Senior Product Development Specialist - Classic Westchester

We are seeking a dynamic and skilled Senior Product Development Specialist to join our team. The ideal candidate will possess strong sense of home interior style, negotiation skills, a keen eye for design and market trends, a passion for product and a dedication to maintaining quality standards. This role presents an exciting opportunity to design/curate our product range, enhance profitability, and lead the way in a design-driven industry.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Manage the development and sourcing of new product introductions from concept through delivery, including trend direction, product ideas/design, sourcing, costing, sampling, ordering, quality, testing, marketing, and delivery.

2. Create merchandising assortments and pricing strategies with excellent margins and customer appeal. Keep current with costing challenges and understand pricing in order to develop products that achieve appropriate wholesale price and margins.

3. Negotiate pricing and terms with overseas suppliers to ensure competitive advantage and profitability.

4. Analyze and identify product assortment needs for buying trips and developments that reflect market trends, match customer needs and respond to current sales trends.

5. Manage the timelines, workflow, and milestone dates for product development to ensure all target dates are met.

6. Present and prepare final line reviews to executive management.

7. Participate in the development of sales collateral by providing marketing team with product samples and product information.

8. Prepare product marketing videos for to be used by Sales Team and on our website to promote products.

9. Ensure product is compliant through initial regulation requirements in product sourcing as well as generating internal testing requests to Product Compliance Team to perform required product testing.

10. Inspect all initial shipments in collaboration with Quality Assurance and Inventory Management to ensure merchandise meets company quality standards.

11. Stay abreast of industry trends, competitor activities, and consumer preferences.

12. Act as an information resource about products for internal departments.

13. Travel both domestically and internationally to trade shows, as needed

Qualifications:

· Bachelor's degree in relevant area of study

· Minimum 5 years of experience in product development or sourcing.

· Experience in calculating landed costs, including freight, duties, taxes, and other import-related expenses, is required.

· Interior Design background is a plus

· Proven track record of successfully translating trend insights into commercially viable product designs that drive sales and customer engagement.

· Team player with strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills

· Intermediate to advanced working in Excel, knowledge of Netsuite and FileMaker systems a plus

· Experience in a fast-paced environment with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

· Strong project management skills and attention to detail are essential.

· Knowledge of manufacturing processes, materials, and production techniques is desirable.