---
title: 'Technical Design Assistant at Short Story'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/technical-design-assistant-short-story-san-francisco-991z9kr2q8zm'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-09'
---

# Technical Design Assistant at Short Story

- **Company:** Short Story
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-09
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/shortstory/a77e5036-ec51-4f5e-a936-5faaa2cd75dc

## Job description

Our Story:

Short Story is an award winning, technology powered retailer dedicated to petite women 5'4" and under. Our mission is to create a seamless shopping experience for millions of petite women so they can dress with effortless confidence.

As a fast-growing startup, we're revolutionizing retail with a data driven learning system that leverages customer feedback to create tailored products. We've been recognized by top publications like Forbes, Fortune and are backed by leading investors who share our vision of building the world's next great consumer brand.

Our Values:

We're building a company with intention and purpose. Our culture thrives on data insights, exceptional commitment to fit, and the urgency to move quickly on what matters.

- ✨ Transform Lives. We're customer-first. Everything we create exists to give her confidence.
- ⚡️ Demand Excellence. We deliver only our best work, in Fit and Finish. We obsess about details others overlook.
- 💪 Embrace Challenges. We see obstacles as opportunities to invent better solutions.
- 💡 Think Differently. We get a thrill from finding better solutions others haven't seen.

## The Role

We are looking for a Technical Design Assistant to help turn design vision into flawlessly made styles for petites. This role requires a high level of precision, timely execution, and knowledge of the product development lifecycle—from fabric through production with a special focus on fit process. You will build tech packs, measure samples, run fit session logistics, capture fit comments, and keep our development data clean.

You'll work with highly experienced professionals who have been doing it for multiple decades. Our senior technical designers have spent their careers solving fit problems. You'll be in every fit session with them. If you want to deepen your knowledge at a company where fit and craftsmanship are valued, this is an unusually direct way to do it. You'll report to our Head of Product Development and work daily with our Senior Technical Designers, Merchandising, Sourcing, and our overseas vendor partners.

## Requirements

- This role requires a strong attention to detail, an understanding of technical development and creative operations to ensure we make great products. The ideal candidate is solution-oriented, proactive, and thrives in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
- This position requires 5 days per week onsite at our San Francisco Headquarters.

## Key Responsibilities

- Check construction & accurately measure development fit samples against technical specifications, making sure they were sampled or produced as requested. Flag deviations ahead of fit sessions.
- Assist in creating initial tech packs for key categories. Update tech packs and BOMs for factories.
- Set up and prepare for weekly fittings - ensuring all samples are accounted for and properly prepped and staged.
- Take accurate notes in fit sessions.
- Support the team in execution of fit comments for key categories - adding notes, technical sketching, data entry.
- Maintain the WIP and Fit Notes Tracker so reporting stays current across the WIP platform
- Monitor WIP deadlines and workflow - manage deliverables with the team.
- Track, check in & organize fit samples in-work through approval.
- Maintain and organize development fit samples when in house.
- Support the team in efficiency and speed-to-market.

## Qualifications

- BFA in fashion or the equivalent.
- Demonstrated measurement accuracy. You will complete a measurement exercise as part of the interview process.
- Understanding of garment construction.
- Understanding of development processes and workflow.
- Adobe Illustrator and ability to sketch flat sketches.
- Strong command of Google Sheets and data tools.
- Nice to have: Understanding of apparel and pattern software (gerber, optitex). Knowledge of 3D apparel software (e.g., CLO3D, Browzwear) a plus.
- Factory or production exposure is a strong plus
- Comfortable with hands-on work: standing during fit sessions

## What we’re looking for

- Strong organizational and prioritization skills.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment while maintaining accuracy and efficiency.
- Creative and/or innovative problem-solving skills.

Compensation & Benefits:

- Compensation for this position may vary based on skills and experience
- Flexible Paid Time Off
- 401k with company match
- Comprehensive healthcare, dental and vision benefits
- Opportunity to work at a Y-Combinator backed startup
- Catered lunch on Fridays and company events

Short Story is committed to providing equal employment opportunity and a work environment free of discrimination and harassment for all employees and applicants. We work diligently to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics.

