What are the responsibilities and job description for the Product Manager position at HydroJug?
PRODUCT MANAGER — HYDROJUG
Reports to: Director of Supply & Sourcing
ABOUT THE ROLE
HydroJug's standard New Variety Development (NVD) calendar runs on a 15-month rolling cycle. That cadence is right for the core business. But product-as-marketing moves faster — limited drops, trend responses, and brand-moment programs that need to be on-shelf in weeks, not months. That's the Rush Products lane.
This matrix PM owns that lane. You report canonically to the VP of Supply Chain and run a dotted line directly to the CEO, Hayden Wadsworth, who sets Rush product direction. You partner with the NPD team and the Rush Products Surface Print Designer, and you coordinate Brand, eCommerce, and Marketing on launch timing so fast-turn doesn't mean chaotic-turn.
Rush is a discipline, not a shortcut. Your job is to build and maintain a fast-lane stage-gate that is actually faster — not a standard stage-gate with pressure on it.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- HydroJug Rush Products roadmap drop calendar — the single source of truth for every Rush program in flight; you keep it current and honest
- Fast-turn stage-gate discipline — a slimmed, time-boxed gate process purpose-built for quick-turn that does not sacrifice quality or margin; you design it, own it, and hold teams to it
- Supplier coordination for quick-turn — knows which suppliers can move fast, manages relationships for speed, surfaces lead-time risk before it becomes a miss
- Cross-functional launch coordination — Brand, eCommerce, Marketing; everybody needs to know when Rush drops are coming and what they need to have ready; you are the air traffic controller
- Rush drop post-mortems — cycle time actuals vs. commit, what broke, what to improve; this lane gets better every cycle
SUCCESS CRITERIA
30 days — All active Rush programs are logged, calendared, and visible. You have met every supplier in the Rush network and know their real lead times, not their sales-pitch lead times.
60 days — First Rush drop launched under your ownership, on commit date. Fast-lane stage-gate is documented and socialized. Cross-functional team knows you are the coordination layer.
90 days — Rush cycle time is baselined. You can articulate the delta between your fast-lane and the standard NVD calendar — and show it is shrinking, not growing. Supplier responsiveness score is tracked.
QUALIFICATIONS
Speed without discipline is just chaos with urgency. The Rush lane has to be genuinely faster than standard NPD — that means fewer gates, tighter timelines, and pre-qualified suppliers. But every gate that exists must hold. One compromised-quality Rush drop can do real brand damage.
Your dotted line to Hayden means you will get Rush direction early and directly. Use that access to build a tight brief-to-calendar translation — when Hayden has a Rush idea, you need to be able to turn it into a realistic commit date within 48 hours.
You are not building a team. This is an IC seat. Your leverage is process, relationships, and calendar discipline — not headcount.
ABOUT HYDROJUG, INC.
HydroJug, Inc. is a consumer brand headquartered in Ogden, Utah, designing and selling premium hydration and lifestyle products through direct-to-consumer and major retail channels.