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Open to Permanent
Open to Permanent

Chamath Keshara Sandeepa Warahena Liyanage

Lead Materials Engineer
Portfolio website
About

Dear Human Resources Manager, It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. In my current position as Lead Materials Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, I work across Core models, Special Vehicles (SV) and Bespoke models, bringing Material Engineering expertise into the Creative Product Development process, with a focus on fabrics, yarns, threads, leather and embroidery within the Materiality roadmap and commodity strategy. Supporting Materiality, Interior Designers to understand the implications of the materials and colours, working cross functionally between Creative, Merchandising, Product Engineering, Quality, Production, Purchasing and external Suppliers to develop new materials and colours for commodity strategies. Ensure the new aesthetic Standards/Masters are in place to support the Design vision. In addition I am responsible for the ownership of material developments plans aligned to each and every vehicle model, create colour approval reports, track and record development status as well as organisation and maintaining of approvals archive in relation to Programme, Bespoke and Off-Cycle content for current and future vehicle models. In my previous position as Bill of Materials Specialist at Loro Piana, I interacted across various departments, participating in fittings and assisting in problem solving in order to make required amendments correctly and timely completion of Bill Of Materials (BOM), with all the information received from Product Development in terms of yarns/ fabrics/ leather/ fur and their respective compositions/colours/ prices and consumption details in order to manage all the changes and corrections in the BOM. Evaluate Line-Sheets and ensure all the necessary materials, accessories and packaging items are captured in the BOM during Costing and Industrialisation cycles on PLM. Send the final approved and completed BOM of each article along with relevant technical data sheets for yarn/ fabrics/ leather/ fur to the respective assigned laboratories and suppliers to proceed with production process. Support production team, external laboratories and suppliers by carrying out necessary timely modification in the BOM throughout the production process and BOM industrialisation for Special Production requests for Essentials/ Seasonal articles as well as for change in laboratories/suppliers assignment or new laboratories/suppliers assignment. In Versace as Product Development Specialist, I participated in design meetings with the style office, collecting style inputs and preparing Tech Packs (definition of styles in terms of fabrics/materials, workmanship, colours/prints and fit) for the development of proto/samples and all related activities. Creation and insertion of model, aspect and style in PLM. Creation of the BOM and Cycles on PLM and support the collection editing process and actively update BOM, launch of proto/sample orders (on PLM and Stealth) and guarantee the product development according to the timeline. I collaborated with the suppliers during the proto/sampling process to ensure quality and on-time delivery for creation of the collection. As well as attending fittings and upload fit comments in PLM and manage data within informational systems (Stealth, PLM) such as updating proto/sample costs, preparing Accounting Article for additional workmanship costs (paper patterns, fabric cutting, laser cuts, installations etc), updating garment composition/washing label/custom tariff codes and order creation/closure. Preparation of administrative documentation of the collection and organisation of garment shipment and correction of samples are major responsibilities of this role. In addition, Masters studies in Milan have helped me to expand my knowledge on luxury fashion, lifestyle and products as well as fashion brands and products management and collection development. I have successfully completed individual field projects and group field projects where I have efficiently collaborated with the groups of people from multicultural backgrounds. I also led the teams confidently and strategically to achieve the goals collectively. I am responsible, resourceful and reliable. I have excellent organisational skills and am a keen problem solver who enjoys adapting to new challenges and environments. I have experience of managing work on-time with tight deadlines within the fast-paced fashion field and collaborating with Italian and International supply chains. Hence I believe my profound professional experience on product development and robust knowledge on materials management will make me a great candidate for this position. I am very inspired and motivated to share how I will build upon my experiences so far to be a great fit for the company. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Chamath Keshara

Previous Brands
JLR
Loro Piana
Versace
Decathlon Italia
Inticom SpA
HousingAnywhere.com
Pianeta ACRIP Onlus
Brandix
MAS Holdings
Work Experience
Lead Materials Engineer
Jun ‘24 -
JLR

Creative, Materiality and Production Design

Bill of Materials Specialist
Mar ‘23 - Apr ‘24
Loro Piana

Knitwear/Jersey & Made-To-Measure Industrialisation (Men’s / Women’s / Kids) - Interaction across various departments, participating in fittings and assisting in problem solving in order to make required amendments correctly and timely completion of Bill Of Materials (BOM), with all the information received from Product Development in terms of yarns/ fabrics/ prints/ jacquards/ leather/ fur/ various accessories/ components/ packaging items and their respective compositions/colours/ prices and consumption details in order to manage all the changes and corrections in the BOM. - Evaluate Line-Sheets and ensure all the necessary materials, accessories and packaging items are captured in the BOM during Costing and Industrialisation cycles on PLM. - Send the final approved and completed BOM of each article along with relevant technical data sheets for yarn/ fabrics/ leather/ fur to the respective assigned laboratories and suppliers to proceed with production process. - Support production team, external laboratories and suppliers by carrying out necessary timely modification in the BOM throughout the production process and BOM industrialisation for Special Production requests for Essentials/ Seasonal articles as well as for change in laboratories/suppliers assignment or new laboratories/suppliers assignment.

