Senior Product Developer - Outerwear in Derby

Location: Chesterfield

Reporting to: Development Manager

NO HYBRID WORKING - This role is office based 5 days per week in our Chesterfield office.

Who we are:

Varley is a contemporary fashion brand for the modern woman. Founded in 2015 by husband-and-wife Lara and Ben Mead, we are an international, family-run business headquartered between London, Los Angeles, and New York. We offer year-round collections, including knitwear, outerwear, and everyday staples, complemented by active pieces to create an elevated wardrobe for how you live and move. We are defined by the women who wear Varley and exist to instil quiet confidence, creating collections that enhance everything they already are. As women’s lives evolve, so do we.

Job Description:

The Senior Product Developer is responsible for leading the end-to-end development process within their category, ensuring products are delivered to the highest standards of quality, performance, and design integrity. As a technical specialist, they lead a team of Product Developers and Junior Product Developers to deliver the collection in line with the design brief, whilst managing targets and adhering to the critical path. Reporting to the Development Manager, the role is based full time at our Chesterfield office.

Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain a close working partnership with Design to develop the collection from initial concept through to the finished product.
• Act as the technical partner for design, attending fittings, providing feedback on production feasibility, and identifying solutions to realise the design vision.
• Manage the critical path from concept to pre-production, ensuring deadlines are adhered to.
• Champion Varley quality standards and seek opportunities to further elevate and refine our products.
• Take ownership of product fit, ensuring all styles are functional, well balanced, and consistent across the range.
• Monitor return rates by style and utilise these insights to continuously drive product improvements.
• Track FOB costs and take a proactive approach to engineering products to meet margin requirements.
• Ensure product specs are accurately maintained within our PLM system.
• Own the category range plan, ensuring all details are accurately handed over to the Merchandising team on time.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers and manufacturing partners.
• Oversee production to guarantee all requirements are met and take the lead in resolving issues in a timely manner when they arise.
• Lead, mentor, and develop direct reports, fostering a collaborative and high-performance team culture while supporting ongoing professional development.

Experience and Skills:

• 8+ years’ experience developing outerwear within the fashion or performance wear industry, ideally across product categories such as rainwear, puffers, quilted jackets, contemporary wovens, sherpa and fleece.
• Strong technical knowledge of fabrications, construction methods, pattern cutting and production processes to confidently support Design with ‘on the spot’ solutions.
• Experience in managing vendor relationships, with a track record of delivering high quality products on-time.
• Highly organised and detail-oriented, able to lead overlapping collections efficiently while maintaining quality and accuracy.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, able to collaborate effectively with other teams and external partners.
• Highly motivated and proactive, able to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• A passion for the industry and an awareness of competitors’ products.
• Proficient in PLM, Excel and ideally Adobe Illustrator.

Benefits:

• Employee Purchase Scheme with 50% off for employees.
• Friend and Family Purchase Scheme with 20% off.
• Access to Bupa Health care after 2 years.
• 25 Days Holiday.

Our People:

We think of ourselves as an international family-run business that embodies our founders’ commitment to creating timeless collections for the modern woman. What started as a company of two has grown into a close-knit team of thinkers, creators, and innovators, taking care of our clothes, each other, and our community. Split across the UK and USA, our team is 85% female, making us proud to be a brand for women, by women.

Company Values:

• We are the sum of many parts.
• We pursue quality in everything we do.
• We embrace possibility and push boundaries.
• Data-driven decisions and purposeful actions.
• Our brand is timeless and valuable.
• We never compromise our product.
• We respect and exceed customer expectations.
• We choose partners who reflect our values.
• We grow our brand by empowering others.
• Responsibility is at the core of everything we do.
• Kindness is our guiding principle.