Product Developer I, Innovations and Collaborations

At Deckers Brands, Together, Every Step is a promise kept that every employee can bring their authentic self, is valued and supported, as a whole person, at work and beyond. Together, Every Step is how we continue to deliver exceptional business results, experience an amazing place to work, and have a positive impact on the communities and world around us. 

Job Title: Product Developer I, Innovations and Collaborations
Reports to: Sr. Manager, Product Development – Innovations and Collaborations
Location:  Goleta, CA

The Role

The Product Developer I will support and partner with the innovations creation triad to ideate, incubate, and develop new concepts and collaborations into commercially stable products inside and outside of conventional creation timelines. Each project will likely be technically challenging to deliver and will require lateral thinking and problem-solving capabilities. Primarily focusing on:

• Innovations: Support Sr. Manager to translate consumer need or recognized consumer opportunity into commercial products. This will include tracking projects, ensuring milestones are met, and sharing out results.
• Collaborations: Support Sr. Manager to rapidly create new and novel product interpretations to exacting customer requirements. Balancing collaborator creative demand with manufacturing capabilities. This will include creating critical path calendars, creating/updating bill of materials, and taking a project from brief/design stage through final prototyping and production.
• Technically complex inline products and projects: Work with Sr. Manager and triad to develop and commercialize inline projects with high degrees of complexity.  Ensure projects meet performance, function, fit, margin requirements, and design intent as outlined in the product briefs. Ensure projects are ready to buy on time. Manage communication and collaboration within the product triad and with key cross-functional stakeholders to drive decision-making. Help build technical toolboxes and operating parameters.

We celebrate diversity--of your background, your experiences and your unique identity. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and equitable workplace where all of our employees can Come as They Are. We believe that when we bring our different perspectives to work, we are truly Better Together.

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

• Product Integrity and excellence
  • Strive for continuous improvement in all areas of product creation.
  • Supports and coordinates product and material testing protocols to validate product performance relevant to end use need, consumer expectation and competitor benchmarks.
  • Assist in setting expectations on project technical demands by balancing cost, timing, and solving problems.
  • Facilitates communication and collaboration with key stakeholders at all times in order to drive decision-making. Problem solves for last development, tech packages, CADs, and outsole tooling prior to hand-off for potential construction, material, fit & wear, or cost concerns.
  • Maintains awareness of latest materials, manufacturing, technological, and consumer trends.
  • Calendar, KPI, and Project management
  • Assist in building individual project creation calendars for innovations, collaborations, and technically complex inline projects.
  • Track project status and KPIs.
  • Create and maintain bill of materials for collaboration and complex inline projects.
  • Innovations and Ideation
  • Assist in executing prototyping through an established incubation process to deliver proof of concept samples. Appropriately stable, costed, and conceptually manufacturable
  • Assist in implementation of new concepts into the inline creation process.
  • Partners with triad to define innovation opportunities.
  • Ready to Buy
  • Assists in completion of product development, aligned to buy placement calendars.
  • Ensures all tasks are completed to allow correct timeframes for production teams.
  • Technical excellence and governance
  • Assist with updates and governance of technical toolboxes related to under/over foot comfort – driven by price point and end use relevance.
  • Assist in ensuring that each toolbox is validated through a quantitative and qualitative approach.
  • Maintains awareness of competitor performance relative to each toolbox.

Who You Are

•  Detail oriented and perceptive with an ability to prioritize and adapt to change. 

•  A clear and effective communicator. 

•  A self-starter with a passion for creative problem solving. 

• Ability to work in a complex global organization satisfying the needs of diverse constituents with competing deadlines and priorities. 
• Cultural interpersonal effectiveness
• Drive for results.

We’d love to hear from people with

• 2-4 years’ experience in the footwear industry
• Experience building product specifications
• Understanding of material applications for product use
• General knowledge of product constructions – upper and outsoles
• General knowledge of fit testing and last development
• General knowledge of footwear manufacturing
• General knowledge of testing protocols

What We'll Give You –

• Competitive Pay and Bonuses - We’ve created a variety of competitive compensation programs to foster career development, reward success and to show our employees just how much they’re valued.
• Financial Planning and wellbeing - No matter what financial goals our employees have set, we want to help them get there. Our plans provide powerful ways to protect income, pay for expenses and invest in the future.
• Time away from work - Sometimes we need time away to be with family, focus on our health or just simply recharge. Our plans support our employees’ needs to get out, get healthy and come back stronger than ever.
• Extras, discounts and perks - Being a valued member of the Deckers Brands team means more than just a paycheck. From generous discounts to community-based programs, we offer a variety of cool extras
• Growth and Development - Deckers Brands was built on the idea of pursuing passion. That’s why we offer extensive opportunities and support for personal and professional development.
• Health and Wellness - There’s nothing basic about our comprehensive health and wellness programs and offerings. While at work and at play, we aim to support a healthy lifestyle.
   

$85,000 - $90,000

The salary range posted reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for this role in our Goleta, CA location. Individual pay will be determined by location and additional factors, including job related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Diversity and inclusion are key to our success. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and our employees are people with different strengths, experiences and backgrounds who share a passion for our brands. We welcome qualified applicants regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, mental or physical disability, medical condition and all of the other beautiful parts of your identity.

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