What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Product Development Manager position at JEM INTERNATIONAL, INC.?
Location: New York / New Jersey (Hybrid)
About the Role
We are looking for a Senior Product Development Manager to lead and own product creation across our Home portfolio, including bath, kitchen, food storage, hydration, beach, and everyday lifestyle products. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who has already developed successful consumer products and is ready to take full ownership, build systems, and elevate an entire category.
This role is ideal for a young, sharp, high-energy leader—someone who understands trends, retail expectations, cost structures, and manufacturing realities, and who can move quickly without sacrificing quality. You will work closely with design, sourcing, merchandising, sales, and leadership to bring products from concept to shelf.
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What You’ll Do
Product Ownership & Strategy
• Own the end-to-end product development lifecycle across multiple home categories
• Drive category roadmaps aligned with business goals, margin targets, and customer needs
• Identify gaps and opportunities through trend research, competitive analysis, and retail feedback
• Translate ideas into clear, executable product briefs
Leadership & Execution
• Lead and mentor junior product developers and cross-functional partners
• Be the point person for product decisions, timelines, and approvals
• Push teams forward with urgency while maintaining structure and accountability
• Act as a true owner, not just a coordinator
Design, Costing & Manufacturing
• Collaborate with design to ensure products are on-trend, functional, and retail-ready
• Work directly with overseas and domestic factories to develop samples, tooling, and final production
• Manage costing, target pricing, margin optimization, and value engineering
• Ensure materials, specs, and packaging meet brand and compliance standards
Retail & Market Readiness
• Develop products with mass retail, e-commerce, and private label in mind
• Understand retailer requirements (Target, Walmart, Amazon, TJX, etc.)
• Support sales with product knowledge, line reviews, and presentation readiness
• Balance speed-to-market with quality and scalability
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Who You Are
• A natural leader—confident, decisive, and respected by teams and vendors
• Young but experienced: you’ve already launched real products, not just concepts
• Highly organized, fast-moving, and detail-driven
• Trend-aware but commercially grounded—you know what sells
• Comfortable working directly with factories, designers, and executives
• Excited to build, improve, and scale systems—not maintain the status quo
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Qualifications
• 5–8 years of product development experience in consumer goods
• Strong background in home, kitchen, bath, storage, hydration, or lifestyle products
• Proven experience managing multiple SKUs and categories simultaneously
• Deep understanding of costing, materials, manufacturing, and packaging
• Experience working with overseas factories (Asia preferred)
• Retail and/or DTC product experience strongly preferred
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Why This Role Is Different
• You’re not inheriting a rigid system—you’ll help build and shape it
• High visibility and real influence on product direction
• Fast-growing, design-forward consumer brands
• Opportunity to grow into a Director-level role as the company scales