Production Manager

Job description

### About nuuds Most clothes make you think twice. nuuds makes getting dressed easy, so you can walk out the door with confidence. We design clothes for real life and real bodies, through every stage, every season, every version of you. We obsess over fabric, fit, and feel so that getting dressed stops being a decision and becomes the easiest part of your day. nuuds is approachable, elevated essentials made to meet you exactly where you are. We're growing fast and building a team that's as thoughtful, real, and bold as the brand itself. As a lean team with ambitious plans for continued growth, we understand that our people are the foundation of everything we build. ### The Opportunity The Production Manager is a hands-on, execution-focused role that owns the day-to-day mechanics of the production pipeline — purchase orders, WIP tracking, compliance filings, and testing follow-through. This role reports to the VP of Product and serves as the detail engine behind the production function: keeping every order, test, and filing moving, documented, and on time. ### Key Responsibilities Purchase Order Process & Follow-Through - Own the end-to-end purchase order lifecycle: issue POs to vendors, confirm acknowledgment, and verify costs, quantities, size runs, and delivery dates against the buy plan before release - Track PO revisions and amendments — quantity changes, date shifts, cost updates — and ensure internal systems, vendors, and cross-functional partners are always working from the current version - Follow every PO through to ex-factory, shipment, and warehouse receipt; reconcile discrepancies in quantity, cost, or delivery with vendors, operations, and finance - Maintain a clean, current PO status report and flag at-risk orders to the VP of Product before they become escalations WIP Report Management - Own the master WIP report across all active programs — seasonal and fast-turn — updating on a weekly (or faster) cadence with direct vendor input - Chase vendors on every production milestone: fabric booking, cutting, sewing, testing, inspection, and ex-factory dates - Reconcile WIP status against POs and the production calendar; identify delays, capacity constraints, and critical path issues early and recommend recovery plans - Translate WIP data into clear, concise status reporting that gives the Director and leadership real-time visibility without having to ask CPSC Filing & Regulatory Compliance - Manage CPSC compliance for all applicable products - Prepare, issue, and file Children’s Product Certificates (CPC) and General Certificates of Conformity (GCC), ensuring each is backed by passing test reports from CPSC-accepted labs before goods ship - Ensure tracking labels, flammability, lead, and phthalate requirements are met at the style level for every applicable program - Maintain an organized, audit-ready compliance filing system — test reports, certificates, and supporting documentation — and coordinate with customs brokers on import documentation as needed Testing & QA Follow-Through - Oversee all garment and fabric testing with third-party labs: submissions, track turnaround, chase overdue results, and log outcomes at each stage of development and bulk production - Schedule and track factory inspections (inline and final); review inspection reports and drive corrective-action follow-up with factories to closure - Track approvals across the development cycle — BULK lab dips, FINAL samples, PP and TOP samples — and maintain complete approval records by style - Escalate test failures and inspection issues immediately with a recommended path forward; document learnings to prevent recurrence Calendar & Communication - Support the Seasonal Pipeline calendar and Time & Action (T&A) plans by keeping milestone data current and headlining a week before it happens - Serve as the day-to-day operational contact for vendors on order execution, testing, and delivery - Maintain meticulous documentation across all active programs: purchase orders, approvals, vendor correspondence, testing results, compliance certificates, and delivery confirmations - Close the loop on every open item — within the production function and with external partners ### What You Bring ### **Experience & Skills** - 3-5+ years of production experience in apparel, accessories, or consumer goods - Proficient with WFX / PLM & NetSuite / ERP systems or equivalent - Hands-on experience owning purchase order processes and WIP reporting, you’ve built and run the trackers, not just reviewed them - Working knowledge of CPSC/CPSIA requirements, including CPC and GCC preparation and third-party testing protocols - Experience coordinating lab testing, factory inspections, and corrective-action follow-up with overseas vendors - Highly organized and detail-obsessed - able to manage multiple programs, vendors, and deadlines without dropping a single PO line - Strong spreadsheet skills; comfortable living in WIP reports, PO logs, and testing trackers daily - Clear, direct, proactive communicator - you proactively close the loop - Self-directed and ownership-minded; thrives in a fast-moving, startup environment - Familiarity with import/export documentation and HTS classification a plus