Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development

About Us

American Exchange Group is an industry leader in fashion accessory products and brand management. By facilitating distribution to major retailers internationally for their globally recognized brands, custom private label brands, and exclusive licensed brands—including footwear, tech wearables, watches, jewelry, handbags, fashion accessories, home, and beauty—American Exchange Group raises the bar by disrupting the status quo with value and quality, while staying at the forefront of trends.

Joining American Exchange Group means being part of a dynamic and diverse team where your contributions drive real impact—and where there’s always room to grow. If you’re looking to be part of a company that blends heritage with hustle, we’re excited to meet you.

Visit our website at www.axnygroup.com

Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development

Join a fast-growing accessories company creating jewelry for some of the world’s most recognized fashion and lifestyle brands

Location: New York City (Hybrid: Monday through Thursday in office, Friday remote)

Reports To: Vice President of Product Development

About the Role

We’re looking for an experienced and creative leader to join our Watch Team as Senior Manager, Watch Design & Product Development.

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Product Development, you’ll own the creative vision, product development and merchandising strategy for multiple licensed and private label fashion and lifestyle brands, leading collections from concept through production.

This is an opportunity to shape established brands, launch new ones and help drive the future of our business. We’re looking for someone with exceptional design instincts, strong business acumen and a passion for creating products that customers love.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the creative direction and seasonal product strategy for multiple watch brands.
• Develop innovative watch collections from concept through production.
• Research global trends, shop the marketplace and analyze competitors to identify emerging opportunities and white space.
• Develop innovative products that align with brand positioning, customer expectations and target retail price points
• Collaborate closely with executive leadership, sales teams and key retail customers to develop compelling product assortments and merchandising strategies.
• Present concepts, trend direction and seasonal collections to executive leadership, licensors and retail partners.
• Partner directly with overseas manufacturers to ensure design intent, quality, costing and on time delivery
• Work closely with licensors to ensure products meet all brand standards and approval requirements.
• Analyze sales performance, customer insights and market trends to drive future product development.
• Mentor junior designers and foster a collaborative, high performing creative team.
• Manage multiple brands and product launches while maintaining exceptional attention to detail and meeting timelines.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of watch design and product development experience.
• Proven track record developing successful watch collections for national or global fashion or lifestyle brands.
• Expert knowledge of watch construction, movements, materials and manufacturing.
• Extensive experience working directly with overseas factories throughout the product development process.
• Strong understanding of merchandising, trend forecasting and consumer insights.
• Ability to balance creativity with commercial objectives, including costing, pricing and margin considerations.
• Experience presenting to executive leadership, licensors and major retail customers.
• Exceptional organizational, communication and project management skills.
• Ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously in a fast paced environment.
• Demonstrated leadership experience with the ability to mentor and inspire others.
• Highly proficient in Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel.
• Experience leveraging AI tools to support design and product development is a plus

Portfolio Required

Please include a portfolio showcasing your design process, trend research and examples of commercially successful product development.

What We Offer

• Comprehensive Health & Wellness Benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with company match
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays
• Flexible Fri…