Designer, Women's Handbags & Accessories at TUMI, New York, NY

Designer, Women's Handbags & Accessories at TUMI in New York, NY. Est. up to $130k. Apply with swipeandhired.

This position will be responsible for designing and developing trend-right, elevated product for the Tumi customer from concept to commercialization. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, reviewing all designs with designers, researching competitive market, developing seasonal design concepts under guidance of Design Director and Head of Women’s design, assisting in design presentation, creating technical drawings, as well as maintaining product specifications from start to production for new collections as well existing collections. This is a hybrid role; we work on site 4 days and remotely 1 day weekly.
Design & Concept Development

• Research global and competitive markets, consumer insights, materials, silhouettes, and emerging trends to inform seasonal design direction.
• Develop and execute compelling design concepts aligned with brand strategy and customer needs.
• Create concept boards, inspiration decks, and mood boards to communicate seasonal narratives, color stories, materials, and key design ideas.
• Generate hand sketches, CAD drawings, and design iterations for handbags, small leather goods, and accessories.

Technical Design & Development

• Create and maintain detailed technical drawings, specifications, and design packages from concept through production.
• Ensure accuracy and consistency of specifications, measurements, construction details, and materials throughout the development process.
• Manage and communicate all specification changes, updating technical drawings and documentation as needed.
• Review and approve confirmation and pre-production samples in partnership with Product Development and Design, ensuring alignment with design intent, quality standards, and cost targets.

Presentation & Communication

• Create and maintain professional presentation materials in Power Point to support internal design reviews and cross-functional meetings.
• Present design concepts, prototypes, and samples to Design leadership and cross-functional partners, clearly articulating design intent, functionality, and seasonal vision.
• Partner closely with Product Development, Merchandising, Sourcing, and Production to support successful product execution.
• Communicate clearly, proactively, and collaboratively across teams to ensure alignment and timely decision-making.

Commercialization & Production Support

• Follow product through the commercialization process, supporting timelines and ensuring design integrity through final production.
• Track and manage changes throughout development, communicating updates to all relevant partners.
• Support ongoing updates and refinements to existing collections as needed.

Qualifications

• The successful candidate must have at least 5 years of design experience with handbags, small leather goods, and/or products.
• Demonstrates a high level of creativity and a keen understanding of market and cultural trends, with the ability to evolve them into elevated, future-focused ideas and solutions.
• Strong organizational and communication skills are a must along with strong attention to detail.
• Is comfortable speaking and presenting to team leaders and global cross functional partners.
• Strong communication skills with an openness to feedback and ability to adapt and find solutions.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• The successful candidate will be an ambitious self-starter with demonstrated ability to successfully prioritize and multi-task.
• Strong and expedient Illustrator, Photoshop and Power Point/Microsoft Office skills to communicate concepts, create specs and presentations are required.
• Must be able to travel internationally.