Senior Manager Materials Research & Digital Enablement

Ref #

W179046

State/Region

New York

Department

Manufacturing & Sourcing

Location

United States

City

New York

Pay Range: The pay range for this job is $85000 - $161444 annually; actual pay is dependent on experience and geographic location.

Benefits: Base pay is only one part of our employee value proposition, which includes a robust benefits package, above-market time off, hybrid working arrangements, incentive compensation, where applicable, and varied learning opportunities.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in five categories: apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Collection, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Children, Chaps, among others, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands.

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

POSITION OVERVIEW

We are seeking a forward-thinking materials leader who can bridge the world of traditional fabric research and development with the evolving landscape of digital product creation. This role sits at the intersection of craftsmanship, materials excellence, and technology-requiring deep fabric and material expertise alongside a vision for how materials will be developed, represented, and experienced in the future. As Senior Manager you will maintain a portfolio of initiatives that fall into three broad categories:

• Running the business through support of core material libraries, fabric digitization standards, communication tools, and workflow enablement that connect physical fabric development to digital outputs.
• Improving the business by refining fabric and material workflows, scaling digital processes, and increasing adoption of methods that modernize how materials are developed and visualized.
• Changing the business through applied exploration of AI, automation, immersive experiences, and emerging digital platforms that shape the future of materials development and digital product creation.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a strategic connector between Materials R&D and Digital R&D teams, aligning physical fabric and material development with digital workflows, tools, and outputs.
• Conduct and drive woven performance fabric research and development to secure best-in-class sustainable material offerings in multiple regions.
• Collaborate with value-chain partners globally to build capabilities for current and next gen performance materials
• Maintain and refine materials digitization processes, physical and digital material libraries, and AI-enabled product development workflows already in use at Ralph Lauren.
• Partner cross-functionally with Design, Merchandising, Product Management, Sourcing, Innovation, and Technology teams to embed digital thinking into materials development processes.
• Champion new tools, technologies, and ways of working that modernize how fabrics and materials are developed, visualized, managed, and utilized.
• Identify and incubate larger transformation opportunities, including hybrid physical/digital material platforms, immersive 3D experiences, and other hybrid methods of digital material development.
• Monitor emerging technologies and translate relevant developments into actionable opportunities for the organization while maintaining brand standards, craftsmanship, and materials excellence.

EXPERIENCE, SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

• Experience in fabric development, material research, or textile innovation, with a strong foundation in textile construction, sourcing, fiber content, performance, and finishing techniques.
• Proven ability or strong interest in integrating fabric and material expertise with digital product creation tools and workflows, including 3D, digital libraries, and material digitization.
• Experience building or improving workflows, standards, libraries, or operational processes that support scalable execution.
• Strong aesthetic sensibility with a refined eye aligned to Ralph Lauren's brand heritage, quality standards, and craftsmanship.
• Ability to balance technical precision with creativity and vision-comfortable both executing in detail and imagining what is possible next.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to influence across creative, technical, and operational teams.
• Curious, future-oriented mindset with a passion for evolving how materials are developed, represented, and experienced.
• Strong enterprise mindset with the ability to design and implement new multi-step processes that balance high level strategic needs with detailed understanding of how work is executed.

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Ralph Lauren will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance laws. Please note background checks will be evaluated individually.