototypes/patterns for accuracy in fit, grading, construction, function and aesthetic execution of design with Brand Graphic Designer and /or Merchandiser for style adoption and approval.
• Make tech pack updates, pattern adjustments, etc. to resolve any design/quality issues that arise during development then communicate changes to the factories for proper execution.
• Review and negotiate seasonal costing with vendors and Apparel Department Manager to create BOMs for system tracking
• Develop and maintain high standard working relationships with local and offshore suppliers
• Review QC issues with department manager and factories to evaluate and clarify issues
• Track development process and manage all products to adhere to strict time & action calendar deadlines, target costing, quality, inventory levels, and production execution.
• Maintaining neat and accurate filing of products both physical and online.