Production Art & Digitizing Lead Quince - 3.8 Santa Fe Springs, CA Job Details Full-time $72,500 - $78,000 a year 8 hours ago Benefits Health savings account Relocation assistance Health insurance Dental insurance 401(k) Paid time off Parental leave Vision insurance Employee discount Safety equipment provided Referral program Retirement plan Qualifications Client relationship management Embroidery Machine operation Production color matching Employee training Decorative sewing Digitization Production optimization Embroidery machines Vendor performance evaluation Graphic design software Mentoring Vendor performance improvement Vendor relationship management B2B Vendor negotiation Quality control experience within textile industry Prepress software Professional art or design Logo design Screen printing Managing art or design teams Managing media, arts or design teams Full Job Description

THE ROLE

Production Art & Digitizing Lead As the Production Art & Digitizing Lead , you are the final quality check for all artwork before it goes to production. Our B2B facility decorates 5,000 items a day using five different methods: embroidery, heat transfer, embossing, sew-in tags, and luggage printing. You are responsible for making sure every design file is flawless, correctly formatted, and ready to be produced perfectly. Reporting to the Operations Manager, you will evaluate incoming artwork, digitize embroidery designs at production speed to prepare file specs for all decoration types, establish art standards and QC checkpoints, manage vendors, mentor junior staff, and track KPIs tied to art quality. At 99% QA, art quality determines whether we ship or rework. This is a fully on-site role, Monday through Friday during regular business hours in Santa Fe Springs, CA. Responsibilities Evaluate all incoming artwork for production readiness — assess resolution, color mode, file format, specs across all 5 decoration types; reject non-conforming art with actionable feedback. Digitize & process embroidery designs at production speed — create stitch files optimized for garment/placement/machine; managing 5,000 embroidery units/day. Prepare file specs for all decoration types — color separations for heat transfer, specs for embossing/tags/print; optimize for production machinery. Enforce zero tolerance on art defects — identify & block at-risk files before production floor; track root causes and escalate to Production Lead. Own Art Specification Standard — document all decoration type requirements, best practices, machine constraints; update quarterly. Build & maintain file library — 500+ approved production files (logos, designs, separations); enable faster repeat order turnaround. Establish QC checkpoints — define stitch ranges, density rules, quality gates for each decoration type. Mentor & train junior staff — onboard 1-2 junior digitizers/coordinators; conduct daily stand-ups during ramp; develop training for production teams. Manage vendors — negotiate SLAs with external digitizing vendors; monitor quality, escalate issues. Track & report KPIs — own Art Rejection Rate, File Rework Rate, Digitizing Turnaround, File Quality Audit, Art-Related Defect Rate, Client Revision Cycles; report weekly to Production Lead.

Qualifications Required:

5+ years of hands-on embroidery digitizing & art prep in high-volume apparel/B2B production. Expert-level digitizing software experience (Pulse, Wilcom, Hatch) — fast, clean, run-ready output without errors. Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop at production level — file optimization, color separations, print production. Experience with proven art workflows at scale. Deep embroidery machine knowledge — stitch limits, constraints, thread color, garment interactions. Screen print color sep, DTG file optimization, heat transfer specs. Ability to troubleshoot art production failures & implement corrective changes. Leadership/mentoring experience — comfortable training junior staff & establishing standards. Vendor relationship management & SLA negotiation. Detail-oriented; can manage multiple complex workflows without errors. Clear and professional communicator — can explain art issues to clients & production teams.

Preferred:

Art operations management or QA/production coordination experience. Industrial embroidery machine operation (Tajima, Barudan, Melco, etc). Production metrics & KPI reporting experience. WMS systems & order-based production scheduling exposure. Working proficiency of Spanish a plus.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

This is a fully on-site role, present on the production floor Monday through Friday during shift hours. Ability to stand and walk the production floor for the duration of a shift (8+ hours). Lifting up to 40 pounds — moving garment boxes, supplies, and equipment. Ability to work in a production environment with machinery noise, ink, and chemical exposure (PPE provided).

Pay:

$72,500.00 - $78,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) Dental insurance Employee discount Health insurance Health savings account Paid time off Parental leave Referral program Relocation assistance Retirement plan Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person