Product Development Specialist
Jun ‘22 - Nov ‘22
Versace

Underwear / Beachwear & Gym (Men’s / Women’s & Kids) - Participating in design meetings with the style office, collecting style inputs and preparing Tech Packs (definition of styles in terms of fabrics/materials, workmanship, colors/prints and fit) for the development of proto/samples and all related activities. - Creation and insertion of model, aspect and style in PLM. - Creation of the bill of materials (BOM) and cycles (BOL) in PLM. - Support the collection editing process and actively update BOM, launch of proto/sample orders (in PLM and Stealth) and guarantee the realization of the garments according to the timeline. - Collaborate with the suppliers during the proto/sampling process to ensure quality and on-time delivery for creation of the collection. - Attend fittings and upload fit comments in PLM. - Manage data within informational systems (Stealth, PLM) such as updating proto/sample costs, preparing Accounting Article for additional workmanship costs (paper patterns, fabric cutting, laser cuts, installations etc), updating garment composition/washing label/custom tariff codes and order creation/closure. - Preparation of administrative documentation of the collection. - Manage garment shipment and correction of samples.

Quality, Industrialisation & Production Leader
Mar ‘22 - May ‘22
Decathlon Italia

Natural & Synthetic Yarns for Seamless Garments & Socks - Guarantee the industrialization phases of new yarns (specifically Natural Yarn- Wool) in compliance with project requirements, costs and production lead times of semi-finished and finished products (Seamless-wear & Socks) - Ensure the control and quality of yarns and improve production with a view to sustainability (ex:- Recycled Wool). - Perform Yarn Color Lab-dips approval and communicate yarn testing with internal/external laboratories. Collaborate with Product & Supply teams in managing relations with existing suppliers and identifying new suppliers. - Coordinate Supplier Quality Audits and ensure that suppliers' products and production sites comply with the Tech Pack/Master Sample, Control Standards & Production Requirements set out in the company policy.

Reserach & Development Engineer
Feb ‘18 - Dec ‘21
Inticom SpA

- Providing technical expertise, analytically thinking and work collaboratively in innovative and sustainable materials and components research, development and improvement projects. 
- Perform laboratory tests on materials and components internally (such as Weight, Thickness, Elasticity, Washing, Colorfastness, and Corrosion resistant) using laboratory instruments and equipments (GSM scale, Dynamometer and Wascator). - Evaluation of external laboratory test reports and technical data. 
- Compliance, failure and benchmarking analysis as per industry requirements and standards.
 - Communicate final Quality Test reports with the internal departments and external materials and garments suppliers. - Uploading material data and test reports on PLM. - Monitor on-time delivery of materials and components. - Manage and maintain materials and components archives. 
- General components testing, approvals and codify components (such as bra cups, elastics, metal accessories, bra wires and etc.) used for lingerie/ corsetry, pyjamas/ nightwear, beachwear and swimwear. - Direct communication with product management/ style office/ quality department and external suppliers to ensure compliance, manage quality issues and to develop new solutions. - Preparing materials/components quality comparison reports.

Student Ambassador
Nov ‘17 - Jul ‘18
HousingAnywhere.com

Research/ Design & Development Intern
Oct ‘17 - Jan ‘18
Pianeta ACRIP Onlus

Creating a capsule collection of a handbag/backpack/clutch using Sisal fibre woven patterns and African Wax printed fabrics, hand-made in Kenya. This project was implemented by Pianeta Acrip (Onlus association), Milan collaborating with Keniota association, Kenya, focusing on providing opportunities for employment, and support the construction of local infrastructure of the underprivileged community in Tigany, Kenya by establishing of a small scale artisanal-manufacturing facility enhancing inherited craftsmanship skills.

Calvin Klein Men's & Women's Underwear- Executive Garment Technologist
Oct ‘15 - Dec ‘16
Brandix

- Development of garments from the pattern making (using Gerber- AccuMark) interpreting design/technical sketch/sample received from New York Style Office. - Calculate fabrics/materials consumption for garment costing/ordering and communication with Merchandising department and Production Teams. - Create Operation Breakdown, Measurement Charts and Stitching Instructions for Prototype/Fit samples. - Oversee measurements, construction and development of Prototypes/Fit samples. - Assist fitting evaluation on internal model fitting and fit sessions at PVH Regional Hub Office for Fit samples approval. - Create Tech-Pack (including Approved Patterns, Measurements, How-to-Measure, Stitching guidelines and Quality Control points). - Pre-Production sample approval and participate in Production meetings. - Collaborate with the production teams for problem solving, develop new solutions and ensure design & quality standards are achieved in final production.

Victoria’s Secret Beachwear/ Swimwear - Product Development Technologist
Apr ‘15 - Oct ‘15
MAS Holdings

- Create Bill of Materials (BOM) and Operation Breakdown using PLM. - Prototype/Fit/Color samples development, quality inspection of and provide feedback during sample making. - Sending Development/ Fit samples and Color samples to the New York Style Office and Regional Hub Office for approval. - Assist live-model fittings and fit evaluation. - Participate in Pre-Production meetings and PP Sample Approval. - Problem solving and improving production process with feasible methods to ensure quality and conformity in final production.

Lululemon - Product Development Assistant (Internship)
Nov ‘13 - May ‘14
MAS Holdings

- Preparation of Bill of Materials and Operation Breakdown for Underwear, Sportswear and Activewear including Womenswear Seamless garments. - Pattern making and Sewing experience including stitch types, threads and needle types. - Laser/Ultrasonic Cutting, Bonding and Molding techniques. - Garment measuring, model calibration and Live-model fitting. - Industrial Engineering activities including Work Study, General Sewing Data, SMV calculations, Method Study and Time Study. - Merchandising functions related to Development Merchandising , Bulk Merchandising and Costing.

Languages
English - Fluent
Italian - Work Proficiency
Education & Training
Politecnico di Milano
‘17 - ‘18
Master in Fashion Direction
Brand & Product Management
University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
‘10 - ‘15
Bachelor of the Science of Engineering
Textile and Clothing Technology
Leamington Spa, UK