Product Development Associate Manager
Branch Toronto, Ontario, Canada · CA$63K–CA$82K/yr
Furniture and Home Furnishings Manufacturing · 51-200 employees
About the role
The Product Development Associate Manager will oversee the product development process, including timeline management, costing, and vendor coordination. They will also lead cross-functional alignment and manage sample testing to ensure products launch on time and meet quality standards.
What they look for
Requirements
Candidates must have 2-5 years of experience in product development, sourcing, or production, preferably in the furniture industry. A bachelor's degree is required, along with strong organizational skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced startup environment.
Full description
The Role
We are looking for a Product Development Associate Manager to support our Sr Manager of Product Development in the growth of our portfolio of products with the highest level of quality and user experience. You'll support the departmental organization, development, and launch of beautiful, functional, and accessible office furniture and accessories for both our direct to consumer and contract office furniture product lines.
The ideal candidate is team-oriented and passionate about product. This person is detail oriented, thorough, and committed to seeing products launch on time. They multitask efficiently and effectively while being flexible to accommodate the changing needs of the business. This person has a strong understanding of retail math, product performance requirements, materials, and production processes. The PD associate manager builds strong cross functional relationships by approaching all interactions with a service mindset. This is an independent and self-motivated person that acts as an owner and excels in a fast paced, dynamic work environment. This person is a skilled communicator with experience in solving complex problems through communication with both domestic and international partners.
This is an incredible opportunity to help build the product development function at a category-defining, well-funded, and rapidly growing startup. If you're truly passionate about exceptional product development and want to improve the objects, we interact with for eight plus hours a day, we'd love to meet you!
This role is salaried with a compensation range of $63,000-$82,000 CAD based on the candidate's experience, skills, competencies, and qualifications.
Key Responsibilities
- PD Process Ownership - Owns delivering products and drives cross functional alignment on development goals. Leads weekly PD meetings for both US and Asia teams. Updates development tracker. Communicate accurate information relating to sampling, costing and product details to all cross functional partners and vendors. Tracks, approves, and documents all tooling fees.
- Timeline Management - Drives adherence to all calendar goals: spec out, sample due dates, design approvals, cost approvals, spec sheet validation, and PO placement. Leads communication on sample requests, follow up and troubleshooting timelines. Builds chase T&As as needed.
- Costing - Works hand in hand with Asia Sourcing and Engineering to identify opportunities for cost engineering and packaging efficiencies and implements into development. Communicates and negotiates newness costing based on target margins.
- Vendor Development - In partnership with design and overseas team, develops a deep understanding of vendor capabilities and leverages knowledge to lead the team to develop the best possible product within vendor limitations.
- Sample + Testing Management - Responsible for the day-to-day coordination and tracking of design samples. Drives alignment on product and compliance testing requirements internally and externally to achieve on time PO placement.
What We're Looking For
- 2-5+ years of product development, sourcing, production, or buyer experience - hardgoods preferred, ideally within furniture (retail, wholesale, or contract) but not mandatory
- Bachelor's degree required (or equivalent practical experience in product development, sourcing, or production).
- Superlative attention to detail and organization, bringing a strong sense of ownership and excellence within a fast-paced, rapidly growing startup environment.
- Deadline driven with a bias towards action. Strong ability to work independently, assess tradeoffs, prioritize work, and communicate strategically.
- Motivated self-starter with a thirst to learn; thinks ahead and can identify and navigate hurdles that are inherent to the product development process. Proactively assess risk, raise flags, and resolve issues before they become problems for the larger teams.
- Passion for defining process, implementing quality, and producing clear documentation
- Exceptional written and verbal communication; and experience working with a variety of cross-functional partners and project stakeholders
- Potential domestic and international travel to vendors or tradeshows
- Keen ability to organize and comprehend large sets of data to drive thoughtful and purposeful decision making.
Bonus Points
- Multilingual, Mandarin or Vietnamese
- Proficient with Notion, Slack, and Google Workspace
