Referral Applications - Job Board
Manager, Footwear Product Developer
Referral Applications - Job Board, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
The Role
The Senior Manager of Product Development will lead and manage the footwear product creation process from initial concept and design through prototyping, sales samples, and the timely approval of production confirmation samples. This role involves setting strategic direction, managing complex project portfolios, and mentoring a team of product developers. You will oversee project timelines, lead critical gate sample reviews, and facilitate cross-functional collaboration with key stakeholders including design, product management, product testing, costing, and materials teams to inform strategic decision-making. The Senior Manager ensures all projects meet brand and consumer needs, manufacturing and performance requirements, and aggressive costing targets. You will champion continuous improvement in all areas of product creation to ensure the delivery of high-quality, sustainable products for our consumers. You will oversee the entire product development lifecycle from concept to commercialization, fostering collaboration across teams and ensuring every product embodies Allbirds ethos of quality, comfort, and environmental responsibility.
Your Impact The primary functions of this role include, but are not limited to:
Develop and implement strategic product development roadmaps in alignment with Allbirds' brand vision and business objectives.
Oversee a portfolio of complex product development projects, ensuring alignment with overall company goals and timely execution.
Identify and mitigate potential risks in the development process, proactively seeking solutions to keep projects on track.
Set up and lead regular, high-level project team meetings to review product briefs, design details, material and color CADs, samples, factory product tear-down notes, comprehensive costing information, and wear-test feedback.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Communication:
Act as a primary liaison between Design, Product Management, Asia Development & Commercialization, and Factory partners throughout the development and sampling process.
Drive robust communication strategies via tech-packs, regular email correspondence, and video conferencing, ensuring adherence to the product creation calendar for on-time delivery of gate samples and product confirmation.
Foster a highly collaborative environment, ensuring effective information flow and decision-making across contributing teams.
Technical Oversight & Quality Assurance:
Lead the product team through a rigorous sample review process, evaluating technical details related to upper patterning, 2D/3D tooling drawings, manufacturing processes, cost breakdowns, material specifications, and product test reports. Provide decisive recommendations on next steps.
Champion the fit test validation process, evaluating wear test reports and feedback at key gates to inform product decisions.
Drive the integration of sustainable materials and manufacturing processes into all product development cycles.
Process Optimization & Data Management:
Oversee and optimize the use of PLM systems (e.g., Centric PLM) for product data, BOM creation and maintenance, sampling, and final product confirmation (ready to buy).
Develop and implement best practices for sample management, storage, and organization, ensuring efficiency and accessibility.
Continuously seek opportunities to streamline and improve the product development process, implementing innovative solutions.
Who You Are You are an exceptional leader, driven for excellence, and a proactive self-starter with a proven track record of managing complex product development cycles. You thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced, and globally-connected organization with numerous competing deadlines and priorities. You possess:
Resilience & Adaptability:
Ability to navigate stress and excel in high-pressure environments, maintaining composure and focus while juggling competing priorities.
Collaborative & Influential:
An exceptionally effective collaborative approach, coupled with superior project management, communication, and organizational skills. You can influence stakeholders at all levels.
Curious & Innovative:
A profoundly curious mindset and exceptional creative technical problem-solving abilities. You are passionate about pushing boundaries and finding innovative solutions for sustainable product creation.
Strategic & Action-Oriented:
You thrive in working with diverse product experts, designers, and external partners. You are passionate about product creation and driven to generate novel solutions, organizing activities with a structured mindset to create clear actions and communicate actionable plans.
Entrepreneurial Spirit:
An entrepreneurial mindset with a positive attitude and a bias toward action and continuous learning. You’re not afraid to challenge the status quo and ask questions when encountering something new.
More practical skills needed:
BA/BS preferred and/or 5+ years’ experience in product development or 7+ years in lieu of a degree
Knowledge of basic footwear patterns and how to communicate changes
Experience with footwear specifications and footwear construction
Product testing experience - both on-body and physical property testing
Experience with Adobe Illustrator and CAD pattern design software
Excellent communication and project management skills
Experience with Microsoft applications and PLM systems such as Centric Software
What do we offer? In Office: The pay range for this role is $118k - $130k and must be performed in San Francisco, CA. We have a hybrid work culture: in office Tuesday–Thursday and remote Monday and Friday.
Allbirds routinely evaluates pay rates; ranges are subject to change based on market rates and other considerations. We factor in various components when determining starting pay, including job level, location, skillset, experience, and peer compensation.
Diversity Allbirds is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. Allbirds policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, marital or veteran status, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, medical condition, genetic information, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. It also prohibits discrimination based on perceived characteristics. All such discrimination is unlawful.