## About Short Story

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Short Story is a tech-powered personal styling service exclusively for petite women (5’4” and under), delivering curated clothing boxes with expert fit and style.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage; $3.0M total funding)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Isabella Sun (CEO) & Samuel Hoffstaetter (CTO) [linkedin.com, theorg.com]

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Retail Apparel and Fashion (direct-to-consumer e‑commerce)
- **Target customers**: Petite women (5’4” and under) seeking clothing that fits without alterations – primarily B2C.
- **Mission statement**: “Remove the ‘ugh’ from the shopping equation so you can dress with effortless confidence” – celebrating petite women through modern, accessible styling. [my.shortstorybox.com/about-us]

## Products & Services
- **Personal Styling Box (subscription)**: Customers complete a detailed style quiz; a human stylist (supported by data) selects 4–5 clothing items tailored to petite proportions. Members purchase what they like and return the rest. [shortstorybox.com, jobs.ashbyhq.com]

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of $3.0M (Seed round of $2.9M in Sep 2021; pre‑seed in 2019) [linkedin.com]
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: 9 investors in the 2021 seed round (names not disclosed in search results); partners include logistics providers (e.g., ShipBob talent source). [linkedin.com]
- **Growth Signals**:
  - 87 employees as of mid‑2025 — +32.3% year‑over‑year growth. [linkedin.com]
  - Active job postings up +63.2% yearly; 31 open roles at time of research. [linkedin.com]
  - Expanded to a second warehouse and operates in 5 countries (US, Canada, Philippines, India, Turkey). [linkedin.com]
  - Featured by Fortune (2022) and KTLA (2021). [linkedin.com]

## Competitive Advantages
- **Underserved niche**: Focuses exclusively on petite women (nearly half of US women are 5’4” or under) – a segment often ignored by mainstream retailers.
- **Data + human touch**: Combines rapid customer feedback loops, fit data, and personal stylists to continuously improve fit and curation – “engineering a better retail model”. [linkedin.com]
- **Woman‑led team**: Founder/CEO Isabella Sun and a majority of the leadership team are women who intimately understand the problem, building trust and authentic brand connection. [my.shortstorybox.com/about-us]
- **Proprietary fit expertise**: Developed internal petite‑specific sizing insights and product development processes, making returns and alterations less frequent.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling operations**: Recent warehouse launch and headcount growth signal investment in fulfillment capacity to support increasing demand.
- **Tech‑enabled personalization**: Continued investment in data‑driven styling tools and rapid feedback loops to refine product selection and fit. [linkedin.com]
- **Talent acquisition**: Actively hiring across engineering, styling, merchandising, and operations, with a notable uptick in remote roles (e.g., Senior Software Engineer – Back-End, Remote Canada). [linkedin.com, jobs.ashbyhq.com]

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as “a team of builders and problem solvers” who “move fast, test relentlessly, and build with empathy.” The environment is entrepreneurial and impact‑focused. [my.shortstorybox.com/careers]
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Several engineering roles are fully remote (US/Canada), while styling and fulfillment roles have specific location requirements. [linkedin.com]
- **Growth opportunity**: The company is in an aggressive growth phase (headcount +32% YoY, job postings +63%) – early‑stage employees can wear many hats and shape the company’s trajectory.
- **Mission‑driven**: Employees directly serve a passionate, underserved community – “making an impact on real lives.” [my.shortstorybox.com/careers]
- **Engineering note**: A lean technical team (3% of employees in technical roles) means high ownership and visibility for engineers; recent openings for Senior Full‑Stack and Back‑End roles. [linkedin.com]

## Sources
1. [Short Story Careers Page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/shortstory)
2. [Short Story About Us](https://my.shortstorybox.com/about-us)
3. [Short Story Careers](https://my.shortstorybox.com/careers)
4. [Short Story LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/shortstorybox)
5. [Short Story Org Chart (The Org)](https://theorg.com/org/short-story)

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