Senior Product Development Manager – Toys

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Oversee the complete development and commercialization process of Comfrt's toy category, which encompasses sensory toys, squishy toys, weighted plush items, novelty toys, and comfort-oriented products.

• Create strategic product roadmaps that align with consumer demands, emerging trends, and business growth goals.

• Analyze sales metrics, including revenue, unit sales, sell-through rates, average unit retail (AUR), gross margins, inventory productivity, and overall profitability.

• Convert sales data, consumer insights, and market research into actionable product innovation and assortment recommendations.

• Perform competitive market analysis to identify trends, opportunities for expansion, pricing strategies, and the growth potential of the category.

• Assess the commercial viability of product concepts, focusing on demand, pricing, cost structures, margins, and projected sales.

• Present data-driven insights and business opportunities to senior leadership to influence decision-making.

• Manage the product development process from concept and design handoff to production approval.

• Collaborate with the Senior Toy Designer to create technically sound and commercially feasible products.

• Direct the technical development across various product categories, including plush, weighted toys, sensory items, squishy toys, novelty products, and emerging categories.

• Evaluate feasibility, construction methods, functionality, materials, and manufacturing capabilities.

• Handle multiple development projects simultaneously, troubleshoot issues, and provide effective solutions.

• Research and innovate new materials, textures, constructions, and product functionalities.

• Coordinate with domestic and international factories from the prototyping phase to production readiness.

• Collaborate with Sourcing to assess manufacturing partners based on their capabilities, costs, quality, capacity, and expertise.

• Lead vendor negotiations and manage samples, revisions, communication, timelines, quality assurance, costs, and milestones.

• Work with QA and accredited laboratories to ensure compliance with ASTM F963, CPSIA, CPSC requirements, and other relevant standards.

• Investigate testing failures, implement corrective measures, and review production-quality samples.

• Manage the toy category development calendar, overseeing prototyping, sampling, approvals, costing, testing, and production handoff timelines.

• Maintain development trackers, product specifications, and project documentation.

• Communicate risks, delays, decisions, product opportunities, financial impacts, and project status to leadership.

• Collaborate with Design, Merchandising, Sourcing, QA, Finance, Operations, and Marketing to deliver innovative and profitable products.

• Facilitate cross-functional meetings, drive alignment, and translate decisions into actionable steps.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Product Development, Product Engineering, Industrial Design, Business, Merchandising, or a related field.

• 7–10+ years of experience in product development, particularly in toys, plush items, sensory products, or related consumer goods.

• Demonstrated success in developing and commercializing innovative products from concept to mass production.

• Strong commercial insight and the ability to analyze sales performance, market trends, competitive data, and product profitability.

• In-depth understanding of retail mathematics, including AUR, COGS, IMU, gross margin, sell-through rates, sales forecasting, and inventory performance.

• Experience in identifying consumer and market opportunities and transforming insights into profitable product innovations.

• Extensive technical knowledge of toy construction, materials, manufacturing processes, and product engineering.

• Strong grasp of toy safety standards, compliance requirements, and testing protocols.

• Experience in direct collaboration with overseas manufacturing partners, especially in Asia.

• Proven experience in managing product costs, value engineering, and target-margin objectives.

• Advanced skills in Excel or Google Sheets, including the ability to interpret and analyze product performance and financial data.

• Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical problem-solving, project management, and communication skills.

• Ability to juggle multiple priorities and meet stringent development timelines.

• Preferred: experience in building or scaling a new product category within a fast-growing consumer brand.

• Preferred: experience in developing weighted plush, sensory toys, stress-relief products, or innovative comfort-focused items.

• Preferred: strong understanding of consumer behavior, market trends, and retail or direct-to-consumer business models.

• Preferred: experience in preparing business cases, product performance analyses, and strategic recommendations for leadership.

• Preferred: knowledge of injection molding, silicone molding, foam manufacturing, plush construction, and filling technologies.

• Preferred: established relationships with toy manufacturers, material suppliers, and testing laboratories.

• Preferred: successful experience working in remote or hybrid environments.

• Preferred: ability to work independently while effectively collaborating across functions.

• Preferred: highly organized, detail-oriented, and proactive, with a strong sense of urgency and accountability.

🏝️ Benefits

• Generous paid time off.

• Company-covered health insurance.

• 5% 401k match.

• Discounts on all Comfrt products.

• Supportive, creative environment.

• Flexibility and collaborative support in a fully remote setting.

• Value placed on ideas and growth.