Job Overview: Product Developer, Hard Goods
Group: Product Development
Reports to: Product Development Director
Status: Full-time, Exempt
Location: San Francisco, CA
Incase is a lifestyle brand on a global basis and the leader in
carrying solutions and innovations. We are currently looking for a
Product Developer - Hard Goods, to work in our design and development
studio in the heart of downtown San Francisco.
Primary Responsibilities
As a member of the Product Development Team, the Product Developer
serves as a liaison between Incases Product Management, Design, and
Sourcing teams, and its vendor partners. The Product Developer will
be responsible for developing products and prototypes in accordance
with plans and strategies agreed upon by the Incase product team. The
Product Developer is responsible for monitoring and communicating
development information to vendor counterparts through the complete
product cycle. The Product Developer will partner with Design to
ensure that Incase's injection and compression-molded products are
producible, executed to retain design intent, and at the required
cost and quality standards. This position will be accountable for
researching materials, manufacturing techniques, and assisting
sourcing with finding appropriate new vendor partners, as well as
working with factories and suppliers to communicate all required
information from the product team.
Key areas of responsibility include:
- Reviewing spec packages and samples (outbound and inbound) from
suppliers to assure execution of original spec and design intent and
provide feedback on recommendations on how to proceed
- Planning and tracking the development schedule of assigned products
and packaging to ensure timely execution according to the product
development calendar
- Influencing product, material, tooling, and assembly methods, to
ensure that products meet or exceed predetermined cost and margin targets
- Maintaining and developing a specifications process and
contributing to spec documents for all products managed as well as
maintaining all records, style files, and samples associated with the
product development activities including progressing initial
specifications to QC level specifications
- Partnering with suppliers to ensure the superior quality and timely
delivery of prototype samples, sales samples, and golden samples for
each product, collection, and season
- Building and maintaining accurate development reports to track
tools, tool costs, material and color information, minimums, costs
and lead times
- Monitoring developments, anticipating problems, and addressing
/facilitating solutions in a timely manner to minimize quality
problems and production delays
- Communicating clearly with vendors on a timely basis, to convey
design, function, quality and feature requirements
- Addressing all product quality issues by determining root cause and
corrective action, and facilitating solutions internally and with suppliers
- Managing prototyping and product change plans for unforeseen device
changes and related required planning that arises as a result of new
device modifications or customer requirements
- Managing product development across vendors to maintain consistency
and overall quality across product lines and manufacturers
- Making sound business recommendations to the Incase Product
Development managers
Required Skills:
- BA/BS degree in Industrial Design, Engineering, or Manufacturing preferred
- 1-2 years of industry experience preferred, a plus for plastics
experience related to technology accessories
- Must have dynamic understanding of the design and development
process from concept to production
- Broad knowledge of rubbers and plastics and injection molding
techniques is preferred
- Understanding of industry testing protocols, and basic production
processes is preferred
- Experience working with Asian suppliers is preferred
- Must be very organized and have exemplary time management skills
- Must be a critical thinker and excellent communicator,
decision-maker, and consensus builder
- Strong attention to detail
- Ability to prioritize and re-prioritize workload needed
- Strong written and verbal communication skills are required
- Ability to develop strong partnerships and build consensus; equally
capable at working independently
- Proficiency with PC/MAC (spreadsheets, word processing) required
- Proficiency with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and related
tools/programs required
- Must be willing to travel to China up to 30% of the time
- Fluency in Mandarin or Cantonese is a strong plus
If interested, please submit cover letter, resume, and portfolio to
both Scott Davis (<mailto:scott_at_goincase.com>scott_at_goincase.com) and
Parmita Dalal (<mailto:parmita_at_goincase.com>parmita_at_goincase.com)
with the email subject:
Product Development Specialist
For more information about our company and products, please visit
<
http://www.goincase.com>www.goincase.com
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listed in the posting. Please do not "reply" to the posting messages.
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Received on 2011-04-27 12:29:22