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Manager, Footwear Product Developer

San Francisco, CA

Location:  San Francisco, CA | Productr Development | Reports to Senior Director, Product Creation

Who is Allbirds?

At Allbirds, we’re on a mission to prove that comfort, good design and sustainability don’t have to be mutually exclusive. We are dedicated to making the most sustainable footwear we can using premium natural materials, designed for the to and fro of everyday life. Our commitment to making better shoes in a better way is fueled by a belief that the shoe industry needs to focus less on flash and more on thoughtfulness. TIME already called our first shoe, the Wool Runners, the most comfortable in the world, and there is much more to come.

 

The Role

The Senior Manager of Product Development will lead and manage the footwear product creation process from initial concept and design through prototyping, sales samples, and the timely approval of production confirmation samples. This role involves setting strategic direction, managing complex project portfolios, and mentoring a team of product developers. You will be responsible for overseeing project timelines, leading critical gate sample reviews, and facilitating seamless cross-functional communication and collaboration with key stakeholders including design, product management, product testing, costing, and materials teams to inform strategic decision-making. The Senior Manager ensures all projects meet brand and consumer needs, manufacturing and performance requirements, and aggressive costing targets. You will champion continuous improvement in all areas of product creation to ensure the delivery of high-quality, sustainable products for our consumers. This role will be instrumental in bringing our vision to life, overseeing the entire product development lifecycle from concept to commercialization. You'll be a strategic leader, fostering collaboration across teams, and ensuring that every product we launch embodies the Allbirds ethos of quality, comfort, and environmental responsibility.

Your Impact

The primary functions of this role include, but are not limited to:

  • Strategic Leadership & Project Portfolio Management:
    • Develop and implement strategic product development roadmaps in alignment with Allbirds' brand vision and business objectives.
    • Oversee a portfolio of complex product development projects, ensuring alignment with overall company goals and timely execution.
    • Identify and mitigate potential risks in the development process, proactively seeking solutions to keep projects on track.
    • Set up and lead regular, high-level project team meetings to review product briefs, design details, material and color CADs, samples, factory product tear-down notes, comprehensive costing information, and extensive wear-test feedback.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration & Communication:
    • Act as a primary liaison between Design, Product Management, Asia Development & Commercialization, and Factory partners throughout the development and sampling process.
    • Drive robust communication strategies via initial tech-packs, regular email correspondence, and video conferencing calls, ensuring strict adherence to the product creation calendar for on-time delivery of key gate samples and ultimate on-time product confirmation.
    • Foster a highly collaborative environment, ensuring effective information flow and decision-making across all contributing teams.
  • Technical Oversight & Quality Assurance:
    • Lead the product team through a rigorous sample review process, evaluating intricate technical project details related to upper patterning, 2D/3D tooling drawings, manufacturing processes, detailed cost breakdowns, material specifications, and comprehensive product test reports. Provide decisive recommendations to project teams on next steps.
    • Champion the fit test validation process, actively participating in evaluating wear test reports and interpreting wear test feedback at each key gate to inform critical product decisions.
    • Drive the integration of sustainable materials and manufacturing processes into all product development cycles.
  • Process Optimization & Data Management:
    • Oversee and optimize the utilization of PLM systems (e.g., Centric PLM) for comprehensive product data and document management, Bill of Materials (BOM) creation and maintenance, sample orders, and final product confirmation (ready to buy).
    • Develop and implement best practices for samples management, storage, and organization, ensuring efficiency and accessibility.
    • Continuously seek opportunities to streamline and improve the product development process, implementing innovative solutions.

Who You Are

You are an exceptional leader, driven for excellence, and a proactive self-starter with a proven track record of managing complex product development cycles. You thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced, and globally-connected organization with numerous competing deadlines and priorities. You possess:

  • Resilience & Adaptability: Ability to navigate stress and excel in high-pressure environments, maintaining composure and focus while juggling competing priorities.
  • Collaborative & Influential: An exceptionally effective collaborative approach, coupled with superior project management, communication, and organizational skills. You can influence stakeholders at all levels.
  • Curious & Innovative: A profoundly curious mindset and exceptional creative technical problem-solving abilities. You are passionate about pushing boundaries and finding innovative solutions for sustainable product creation.
  • Strategic & Action-Oriented: Inquisitive and thrive in working with a diverse group of product experts, designers, and external partners. You are passionate about product creation and driven to generate solutions that the footwear industry has never seen before. You organize activities with a structured mindset to create clear actions from ambiguous starting points and effectively communicate actionable plans for your project teams.
  • Entrepreneurial Spirit: Most importantly, you bring an entrepreneurial mindset with a positive attitude and a bias towards action and continuous learning. You're not afraid to challenge the status quo, explore new possibilities and ask questions when you’re not familiar with something new.

More practical skills needed:

  • BA/BS preferred and/or 5+ years’ experience in product development or 7+ years experience in lieu of a degree
  • Knowledge of basic footwear patterns and how to communicate changes
  • Experience with footwear specifications and footwear construction
  • Product Testing experience - both on-body and physical property testing
  • Experience with Adobe Illustrator and CAD pattern design software
  • Excellent communication and project management skills
  • Experience with Microsoft Applications and PLM systems such as Centric Software

What do we offer?

In Office: The pay range for this role is: $118k - $130k and must be performed in our San Francisco CA. We have a hybrid work culture where we are In Office Tues-Thurs and remote Mon and Fri.

Allbirds routinely evaluates pay rates, and the ranges are subject to change based on market rates and other considerations.  We factor in a number of components when determining starting pay, including the job and level you are hired into, location, skillset, experience and peer compensation.

Diversity

Allbirds is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. Allbirds policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, marital or veteran status, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member), sexual orientation, pregnancy, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. It also prohibits discrimination based on a perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics. All such discrimination is unlawful.

 

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