Technical Design Manager

Description

Richardson Sports, a leading headwear and sports apparel manufacturer, is seeking a creative and driven leader to guide our decoration development team.

As our Technical Design Manager, you’ll lead a talented group of embroidery digitizers, artists, and Decoration Procurement Specialist servicing three production facilities. We offer a variety of decoration methods, direct embroidery, applique, patches, and transfers, and we’re looking for someone who can balance artistic vision with operational excellence.

In this role, you’ll combine your eye for design with proven people leadership and a continuous improvement mindset to elevate our headwear decoration to industry-leading levels. You’ll collaborate closely with Production, Art, and Sales teams to deliver innovative, high-quality designs that set Richardson Sports apart. If you’re passionate about developing people, fine-tuning processes, and creating standout products, we’d love to meet you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of 9 digitizers and 4 decoration specialists—fostering growth, accountability, and collaboration.
• Bring creative solutions and an artistic perspective to design challenges, ensuring each decoration meets our quality standards and brand vision.
• Oversee order workflow in the Pre-Decoration department and drive improvements using our Work Order Tracking system.
• Partner with Production Managers and Supervisors to solve application issues and optimize decoration quality and efficiency.
• Build strong relationships with third-party suppliers to secure the best materials, pricing, and turnaround times.
• Monitor timelines to ensure all decoration files are delivered on schedule to meet production deadlines.
• Collaborate with our software development team to streamline processes, improve tracking, and boost department productivity.
• Research emerging trends, techniques, and styles in headwear decoration to keep Richardson Sports at the forefront of the industry.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a managerial or supervisory role within the apparel decoration industry.
• Hands-on knowledge of embroidery digitizing software; Wilcom or Pulse experience a plus.
• Strong proficiency in design tools like CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator.
• An artistic eye for detail, color, and composition.
• Proven leadership skills with a focus on developing people and building strong teams.
• Experience driving process improvements and department efficiencies.
• Strong communication, organization, and decision-making abilities.
• Two to four years of higher education preferred but not required.
• Must be willing to relocate to Eugene, Oregon.

This management position reports to the Production Manager and includes a competitive salary, full benefits, 401(k), and a great work environment.

Preferred Experience:

• Supervisory in apparel decoration: 5 years
• Wilcom or Pulse: 2 years
• Adobe Illustrator: 2 years