Senior Product Manager, Product Development

About the Opportunity

Our client is a long-standing North American consumer goods company with more than 40 years of industry expertise. With deep global supplier relationships and a demonstrated ability to bring high-quality, on-trend, solution-oriented products to market, they continue to evolve through design innovation, brand development, and disciplined product expansion.

As a Senior Product Manager, you will own the product lifecycle for your assigned categories—leading ideation, evaluating submissions, managing testing and certifications, coordinating with overseas manufacturing partners, and collaborating cross-functionally to deliver successful product launches. This is a hands-on, highly visible role that blends creativity, technical understanding, commercial acumen, and strong project leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Lead New Product Development & Roadmap Execution

• Drive the innovation pipeline and Stage Gate process from ideation through launch
• Evaluate inventor submissions and prioritize new product initiatives
• Oversee packaging, testing, certifications, and merchandising deployment
• Partner with legal on patents and infringement issues

Own Category Profitability & Business Performance

• Manage category contribution margin and product vitality metrics
• Support pricing strategy in collaboration with Sales and Product Analysis teams
• Maintain accurate insights on tariffs, duties, and cost structures

Cross-Functional & Supplier Collaboration

• Serve as the central point of communication for assigned product lines
• Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, Operations, and overseas manufacturing teams
• Build and maintain a strong global supplier base for materials and finished goods

Product Quality, Compliance & Market Intelligence

• Oversee all product testing to ensure performance, safety, and compliance
• Monitor quality assurance programs and identify corrective actions
• Track new legislation and manage certification requirements
• Maintain a repository of competitive and market insights

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA a plus
• Minimum 5 years in product development with proven success launching new products
• Experience presenting concepts to sales teams and supporting trade shows or customer visits
• Prior experience evaluating and working with international factories (Asia required)
• Ability to travel up to 25%, including international travel

Desired Skills & Attributes

• High integrity and strong ethical standards
• Solid understanding of materials and manufacturing processes, especially metal/steel, is a big plus
• Hands-on mindset and comfort interacting with jobsites and contractors
• Experience managing others is a plus
• Strong communication, presentation, and negotiation skill
• Exceptional project management, problem-solving, and critical-thinking abilities
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement
• Proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, MS Project, and related tools