Full-Time Sportswear Technical Pattern Designer

We are hiring a full-time, long-term Sportswear Technical Pattern Designer to join our apparel-development team. This is an ongoing position requiring approximately 40 hours per week. It is not a temporary assignment or one-time project. The selected person will organize our existing apparel patterns, develop new athletic garments, create size grading and technical specifications, prepare production files, and help create new apparel designs using Adobe Illustrator and AI design tools. This is not just a graphic-design position. You must understand how apparel is constructed and be capable of turning a garment concept into accurate patterns, technical specifications, graded sizing, and organized production files. WHAT YOU WILL DO • Organize, review, label, and maintain our existing digital pattern library • Create new patterns for jerseys, shorts, pants, warmups, jackets, and other athletic garments • Develop garment measurements and complete size specifications • Grade patterns across youth, adult, women’s, and extended sizes • Review existing patterns for accuracy, fit, and production problems • Modify patterns based on sample fittings and production feedback • Create technical garment flats in Adobe Illustrator • Create and maintain complete apparel tech packs • Document measurements, stitching, seams, materials, trims, construction methods, and placement instructions • Create editable factory-ready pattern and production files • Develop sublimation layouts for individual garment panels • Correctly position artwork across fronts, backs, sleeves, collars, side panels, and other pattern pieces • Ensure graphics align correctly across seams whenever required • Calculate or assist with fabric consumption and production requirements • Create new athletic-apparel concepts using Adobe Illustrator and AI design tools • Develop patterns, textures, visual effects, and design directions for new garments • Convert AI-generated concepts into clean, organized, editable Adobe Illustrator artwork • Make AI-generated artwork usable for apparel production instead of submitting unfinished AI images • Maintain consistent file names, folder structures, pattern versions, and revision records • Communicate with our design, sales, sampling, and production teams • Provide regular updates on projects, problems, revisions, and completed work REQUIRED EXPERIENCE • Professional apparel pattern-making experience • Experience creating patterns for athletic apparel, sportswear, uniforms, or stretch garments • Strong understanding of garment construction and manufacturing • Strong understanding of measurements, fit, grading, seam allowances, and sewing construction • Experience developing garments using stretch and performance fabrics • Advanced Adobe Illustrator skills • Ability to create clean vector artwork and editable production files • Ability to create technical flats, panel layouts, repeat patterns, clipping masks, and artwork-placement files • Experience creating complete apparel tech packs • Experience grading patterns into multiple youth and adult sizes • Experience using professional pattern-making software • Ability to review physical samples and make fit corrections • Strong file-organization and version-control habits • Ability to work independently and manage multiple garments at the same time • Reliable internet connection and availability for online meetings • Good written and spoken English PATTERN-MAKING SOFTWARE You should have experience with one or more professional apparel programs, such as: • Gerber AccuMark • Lectra Modaris • Optitex • Tukatech/TUKAcad • CLO 3D • Browzwear • StyleCAD • Adobe Illustrator apparel-pattern workflows • Similar professional pattern-making software AI DESIGN EXPERIENCE You must be comfortable using AI as part of the creative apparel-design process. Acceptable tools may include: • Adobe Firefly • ChatGPT image generation • Midjourney • Stable Diffusion • Other professional AI image or design systems You must know how to take an AI-generated design idea and rebuild, clean, separate, vectorize, and prepare it correctly in Adobe Illustrator. We are not looking for someone who only knows how to enter AI prompts. You must also possess real design ability, strong Adobe Illustrator skills, and apparel-production knowledge. PREFERRED EXPERIENCE • Sublimated team uniforms • Soccer jerseys and shorts • Baseball and softball uniforms • Basketball uniforms • Football uniforms • Volleyball uniforms • Esports jerseys • Warmups and training apparel • Men’s, women’s, youth, and extended-size athletic fits • All-over-print sublimation production • Creating artwork that aligns across garment seams • Working directly with apparel factories and sample rooms • CLO 3D garment development and visualization • Marker making and fabric-consumption calculations • Creating factory-ready DXF, AI, PDF, and related files DELIVERABLES Depending on the assignment, deliverables may include: • Digital garment patterns • Graded size sets • Measurement specification sheets • Technical flats • Complete tech packs • Construction instructions • Sublimation production-panel layouts • Editable Adobe Illustrator files • DXF pattern files • PDF review files • CLO, Gerber, Optitex, Tukatech, Lectra, or other native source files • Pattern revision records • Organized master folders and file libraries All editable and native source files must be delivered. Flattened PDFs, JPGs, or PNGs alone will not be accepted as final project files. FULL-TIME POSITION DETAILS • Approximately 40 hours per week • Long-term, ongoing position • Consistent weekly schedule required • Daily communication and progress updates required • Availability for scheduled video meetings • Ability to work during agreed overlapping business hours • Work will initially be managed and paid through Upwork • Paid test project or paid trial period required • Long-term continuation will depend on technical ability, accuracy, organization, communication, and reliability • We prefer a candidate who can make our company their primary full-time professional commitment • Applicants must disclose any other full-time jobs or major ongoing commitments PAID TEST PROJECT Qualified candidates may be invited to complete a paid test project involving one athletic garment. The test may include: 1. Reviewing an existing garment concept or reference 2. Creating or correcting the garment pattern 3. Preparing a technical flat in Adobe Illustrator 4. Developing measurements and graded sizing 5. Creating a basic tech pack 6. Applying a sublimation design to the garment panels 7. Organizing and delivering all editable source files The paid test will help us evaluate pattern-making ability, technical knowledge, Adobe Illustrator skills, AI-assisted design ability, organization, communication, and attention to detail. WHO SHOULD NOT APPLY Please do not apply if you only create: • Fashion sketches • Clothing mockups • AI-generated images • Logos and general graphics • Nontechnical fashion illustrations • Flattened artwork without editable source files We need someone who understands both the creative and technical sides of apparel development. OWNERSHIP AND CONFIDENTIALITY All patterns, garment designs, tech packs, specifications, grading, artwork, prompts, concepts, source files, revisions, and production files created and paid for during this engagement will become the property of our company. The selected person must protect all confidential company information and may not share, sell, publish, reuse, or distribute our patterns, garments, artwork, files, customer information, or proprietary production methods. All editable source files must be delivered as part of the completed work. HOW TO APPLY Please include the following with your application: 1. Examples of apparel patterns you personally created 2. Examples of complete tech packs you personally prepared 3. Examples of graded size sets 4. Examples of Adobe Illustrator technical flats 5. Examples of sublimation production-panel artwork 6. Examples of AI-assisted apparel designs that you refined for production 7. The pattern-making programs you use 8. The AI design programs you use 9. A list of file formats you can provide 10. Your experience with athletic and sublimated apparel 11. Your experience with youth, adult, women’s, and extended sizing 12. Your hourly rate 13. Your weekly availability 14. Your time zone and normal working hours 15. Your earliest available starting date 16. A brief explanation of how you organize pattern revisions and file versions 17. Confirmation that you can work approximately 40 hours per week on a long-term basis Begin your proposal with the words “SPORTSWEAR PATTERN” so we know you read the entire job description. COMPENSATION This is a full-time Upwork position requiring approximately 40 hours per week. Expected worldwide rate: $15–$30 per hour, depending on experience, portfolio quality, software knowledge, pattern-making ability, Adobe Illustrator skill, and sportswear-production experience. Highly experienced candidates with advanced sportswear pattern-making, grading, technical design, CLO 3D, Adobe Illustrator, sublimation, and factory-production expertise may propose a higher rate. We are looking for the right long-term person—not simply the lowest-priced applicant.