Sovereign America Industries is seeking a highly capable Industrial Sewing Engineer with strong technical pattern-making expertise to develop, improve, and industrialize sewn products. This person will bridge product design, 3D development, pattern engineering, sample construction, and production manufacturing. The ideal candidate understands how materials behave, how patterns become physical products, and how sewing methods, machinery, fixtures, tolerances, and workflow choices affect quality, cost, repeatability, and throughput. They can independently build and refine patterns, construct and evaluate prototypes, troubleshoot sewing-related problems, and translate designs into clear, production-ready documentation. We value demonstrated capability over credentials or a prescribed number of years of experience. A background in textile engineering, apparel/product development, industrial engineering, technical design, soft goods manufacturing, or a related discipline is needed.

Responsibilities for the position include:

Develop, modify, grade, and maintain production-ready patterns for sewn or soft-goods products. Convert product concepts, sketches, specifications, CAD files, and/or 3D models into practical construction methods and manufacturable pattern solutions. Create prototypes, samples, first articles, and production-intent builds to validate fit, function, construction, durability, appearance, and manufacturability. Define efficient sewing sequences, seam constructions, stitch types, seam allowances, reinforcements, binding methods, closures, labels, and finishing operations. Select and validate appropriate fabrics, textiles, threads, zippers, trims, and other components based on functional and manufacturing requirements. Evaluate how material properties affect pattern development and sewing performance. Partner with design, engineering, quality, operations, and manufacturing teams to resolve technical issues before and during production. Develop clear technical packages and manufacturing documentation, including patterns, bills of materials, cut files, construction specifications, operation sequences, stitch/seam specifications, tolerances, work instructions, and quality criteria. Support the transition from prototype to repeatable production. Identify opportunities to improve cycle time, labor content, material yield, ergonomics, defect rates, rework, machine utilization, and product consistency. Troubleshoot production and quality issues involving sewing operations, pattern inaccuracies, material variation, fit, seam performance, puckering, skipped stitches, needle damage, distortion, or assembly alignment. Recommend industrial sewing equipment, attachments, folders, guides, jigs, fixtures, cutting methods, and process improvements that improve repeatability and operator efficiency. Conduct or support fit checks, wear/use evaluations, dimensional inspections, seam-strength testing, and other validation activities as appropriate. Use 3D product-development tools, CAD systems, digital patterns, or visualization models when useful to accelerate development and reduce physical sampling. Maintain organized, revision-controlled technical files so that patterns and construction requirements are traceable, reproducible, and production-ready. Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

Proven ability to create, interpret, modify, and troubleshoot patterns for sewn products. Strong practical understanding of industrial sewing methods and sewn-product construction. Ability to evaluate a pattern or sample and identify root causes of fit, construction, appearance, quality, or manufacturability problems. Hands-on comfort working with industrial sewing equipment and prototype/sample construction processes. Working knowledge of common sewing operations. Ability to translate an idea or design intent into a clear, repeatable manufacturing process. Strong understanding of textiles and materials, including how fabric behavior affects cutting, sewing, pattern geometry, finished dimensions, and product performance. Ability to communicate technical requirements clearly to designers, operators, suppliers, and manufacturing partners. High attention to detail, sound judgment, practical problem-solving ability, and ownership of results.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with soft goods, technical textiles, upholstery, military/tactical products, automotive interiors, outdoor gear, furniture, or other sewn-product categories preferred. Experience using digital pattern-making, CAD, PLM, nesting/marker-making, cut-file, or product-development software. Familiarity with 3D modeling, 3D product visualization, digital prototyping, or the use of 3D files to inform pattern and construction development. Experience creating fixtures, folders, guides, templates, or other aids for sewing and assembly operations. Understanding of lean manufacturing, work measurement, process capability, quality systems, or continuous-improvement methods. Familiarity with material and seam testing, product validation, or supplier/manufacturing transfer. Formal study in textile engineering, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, technical design, or a related field. Education is not required where equivalent demonstrated expertise is present.

Pay:

$100,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Dental insurance Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Relocation assistance Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person