Find fashion jobs in China

FashionUnited's Chinese job board covers everything from product development and sourcing roles in Fujian's footwear cluster to brand, retail and e-commerce jobs at the Shanghai and Beijing offices of the world's biggest sportswear and fashion groups. Whether you want to work in sourcing and manufacturing, brand-side management, or China's fast-moving retail and livestream-commerce channels, this is where China's fashion openings sit in one place.

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What fashion jobs are in demand in China?

China's fashion sector spans manufacturing, brand offices and one of the world's largest consumer markets, so today's openings cluster around a wide range of functions:

• Product development & sourcing: product developers, industrial engineers and costing specialists at the China offices of global brands and their manufacturing partners.

• Materials & footwear technical roles: senior developers and materials specialists, concentrated in Fujian and Zhejiang's footwear and textile clusters.

• Merchandising & planning: merchandising managers, demand planners and allocators for both wholesale and direct-retail channels.

• Retail operations: store, area and franchise retail managers running China's large direct and franchise store networks.

• E-commerce & digital: roles tied to brands' Tmall, JD.com and Douyin storefronts, plus livestream and content commerce.

• Brand & marketing: brand managers and marketing leads localising global campaigns for Chinese consumers.

• Sustainability & compliance: social and environmental compliance roles as global brands extend due-diligence requirements into their Chinese supply base.

Where are the fashion jobs in China?

Shanghai has by far the most vacancies: it's where most international brands run their China head office, e-commerce and brand teams. Beijing follows as the country's other major corporate hub, while Guangzhou, Shenzhen and the manufacturing centres of Fujian and Zhejiang carry much of the sourcing and product-development work. Pick your city and jump straight to its listings:

Shanghai · Beijing · Guangzhou · Shenzhen · Quanzhou · Ningbo · Xiamen · Chengdu

Who is hiring in fashion in China?

Global sportswear and fashion groups make up a large share of current vacancies: Nike, adidas Group, Puma, VF Corporation (Timberland, The North Face), Skechers, Deckers Brands (UGG) and Burberry are all recruiting here, largely for retail, product and China-market roles.

Alongside them, China's own sportswear and apparel giants — Anta, Li-Ning, Xtep and 361 Degrees, clustered around the Fujian footwear belt, plus fast-fashion and platform players such as Shein — do a large share of the domestic hiring, particularly in design, merchandising and digital. On the supply side, sourcing offices like NAME IT manage full sourcing journeys from Shanghai, while materials, footwear and product-development teams for global brands sit in the Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang manufacturing clusters.

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Why China hires

China's edge is still manufacturing scale: it remained the world's largest apparel exporter in 2024, even as its share of global clothing exports slipped to 29.6 percent, the lowest since 2010; over the same period its share of world textile exports rose to 43.3 percent (WTO). That split tells the real story — basic cut-and-sew has shifted toward Vietnam and Bangladesh, but the fabric, trims and full-package sourcing expertise stayed in China, which is why global brands still run product development and materials teams here.

The other half of the story is domestic demand: online sales made up 26.1 percent of China's total retail spending in 2025 (National Bureau of Statistics), and fashion is one of the categories driving that shift. That has pushed hiring toward product development, sourcing management, e-commerce and livestream-commerce roles, and brand and retail management for the direct-to-consumer networks that global and domestic players now run across the country.

Can you get a fashion job in China?

There are two realistic routes in, and they split by role rather than by city:

• Sponsored specialist and management roles. Design, sourcing, product development, brand and senior e-commerce roles can be filled by foreign hires through China's Z visa and Foreigner's Work Permit system. Category A and B permits carry salary thresholds tied to local average wages, so the role generally needs to be senior or specialist enough to clear them.

• Locally-hired roles. Most retail, merchandising and junior office roles are filled by candidates already in China, and Mandarin fluency is expected for all but a handful of international headquarters and e-commerce positions. Applying from abroad for a sponsored role still starts with a job offer: the employer files the Work Permit Notification, and you enter on a Z visa before converting it to a residence permit.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to speak Mandarin to work in fashion in China? For most roles, yes. A small number of international headquarters, sourcing and e-commerce roles operate in English, but Mandarin fluency is expected almost everywhere else.

Which city has the most fashion vacancies? Shanghai, by a wide margin — it's where most global brands base their China head office, e-commerce and brand teams.

Can I apply from outside China? Yes, for specialist and management roles that meet the salary thresholds for a Category A or B Foreigner's Work Permit. The employer must sponsor the application before you enter on a Z visa.

What fashion roles are most in demand? Product development and sourcing, merchandising and planning, retail operations, e-commerce and livestream commerce, and brand and marketing management.

Are Chinese fashion brands competing with international ones for talent? Yes. Domestic sportswear and apparel groups such as Anta, Li-Ning and Xtep, along with fast-fashion and platform players, hire heavily for design, merchandising and digital roles alongside the global brands.

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Browse by city: Shanghai · Beijing · Guangzhou · Shenzhen · Quanzhou · Ningbo · Xiamen · Chengdu

Browse by type: Design & Creativity · Product & Supply Chain · Retail Management & In-store · Sales & Marketing · Internships

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