Product Developer Furniture Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Position Overview

The Product Developer will lead the creation, development, and launch of new home décor products for the wholesale market. This role is responsible for turning market insights, trend research, and customer needs into commercially successful product assortments. The Product Developer collaborates closely with design, sourcing, sales, merchandising, and manufacturing partners to ensure products are on-trend, cost-effective, and delivered on schedule.

Ideal candidates have strong aesthetic vision, hands-on product development experience, and a solid understanding of materials, manufacturing processes, and wholesale profit structures.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development & Design

• Develop new home décor items—including decorative accessories, wall décor, textiles, seasonal décor, accent furniture, and tabletop products—aligned with brand and category strategy.
• Translate trend research, consumer insights, and competitive analysis into product concepts.
• Create and manage product briefs, sketches, tech packs, and spec sheets.
• Review samples for quality, design accuracy, scale, and commercial viability.
• Ensure all products meet target cost, margin, safety requirements, and quality standards.

Trend, Market & Consumer Research

• Identify key style trends, color palettes, materials, and motifs relevant to the wholesale home décor market.
• Monitor competitive product lines, retail assortments, and industry shifts.
• Partner with sales and merchandising to understand customer needs and performance feedback.

Vendor & Production Management

• Work closely with domestic and international vendors on sampling, pricing, materials, and production timelines.
• Communicate revisions, design adjustments, and technical updates to factories.
• Evaluate vendor capabilities and ensure suppliers meet quality, compliance, and delivery expectations.
• Review pre-production and TOP (top-of-production) samples and approve final manufacturing specs.

Project & Timeline Management

• Manage development calendar to ensure all milestones are met for seasonal launches and trade show timelines.
• Maintain accurate product data, costing, dimensions, and packaging requirements.
• Partner with logistics and sourcing to resolve production issues or delays.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with design, merchandising, sales, sourcing, and marketing to bring collections to market.
• Support photo shoots and marketing content creation with product knowledge and sample management.
• Assist with trade show presentations, showroom setup, and customer line reviews.

Showroom & Trade Show Support

• Set up, merchandise, and maintain showrooms for seasonal trade shows, major markets, and customer appointments.
• Collaborate with merchandising and sales teams to ensure product displays are visually compelling, on-brand, and strategically organized by trend, category, and customer needs.
• Coordinate sample placement, signage, lighting, props, and spatial layout to create an engaging buyer experience.
• Assist with teardown, sample management, and the transition of showrooms between seasons or events.
• Support trade show logistics, including sample tracking, display planning, and on-site preparation.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Product Development, Industrial Design, Merchandising, Interior Design, or related field.
• 2–5+ years of product development experience in home décor, furniture, lifestyle goods, consumer goods, or related industry.
• Strong knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes (wood, metal, resin, ceramics, textiles, glass, etc.).
• Experience collaborating with overseas manufacturers (preferred: China, India, Vietnam).
• Proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop) and Microsoft Office.
• Strong sketching, visualization, and conceptualization skills.
• Excellent communication, organization, and project management skills.
• Ability to balance creativity with commercial strategy and cost targets.

Preferred

• Experience in wholesale or B2B product development.
• Familiarity with PLM systems and product lifecycle management tools.
• Understanding of packaging engineering and product compliance standards.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally for vendor visits and trade shows.

Key Competencies

• Creative problem-solving
• Understanding of manufacturing costs
• Time and project management
• Trend awareness and market intuition
• Collaboration and relationship building
• Adaptability in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift and move product samples (up to ~50 lbs).
• Ability to stand, walk, or move through showroom and warehouse spaces during product review periods.

Job Type: Full-time, Mon-Fri (8am-5pm), Open to Remote Candidates

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• IRA Contribution