Product Development Specialist - Women's Footwear - Johnston & Murphy

The Ideal Candidate

The Product Development Specialist, Women's Footwear, plays a key role in the seasonal product creation process, partnering closely with Design, Development, and Product Line Management. This hybrid role supports product development from concept through commercialization by managing product data, specifications, materials, and cross-functional communication. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and thrives in a fast-paced environment while balancing multiple priorities.

How You Will Make an Impact

• Serve as a key liaison between Design, Development, and Product Line Management (PLM) to support a seamless seasonal product creation process.
• Create and maintain product specifications, line sheets, and product information within PLM systems, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Coordinate the seasonal materials process, including material libraries, swatch management, sample material requests, and approval tracking.
• Ensure timely and accurate communication of development updates, changes, approvals, and action items across internal and global partner teams.
• Participate in fit sessions and milestone reviews; document findings and communicate feedback and direction to overseas development teams and factory partners.
• Partner with the Johnston & Murphy Costing team to manage product costing, conduct seasonal cost analyses, and identify solutions to meet margin objectives.

Experience and Skills You'll Need to Have

• Bachelor's degree ideally in a related field of study.
• Minimum of 4-6 years of footwear or accessories industry experience.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective partnerships both internally across departments and externally with suppliers.
• Effective time/calendar management, highly organized, detail-oriented, and adaptable to fast-paced, evolving development cycles.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and industry-specific tools such as Product Line Management and Development software.
• Driven, self-starter with a desire to learn and grow their career.
• Willingness to travel both domestically and internationally.

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