Material Development Manager Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Company Overview 

Vesta Home is changing the way that homes are marketed--and furniture is sold. We're obsessed with the client experience for our full-service offerings: interior design, luxury staging, elevated furniture rentals and custom furniture production, fueled by our proprietary technology and logistics expertise. 

Founded in 2017, our team of 50+ designers creates thoughtful, stunning interiors for residential, commercial and hospitality projects. We proudly partner with top realtors, developers, the design trade and personalities on some of the most prestigious properties on the high-end market; chances are, you've seen our interiors in major design magazines as well as shows like Bravo's Million Dollar Listings and Netflix's Selling Sunset. 

The #1 home staging brand in the country, Vesta's design and local market depth in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and South Florida helps to sell multimillion-dollar properties faster and above ask-and allows buyers to seamlessly move into beautiful furnished spaces. The company's interior design and custom furniture services are available worldwide. 

Our Core Values: 

• Get it done! We are doers, creators and problem-solvers with a bias toward action. We see every business challenge as an opportunity, always bringing solutions, and believe no challenge is too great to solve collectively. 
• Pursue design excellence: We believe exceptional design is a function of continuous improvement, and apply this purity of purpose to our process, products and people. 
• Execute in partnership, and with pride: We rise by lifting others and are most successful when our clients and colleagues are successful as well. Our team is self-motivated and takes pride in our craft. 
• Invest in growth: We approach business with an entrepreneurial spirit. We are intensely focused on progress, believing profitable growth is the path forward. We "invest, not spend," valuing impact and the efficient achievement of results. 
• Own the Outcome: We develop the most talented people, empowering them to offer a world-class design experience with an unwavering attention to detail that clients can trust. We obsess over the client journey, aiming for perfection but accepting excellence, every step of the way. 

Role Summary 

Vesta Home is seeking a Furniture Product Development Manager to oversee the end-to-end development of proprietary furniture and decor collections. Reporting to the VP of Manufacturing, this role partners closely with Merchandising, Inventory, and Procurement to deliver best-in-class products aligned with the brand's vision and standards. 

This position serves as the central driver of day-to-day product development execution across Vesta's global vendor network. The role maintains full visibility into the product pipeline, ensures disciplined milestone management, and supports the company's sourcing strategy. This role is primarily responsible for the pre-production phase of the product lifecycle, ensuring products are fully vetted, costed, specified, and ready for order placement. 

The ideal candidate brings a passion for thoughtful design and quality craftsmanship, along with hands-on experience in international manufacturing across major home furnishings categories. They possess strong fluency in materiality and construction, demonstrate effectiveness in cost negotiation and value engineering support, and excel at cross-functional execution in fast-paced environments. 

About the Role 

The Furniture Product Development Manager manages vendor and material development activities across all categories while maintaining end-to-end visibility of Vesta's global product pipeline. This role oversees execution with the existing vendor network while proactively surfacing new partner opportunities, material innovations, and emerging production techniques. 

The role leads new vendor onboarding execution, drives product readiness from concept through launch, and manages critical development workflows including cost tracking, product sampling, and testing coordination. This position owns the Master Product Development Calendar, drives cross-functional communication, and ensures real-time pipeline transparency for leadership. This role provides the VP of Manufacturing with forward visibility into sampling status, vendor workload, and upcoming production readiness. 

Product Development & Pipeline Execution 

• Manage day-to-day product development from concept through production readiness 
• Own and maintain the Master Product Development Calendar across all categories 
• Track and report product status across key milestones (Concept sampling costing compliance production readiness) 
• Ensure development timelines remain aligned with approved production plans 
• Provide regular pipeline visibility and status reporting to leadership 

Vendor Development & Sourcing Support 

• Manage day-to-day communication with vendors regarding samples, specifications, and timelines 
• Support material sourcing and development initiatives across categories 
• Identify and surface new vendor or material opportunities for leadership review 
• Execute onboarding for new vendors 
• Maintain vendor development scorecards (timelines, responsiveness, sample quality) 

Cost, Sampling & Product Readiness 

• Track product cost development and support value engineering initiatives 
• Partner with Procurement and Merchandising on cost optimization opportunities 
• Coordinate product sampling, testing, and technical review workflows 
• Help ensure products are fully documented and production-ready, including:

• Specifications 
• Cost inputs 
• Packaging requirements 
• Required compliance documentation 
• Photography readiness 

Cross-Functional Program Management 

• Serve as the central coordinator across Merchandising, Procurement, Inventory, and Manufacturing 
• Run regular development reviews and milestone checkpoints 
• Ensure clean, timely handoffs between teams 
• Surface risks, delays, and dependencies with recommended actions 
• Support Merchandising in translating design intent into production-ready requirements 

Data Integrity & Systems Management 

• Support the implementation and ongoing maintenance of product lifecycle management (PLM) tools and workflows 
• Maintain accurate product status reporting in Eames, SSCI, or successor systems 
• Partner with SKU Build and Inventory teams to ensure clean item setup 
• Ensure development dashboards and trackers remain current and reliable 
• Support Vesta's transition to a more data-driven product organization 

Process & Continuous Improvement 

• Help build and maintain Vesta's centralized materials library, including fabrics, finishes, hardware, and other key components 
• Help standardize product development SOPs and milestone gates 
• Partner with Merchandising and Supply Chain to ensure material standards, specifications, and reference samples remain current and accessible 
• Contribute to improving data structure and visibility across the product development process 
• Identify opportunities to improve development speed and vendor performance 
• Support vendor performance improvement initiatives prior to production investment 
• Contribute to a high-accountability, solutions-oriented team culture 

Success in this role is defined by: 

• Delivering predictable, on-time product launches that meet design intent 
• Improving vendor responsiveness and development discipline 
• Maintaining clean, reliable pipeline visibility for leadership 
• Supporting proactive risk identification across the global supply chain 

Requirements

•  5+ years in product development, sourcing, merchandising operations, or supply chain coordination 
• Experience working with global vendors or overseas production environments 
• Experience with PLM, ERP, or product lifecycle systems 
• Familiarity with UL, Prop 65, packaging, or product documentation workflows 
• Strong project coordination and timeline management skills 
• High proficiency in Excel / Google Sheets (pivots, trackers, dashboards) 
• Experience working cross-functionally in fast-paced environments 
• Strong attention to detail and follow-through 
• Furniture, home, or hard goods experience 
• Exposure to China, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, or Mexico vendor environments 

Benefits

• 401k 
• Medical Insurance 
• Dental Insurance 
• Vision Insurance 
• Employer-covered Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability (LTD) plans (with Medical Insurance election) 

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.

Vesta is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and welcome candidates from all backgrounds. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.