Sourcing Associate

ABOUT US:

Magenta Inc. is a design and manufacturing Homewares firm headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area, with regional offices in Pasadena, and China. We bring over 20 years of expertise in creative brand storytelling, trend forecasting, thoughtful design, sourcing, and best-in-class manufacturing to retail partners all under one roof.

SOURCING ASSOCIATE

The Sourcing Associate plays a critical role at the intersection of Design, Pricing, and Global Manufacturing. This position is responsible for early-stage feasibility alignment, new material planning, factory capability mapping, and structured development handoff into Product Development.

This role strengthens upstream rigor by ensuring product concepts are technically executable, commercially viable, and aligned to factory capability before advancing into the formal design and development stage. The Sourcing Associate helps reduce downstream rework by proactively establishing guardrails, cost alignment, production tolerances, and risk mitigation pathways early in the process.

Reports to: Sourcing + PD Manager

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Sourcing and Product Compliance

Upstream Feasibility & Factory Alignment

• Validate factory capability (technique, material, form limits) prior to development.
• Cross-check MOQ and cost alignment to retail tier in partnership with Pricing.
• Establish production tolerances and feasibility guardrails early.
• Identify sourcing risks (quality, lead time, scalability, compliance) and propose mitigation paths.
• Lead initial quote review and translate vendor feedback into actionable direction.

New Material & Factory Onboarding

• Evaluate new materials and techniques within the context of Magenta’s factory matrix.
• Coordinate proof-of-concept (POC) development for new CMF or technical innovation.
• Support onboarding of new factories, including CSR, compliance, and capability vetting.
• Maintain accurate factory capability documentation

Compliance & Guardrails

• Ensure licensing, regulatory, and retailer requirements are incorporated into feasibility.
• Confirm all technical and production limitations are clearly documented before PD handoff.

Productivity and Process

Executional Discipline

• Deliver final-ready feasibility information and structured handoffs.
• Track quoting, sampling, revisions, and milestone progression across multiple projects.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation in shared systems (PLM, Asana, etc.).

Structured Feasibility & Risk Framing

• Provide synthesized feasibility recaps outlining trade-offs and recommended paths.
• Anticipating project dependencies and flag risks before escalation is required.
• Ensure design stage gate alignment prior to PD transition.

Process Optimization

• Build and maintain reusable feasibility templates.
• Identify repeatable guardrails for scalable use across categories and retailers.
• Contribute to workflow improvements within the Sourcing + PD structure.

Collaboration and Communication

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Partner with Creative, Pricing, PD, and overseas teams to align on feasibility direction.
• Present sourcing updates with clear context, trade-offs, and next steps.
• Ensure alignment across cross functional partners before advancing to next stage gates.

Clarity & Ownership

• Provide proactive updates with defined actions and owners.
• Distinguish low-, mid-, and high-level decisions; escalate appropriately.
• Build trust through reliability, structured communication, and accountability.

Strategic Partnership

• Translate creative intent into executable manufacturing strategy.
• Support global trend inputs with factory-matrix thinking.
• Prepare standard any ad-hoc reports as requested (Time and Action Calendars, production timelines, status updates, etc.)

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• 3-5+ years related experience preferably in specialty retail or consumer products
• Exposure to Sourcing & Production of multiple product categories
• Proven track record of effectively communicating with overseas manufacturers
• Ability to manage multiple SKU’s and timelines in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work collaboratively with multiple design and development partners, a team player
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability and desire to be flexible, adapt to change and grow with organization

Pay: $65,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Remote