The company:

Knafs is a goofy little company that makes interesting pocket knife schtuff. We’re a small operation with 10 employees launching this rocketship to glory in Clearfield, Utah. We sell our products on Knafs.com, Amazon, and to 40 dealers across the world.

The job:

We need someone who dreams in pocket knives. Steel, blade shapes, handles, lock types– delicious dreams. We need an experienced executor who can imagine beautiful things, then work with our teams to make them real– beginning to end. This person obsesses over trends and data. They manage manufacturing partners with a steady, clear hand. A tidy tech pack gives goosebumps. Prototypes are a dopamine hit. Sell-through is nirvana.

The job is on-site, not hybrid or remote. We need someone here to handle, poke, prod, examine, and smell products alongside our team.

Salary: 70 - 75k

APPLY >on our site

Responsibilities:

• Product: maintain, oversee, and expand our product line of pocket knives and accessories. This includes strategies, styling, go-to-market rollouts, profitability, verticals, market research, and the product life cycle. This position sits at the intersection of art and business with hands in both cookie jars. Must love cookies.
• Manage: new product development calendars and timelines, drawings, prototypes, feedback, running changes, project management software (monday.com), and that cabinet of samples that always seems to be overflowing.
• More Manage: this position is part of the management team at Knafs and will be involved in hiring, performance evaluations, coaching, quarterly meetings, goals, planning, and high-level direction of the company. Currently manages one in-house Industrial Designer.

Essential Skillz:

• Communication: this is the most important. Communicating vision via tech packs, emailing suppliers, managing products, interfacing with manufacturing, marketing, and ops– this person must be a master communicator and networker.
• Data: loves quantitative data neatly organized in pivot tables while recognizing the qualitative comment from our Facebook group might bring clarity to 10k rows of Excel data. Market research is oxygen. Data drives their decisions, sparks ideas, and informs where to point the rocketship.
• Pocket Knives: must have or quickly develop deep interest in pocket knives and the knife community: steel types, materials, manufacturing methods, and that obscure subreddit that argues about Vanadium. Must maintain a constant curiosity about knives.
• Project Management: proven ability to get schtuff done with waypoints, deadlines, timelines, and extreme ownership.
• Manufacturing: Must understand or learn the basics of CNC processes, stamping, die-cutting, finishing, stonewashing, laser cutting, water jet, wire EDM, stamping, hot forge, anodizing, grinding, fixtures, tooling, injection molding, sewing, and stitching.
• Relationships: Must discover and navigate the culture and flow of each manufacturing partner in our supply chain. Must be skilled at collaborating, encouraging, negotiating, and pushing partners. And darn it, sometimes you just have to find new partners to reach goals.
• Rapid Prototyping: work with the team to create 3D printing, cardboard cutouts, a hacksaw and a file– anything to conceptualize a physical product and keep it moving to completion.
• R D: tear down prototypes, systematically test, torture, and provide feedback to improve.
• Problem Solving: most of our messes don’t come with an instruction manual. You must be able to look critically at the mess and decide if you use a paper towel, mop, or plumber to clean it up. We haven’t had to call a plumber yet.
• Education: 4-5 years work experience, preferably in hard goods line management. Bachelor’s degree in business, product marketing, product management, or industrial design preferred. Degrees from the school of hard knocks are also perfectly acceptable, provided the skills and work experience line up.
• Travel: yearly travel to China, Taiwan, and U.S. suppliers required, along with occasional jaunts to trade shows; approximately 3-4 weeks of total travel yearly. Mandarin proficiency is a huge plus, but not required.
• Helpful Skillz: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, basic CAD (Fusion 360). Not required, but helpful.
• Able to work in an office environment, including sitting for long periods.

Additional Information

Notes on the Company:

We run on a healthy handful of core values:

• Kind - We make their day
• Efficient - Intelligent, proactive action
• Dependable - We do it right
• Humble - Willing to listen, learn, and teach
• Goofy - Make it fun

Benefits:

• 401(k) with company match
• 9 paid yearly holidays
• 12 days of accrued PTO yearly
• Employee discounts on everything we make.
• Growth: Knafs is on a wild growth pattern right now. We’re seeing cool things happen, and we need people who are willing to grow with us. We can’t promise you the Moon, but that’s where we’re headed.
• Note: we don’t offer health benefits yet, but it’s on our list of things we’re working toward as a small company.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $70,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Employee discount
• Free parking
• Paid time off

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Experience:

• Microsoft Excel: 1 year (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Clearfield, UT 84015 (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Clearfield, UT 84015: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person