Director, Product Development

Director of Product Development, mophie

About mophie: (A ZAGG Brand)

At mophie, we are passionate creators, expanding mobile boundaries with groundbreaking wireless and portable charging solutions. We innovate to keep you mobile, free, and powerful. mophie is the proud developer of the original juice pack, and our products are recognized for their style and engineered for performance.

What You'll Do

The Director of Product Development will lead new product development, product redesign and enhancements. This role will provide direction to the Product Development team, with staff both in the US and overseas, on their assigned categories as well as manage key projects. Reporting directly to the VP of Product, mophie, and working closely with other key stakeholders, the Director helps create plans, development models and frameworks that coordinate the series of activities and deliverables from subject matter experts and owners across multiple disciplines and regions, both internal and external resources, necessary ultimately for the delivery of the product roadmap on time, on scope, and on cost.

Working in collaboration with the other key stakeholders, particularly the Product Management and Engineering leads within the mophie Product department, as well as directly with key suppliers and contract manufacturers who are critical partners in the development and production activities, the Director of Product Development will direct the product development process from concept to post-launch analysis. In addition to working with internal business units, this position will act as a contact for vendors, manufacturers and suppliers. The Director will also be a mentor for members of their team; will be responsible for budgets, reporting, staffing, performance management, terminations, and other HR related activities in their department and assigned categories.

Responsibilities

30% - New Product Introduction (NPI), Key Projects

• Own all product development of approved new products from Concept through to Manufacturing ramp until hand over to operations team for sustaining orders.

• Prepare Request for Quote (RFQ) documentation with core teams for quoting with potential suppliers, manage the RFQ activities that drive toward development kick-off, and select contract manufacturer and 3rd party solutions development partners for each project

• Prepare Budgetary and Cost estimates for new products using historical data and additional data from internal team and/or suppliers, providing these for planning purposes and maintaining project scope to confirm and achieve target product margins

• Delegate tasks and responsibilities to appropriate personnel per project plans and follow-up as necessary

• Effectively communicate project expectations and status to team members and stakeholders in a timely and clear fashion

• Address technical, timeline, and cost issues that arise during typically aggressive developmental schedules, with creative and outside-the-box ideation and decision making to solve problems and appropriately escalate to management team for additional support when needed, guide the team through adjustments and alterations promptly and efficiently

30% - Process Leadership & Personnel Management

• Lead a team of up to 10 members, most located remotely in the US and China, training and developing to maximize productivity of the PD department

• Document and evolve the product development framework for mophie product categories, including documents, meetings, trackers, and processes, with a focus on project plans that coordinate the broad range and stream of activities required for a successful product launch

• Train and drive successful implementation of the project plans and product development framework with the individuals on the Product Development team, as well as other stakeholders in the business, including Engineering, Product Management, Operations, Marketing, Sales

• Review and present presentations and supporting documents to present status and/or mitigation plans to internal stakeholders, both internal leadership and Sales contacts for use with external customers

• Develop a cohesive and healthy hand-off process to Operations during and after manufacturing ramp for sustained production and delivery post-launch

• Provide budget estimates and work with PM, Finance, Operations and Sales to establish budgets for fiscal year.

15% - Product & Project Life Cycle

• Monitor and drive changes to products that are in sustaining mass production process using the established Engineering Change Orders (ECO) in partnership with Product Engineering

• Establish a cost engineering framework and goals for products to cost-down over the product life cycle, then drive projects, activities, and negotiations with partners to achieve those goals

• Create and manage annual project budget estimates for fiscal year.

• Participate in Product End-Of-Life (EOL) Cycle process, action plans for disposition of material liabilities left from canceled projects and/or EOL process.

• Conduct project post-mortems to identify lessons learned.

15% - Supplier & Partner Management

• Own the development and execution of overall supplier strategy for all NPI programs, developing relationships with and capabilities at suppliers vital to the success of the business

• Run new supplier evaluations and selection process for mophie Approved Vendor List (AVL), and then establish and run regular business reviews with those suppliers, producing a regular Product Supplier Scorecards that highlight strengths and weaknesses at each supplier and kick-off potential projects to address any issues or opportunities with the suppliers

15% - Other activities as needed

What You'll Need To Be Successful

• 15+ years' experience as a Product Development Manager, with 5+ years as Director Product Management (or higher) in consumer electronics products, preferably in the mobile power products categories

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering or similar field is preferred.

• Extensive experience in the processes for development and manufacturing of consumer electronics, with proven track record of successfully leading fast-paced Product Management teams

• Strong background in finding and working with overseas solutions and manufacturing partners, particularly in China

• Must have deep experience developing product project plans and proven history of creative problem solving the variety of development, manufacturing, and decision making challenges and issues that come up during product development

• Must be a leader. Able to inspire others to action, lead and develop individuals to become high performing at their roles, and establish tools, processes, and generally a culture of high performance product delivery

• Strong project management skills are a must. Must have a history of leading complex but successful projects on time and on budget with desired results

• Passionate about technology and consumer electronics

• Effective oral and written communication skills

• Able to effectively communicate with stakeholders, both internal and external, at all levels of the organization

• Must be adaptive and flexible to changing priorities, demands, and timelines

• Willing to challenge status-quo and offer alternate ways of thinking

• Must have a collaborative style and be able to cultivate and maintain an open environment where ideas are shared, questioned, and tested

What You'll Love About Zagg

Catered lunches every Wednesday

Generous PTO + 2 floating holidays

401k match

Free phone case and screen protectors

50% discount on all Zagg products

Free access to Top Golf and discounted rate on food

Tuition reimbursement

Zagg is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.