Fabric Developer - Apparel Textiles

Engineering the Materials Behind Performance

At Reflex, we view fabric as a technology platform. We are seeking a Fabric Developer - Apparel Textiles who combines material expertise with a data-driven, process-oriented mindset to drive innovation, scalability, and performance across our apparel product lines.

This role sits at the intersection of design, development, and production, leveraging technical textile knowledge and systems thinking to bring advanced materials from concept to bulk with precision and speed.

What You’ll Do

• Lead end-to-end fabric development, applying technical expertise to engineer materials that meet performance, cost, and scalability targets
• Partner cross-functionally with Product Development, Design, Production, and Merchandising to align material innovation with product strategy
• Work directly with domestic and global mills/vendors to develop, test, and scale fabrics across proto, salesman sample/SMS, and bulk stages
• Manage and optimize development timelines using structured tracking tools and milestone reporting
• Own fabric testing protocols, including performance, durability, shrinkage, colorfastness, pilling, stretch/recovery, and compliance; analyze results and drive data-informed decisions
• Troubleshoot development challenges using root-cause analysis and implementing scalable solutions
• Evaluate and recommend alternative materials based on performance metrics, cost engineering, and supply chain feasibility
• Maintain and update material data, ensuring accuracy and transparency across teams
• Identify opportunities to improve speed-to-market, reduce cost, and enhance material performance through process optimization
  

What You Bring

• 3+ years of experience in fabric development, textile engineering, apparel product development, or apparel manufacturing
• Strong technical knowledge of fabric construction, fiber composition, performance treatments, and finishing processes
• Understanding of testing standards and quality control protocols, including shrinkage, colorfastness, pilling, stretch/recovery, and related fabric performance testing
• Experience working with global mills and suppliers, with awareness of regional capabilities and country-of-origin strengths
• Experience with fabric development across proto, sample, and bulk production stages
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PLM systems; familiarity with Illustrator or other technical tools is a plus
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data and translate it into actionable decisions
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey technical information across teams
  

Why This Role Stands Out

Material innovation: Work with advanced fabrics and performance-driven technologies

Systems impact: Influence how materials are developed, tracked, and scaled across the organization

Global exposure: Collaborate with a diverse network of mills and suppliers

Data-driven environment: Move beyond intuition; use testing, metrics, and analysis to guide decisions

Career growth: Ideal for someone looking to deepen technical expertise and expand into strategic material development

Who You Are

You’re not only interested in developing fabrics, but in engineering solutions. You think in terms of performance, data, and scalability, and you’re constantly looking for ways to improve how materials are built and brought to market.

If you’re excited by the technical side of apparel and want to play a key role in advancing products through smarter, faster, and more innovative material development, this is your opportunity.