Hermès Senior Components Developer
Hermès Sellier in Pantin seeks a Senior Components Developer to lead leather trims development, supplier qualification and industrialisation.
Overview
Hermès Sellier is the leather goods and saddlery house within the Hermès group, renowned for meticulous artisanal craftsmanship and long-standing partnerships with specialised suppliers. The maison emphasises product excellence, technical rigour and sustained investment in savoir‑faire across its materials, ateliers and product development teams.
Role & Responsibilities
- Define and drive research and development of seasonal and permanent leather components and kits, proposing new techniques, materials and finishes aligned with the studio’s creative direction.
- Identify, qualify and manage relationships with external suppliers and partners (meetings, visits, trade fairs, conservatory), ensuring compliance with technical and regulatory requirements.
- Coordinate cross‑functional requests from the Studio, design teams, product managers and ateliers to secure sample availability for fittings and internal reviews within agreed budgets and lead times.
- Manage the end‑to‑end industrialisation process for components: produce technical dossiers, validate complex assembly/attachment processes and ensure smooth handover to production.
- Maintain and guarantee accuracy of PLM data, nomenclatures and pricing from prototype stage through production, including regular Excel extractions and reconciliations.
- Anticipate quality risks, propose alternative solutions to the Studio in coordination with product developers and quality teams, and follow up on quality alerts with suppliers and ateliers.
- Control development budgets, produce weekly reporting, validate prototype invoices and oversee ordering of permanent stocks and pre‑orders with the collection buyer.
- Pilot the development team: run weekly development meetings, prepare and lead component review meetings with stylists and product teams, define KPIs and manage priorities and retro‑planning.
- Ensure supplier contractualisation and regulatory compliance (e.g., REACH, material innocuity) and obtain sign‑off of supplier specifications.
Qualifications
- Minimum 6 years' professional experience in component or trims development within ready‑to‑wear; luxury sector experience strongly preferred.
- Master's degree or equivalent (Bac+4/5) in materials science, industrial design, textile or leather technology, product development or related discipline.
- Deep technical knowledge of components, assemblies and leather working techniques; proven track record in industrialisation.
- Demonstrated supplier qualification and negotiation experience, including regulatory and compliance oversight (REACH, safety/innocuity standards).
- Proven managerial ability, with experience supervising small teams and coordinating cross‑functional stakeholders.
- Strong organisational skills, analytical mindset, rigor and capability to manage budgets and complex timelines.
Skills
Experience
Minimum 6 years in an equivalent product development or components role within prêt‑à‑porter; experience in luxury leather goods or accessories and prior supplier/industrialisation responsibility is highly desirable.
Education
Master's degree or equivalent (Bac+4/5) in materials science, industrial design, leather/textile technology, product development or related field.
Workplace
This position is based in Pantin, Île-de-France, France, within easy reach of Paris.
Culture
Hermès Sellier fosters a culture of meticulous craftsmanship, long‑term supplier relationships and technical excellence. The workplace values creative collaboration between studio, product and atelier teams, and places high priority on preservation of artisanal savoir‑faire and material innovation.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Hermès, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Senior Trims & Findings Developer», «Senior Leather Components Developer», «Senior Accessories Components Developer», «Senior Hardware & Components Developer», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.