Principal Fashion Designer

Job ID: 8373 

Newell Brands is a leading consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands like Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid®, Sharpie® and Yankee Candle® - and 24,000 talented teammates around the world. Our culture is built on values in action: Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership, and Leadership. We work together to win, grow, and make a real impact—supported by a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative environment where you can be your best, every day.

Job Overview

We seek a highly influential Fashion Design Principal who can create world-class fashion design. As a Principal Fashion Designer, you will spearhead design initiative, develop new materials and collaborate with suppliers. You'll combine trends and consumer insights with strong executional skills, guiding the integration of Gen AI and emerging technologies to enhance efficiency, creativity, and impact.

You will shape the design process for consumer products for our global Baby brands. As a cross-functional influencer, you will collaborate with soft goods designers, industrial designers, usability experts, and marketing to drive concepts from initial vision through to production-ready reality. The expectation is excellence at every step, with meticulous attention to detail in aesthetics, materials, and finish.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the design vision for Fashion applications across baby gear categories, ensuring alignment with brand strategy, consumer insights, and market trends.
• Translate cultural, lifestyle, and Fashion trends into compelling CMF (color, material, finish) strategies that differentiate products and strengthen brand equity.
• Define seasonal palettes, fabrics, and trim strategies that elevate aesthetics, comfort, safety, and durability for baby gear.
• Act as a Fashion and textiles thought leader, introducing innovative performance fabrics, sustainable materials, and advanced finishing techniques.
• Partner with Soft Goods Design, Industrial Design, Engineering, and Marketing to seamlessly integrate fashion into baby gear
• Drive design exploration through advanced prototyping, fabric testing, and storytelling that inspires internal teams and stakeholders.
• Mentor and coach designers across levels, elevating skills in Fashion Design, material development, and trend translation.
• Create and deliver compelling design narratives and presentations to influence leadership and cross-functional decision-making.
• Establish design standards and best practices for Fashion integration, safety compliance, and consumer experience across the baby gear portfolio.
• Lead external collaborations with suppliers, and trend partners to source and develop innovative materials tailored to juvenile products.
• Represent the design function in cross-category reviews, providing expertise in fashion-driven consumer engagement and competitive positioning.
• Contribute to the external visibility of Newell’s baby gear design leadership through awards, publications, and industry events.

Qualifications:

• Minimum: Bachelor's degree in Fashion, CMF, Industrial Design, or related design field
• 10+ years of relevant experience in corporate or consulting design
• Expert color acuity; can identify & reference frequently used colors within fashion palette
• Ability to travel at least once per quarter
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Creative Vision pairing imagination with pragmatism for breakthrough results, balancing innovation with practicality for achievable projects.
• Creative Coaching passion for new technologies. Early adopter who integrates tools, upskills team, and mentors designers.
• Advanced Aesthetic Sensibilities mastery in pattern, color, material, and finish. Aligns aesthetic paradigms with brand identity while managing biases for commercial impact.
• Champions Consumer Empathy through trend-aligned designs informed by insights embedded in workflows and research, ensuring decisions reflect user needs.
• Drives Trend Alignment through global research and analysis, synthesizing findings into actionable insights and seasonal forecasts for leadership.
• Expert Color Strategy developing cohesive palettes across materials while balancing aesthetic vision with feasibility and brand identity.
• Expert Fabric Development from concept through execution, selecting materials aligned with aesthetic, quality, and cost goals while maintaining design intent with manufacturers.
• Clear Design Context through powerful storytelling and compelling prompts. Expert LLM use. Proficient with ChatGPT, MS CoPilot or equivalents
• Extensive 2D design skills leveraging Gen AI exploration. Advanced editing and composition. Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite, Kaledo, Midjourney, Vizcom or equivalents
• Expert 3D design visualization with advanced rendering and Gen AI CAD skills. Proficient with Keyshot, Substance, Kaedim or equivalents

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and comply with applicable employment laws. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled are encouraged to apply.