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The Senior Manager of Product Development will lead and manage the footwear product creation process from initial concept and design through prototyping, sales samples, and the timely approval of production confirmation samples. This role involves setting strategic direction, managing complex project portfolios, and mentoring a team of product developers. You will oversee project timelines, lead critical gate sample reviews, and facilitate cross-functional collaboration with key stakeholders including design, product management, product testing, costing, and materials teams to inform strategic decision-making. The Senior Manager ensures all projects meet brand and consumer needs, manufacturing and performance requirements, and aggressive costing targets. You will champion continuous improvement in all areas of product creation to ensure the delivery of high-quality, sustainable products for our consumers. You will oversee the entire product development lifecycle from concept to commercialization, fostering collaboration across teams and ensuring every product embodies Allbirds ethos of quality, comfort, and environmental responsibility.
Your Impact The primary functions of this role include, but are not limited to:
Develop and implement strategic product development roadmaps in alignment with Allbirds' brand vision and business objectives.
Oversee a portfolio of complex product development projects, ensuring alignment with overall company goals and timely execution.
Identify and mitigate potential risks in the development process, proactively seeking solutions to keep projects on track.
Set up and lead regular, high-level project team meetings to review product briefs, design details, material and color CADs, samples, factory product tear-down notes, comprehensive costing information, and wear-test feedback.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Communication:
Act as a primary liaison between Design, Product Management, Asia Development & Commercialization, and Factory partners throughout the development and sampling process.
Drive robust communication strategies via tech-packs, regular email correspondence, and video conferencing, ensuring adherence to the product creation calendar for on-time delivery of gate samples and product confirmation.
Foster a highly collaborative environment, ensuring effective information flow and decision-making across contributing teams.
Technical Oversight & Quality Assurance:
Lead the product team through a rigorous sample review process, evaluating technical details related to upper patterning, 2D/3D tooling drawings, manufacturing processes, cost breakdowns, material specifications, and product test reports. Provide decisive recommendations on next steps.
Champion the fit test validation process, evaluating wear test reports and feedback at key gates to inform product decisions.
Drive the integration of sustainable materials and manufacturing processes into all product development cycles.
Process Optimization & Data Management:
Oversee and optimize the use of PLM systems (e.g., Centric PLM) for product data, BOM creation and maintenance, sampling, and final product confirmation (ready to buy).
Develop and implement best practices for sample management, storage, and organization, ensuring efficiency and accessibility.
Continuously seek opportunities to streamline and improve the product development process, implementing innovative solutions.
Who You Are You are an exceptional leader, driven for excellence, and a proactive self-starter with a proven track record of managing complex product development cycles. You thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced, and globally-connected organization with numerous competing deadlines and priorities. You possess:
Resilience & Adaptability:
Ability to navigate stress and excel in high-pressure environments, maintaining composure and focus while juggling competing priorities.
Collaborative & Influential:
An exceptionally effective collaborative approach, coupled with superior project management, communication, and organizational skills. You can influence stakeholders at all levels.
Curious & Innovative:
A profoundly curious mindset and exceptional creative technical problem-solving abilities. You are passionate about pushing boundaries and finding innovative solutions for sustainable product creation.
Strategic & Action-Oriented:
You thrive in working with diverse product experts, designers, and external partners. You are passionate about product creation and driven to generate novel solutions, organizing activities with a structured mindset to create clear actions and communicate actionable plans.
Entrepreneurial Spirit:
An entrepreneurial mindset with a positive attitude and a bias toward action and continuous learning. You’re not afraid to challenge the status quo and ask questions when encountering something new.
More practical skills needed:
BA/BS preferred and/or 5+ years’ experience in product development or 7+ years in lieu of a degree
Knowledge of basic footwear patterns and how to communicate changes
Experience with footwear specifications and footwear construction
Product testing experience - both on-body and physical property testing
Experience with Adobe Illustrator and CAD pattern design software
Excellent communication and project management skills
Experience with Microsoft applications and PLM systems such as Centric Software
What do we offer? In Office: The pay range for this role is $118k - $130k and must be performed in San Francisco, CA. We have a hybrid work culture: in office Tuesday–Thursday and remote Monday and Friday.
Allbirds routinely evaluates pay rates; ranges are subject to change based on market rates and other considerations. We factor in various components when determining starting pay, including job level, location, skillset, experience, and peer compensation.
Diversity Allbirds is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. Allbirds policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, marital or veteran status, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, medical condition, genetic information, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. It also prohibits discrimination based on perceived characteristics. All such discrimination is unlawful.
#J-18808-Ljbffr