Job Description

Position located in Romeoville, IL and is fulltime/onsite. Relocation assistance offered!

Position:

Product Developer will have responsibility for developing new product roads, leading the innovation process, and driving new product initiatives through the product development process from ideation to commercialization. Success will ultimately be measured by product vitality (the amount of new product sold each year as a percentage of overall sales) and contribution margin improvement. This role is the cornerstone of the growth plans for the company.

• Product Manager work closely with many departments as well as outside sources: Sales to gather market and customer information, as well as pricing and program development
• Overseas factories and the overseas office to ensure products are developed and launched on time and on budget
• Marketing to assist in collateral and other sales tool development
• Outside contractors for industrial design and development

Specific Responsibilities & Duties :

• Follows the established Product Development process.
• Innovation & Ideation
• Evaluate product submissions from inventors
• Prioritization of New Projects
• Stage gate progression from concept through commercialization
• Coordinates packaging, testing, certifications, and merchandising deployment
• Works with attorneys regarding patents and infringement
• Owner and driver of market and competitive information for assign product category. Keeps data and insights in repository for the organization to use in its new product / growth project plans
• Manages and drives communication with suppliers, Asian suppliers, and agencies
• Profitability – Product Managers will be responsible for profitability to Contribution Margin for their respective product category
• Forecasting involvement with Sales and Operations. Support upgrades in S&OP forecasting models
• Lead communication of respective product lines to Sales, Customers, Suppliers, and internally to the organization.
• Quality Control and Assurance development, monitoring and coordination with operations to find corrective actions for identified issues.
• Support Operations in identifying, developing and maintaining a strong supplier base for both components and potentially finished goods
• Responsible for all general pricing for products within assigned product categories with the Sales Team and other department as well as insuring that duties / tariffs are accurate and up to date – all pricing is finalized by the Product Analyst.
• Reviews all new government legislation that will impact product and product development. Maintains a library of all certifications required to meet government regulations.
• Oversees all product testing and testing requirements necessary to insure the performance and safety of products that fall within the assign product category

Requirements and Qualifications:

• Organizational Skills
• Communication Skills – both written and oral must be excellent. Presentation and presentation skills must also be strong enough to effectively communicate, negotiate, and/or persuade key stakeholders on product development actions
• Computer Literate – Strong in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, MS Project, etc.
• Technical Orientation – a strong interest for exploring technical solutions for innovation, quality improvement, or cost reduction. Must have basic understanding of materials and manufacturing processes, especially metal.
• Excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Hands On! Likes to get hands dirty. Not afraid to get onto jobsites and talk to contractors regarding product / application feedback.
• Results oriented – Candidate should well versed in the analysis process, using measurements and gets excited to find countermeasures around roadblocks which keep them from delivering the committed objective.
• Highly Ethical – honesty and Integrity are the cornerstone of the company. The successful candidate will exemplify a working style of honesty, integrity, candor, and respect for all others in his or her work environment.
• Entrepreneurial Spirit. Candidate gets excited thinking about forging new business opportunities which may need lots of nurturing to get them started.
• Strong goal orientation – ability to identify an objective and work hard to make it an accomplishment.
• Ability to travel. Must be able to travel 25% plus, with quarterly visits to Asia.
• Must have a strong working knowledge of global sourcing especially within Asia.
• Regular trade show involvement, as well as assistance in sales calls

Qualifications – The Person

• Bachelor’s degree required, and MBA is a plus
• Minimum 2+ years of relevant product development experience
• Capability to travel approximately 25% of the time. Some travel will include international travel to Asia.

Essential Skills:

• Very detail oriented
• Experience in working with overseas manufacturers
• Familiarity with formal product development processes, i.e. “stage gate”
• Strong project management skills, with a bias for action
• Microsoft Project experience or other related process management software is a plus
• Experience in managing consumer products, specifically hardware/tool storage and / outdoor living product would be a plus

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