Senior Product Development Manager
4 days ago
New York
Senior Product Development Manager Full-time New York, NY Company Overview At Parallelle, we are redefining the art of organization for life on the move. What began with The Travellers, our patented and thoughtfully designed beauty bag, has evolved into a broader mission rooted in intentional design, innovation, and everyday functionality. Built on the belief that organization creates ease, confidence, and clarity, our products are designed to simplify routines while elevating the way people move through their day. From our patented folding technology to our expanding product line, every detail reflects a commitment to craftsmanship, originality, and purpose. Founded by Annie Fan, whose 20 plus years of experience designing for leading beauty brands informs every product, Parallelle was created to solve real, everyday challenges. Today, we continue to innovate with the goal of helping our customers Arrive Organized and experience life with greater ease, style, and intention. Job Overview We are looking for a Senior Manager of Product Development to join Parallelle at a pivotal moment in our growth. This is a newly created 4-month contract role, with a clear path to full-time, built-in response to the scale and ambition of our expanding product roadmap. Reporting to our VP of Production & Supply Chain and working closely with our Founder and Senior Designers, you will own the full development lifecycle from design handoff through factory approval. That means tech packs, sample rounds, vendor communication, material sourcing, costing, and launch calendars, managed with precision and urgency. The right person has done this before in a startup environment, holds themselves to a high standard, and is ready to build the PD infrastructure that allows a growing brand to scale. Key Responsibilities Product Development & Sample Management • Own the end-to-end development process across all categories — from design handoff through final production ready approval, managing tech packs, sample rounds, and factory feedback with precision and urgency, • Maintain a master development tracker across all active styles, giving every department real time visibility into where each product stands Factory & Vendor Communication • Serve as the primary point of contact with overseas factories, owning all follow up independently, building strong vendor relationships that support faster turnarounds, consistent quality, and proactive problem solving across both existing and new categories Calendar & Timeline Management • Own the product development calendar across all active styles, ensuring every milestone is tracked, communicated, and aligned with production order deadlines and launch windows, • Identify risks before they become delays by flagging the issue, the impact, and a proposed solution in the same communication Material & Hardware Development • Manage lab dip approvals, material submissions, and hardware sourcing, maintaining an organized material library with clear sourcing, costing, and lead time records, • Partner with designers to translate creative references into technically viable, cost-effective specifications that preserve the brand's premium standards, • Quality & Testing: Oversee wear and stress testing across zippers, straps, seams, and hardware to ensure products meet real world performance demands and any applicable regulatory or safety standards Cross-Functional Collaboration & Process Building • Work closely with Senior Designers, the Production Manager, and the Revenue Director to ensure seamless handoffs, accurate launch timing, and no surprises across teams, • Establish and document PD processes, templates, and workflows where they do not yet exist. This role will define how product development functions at Parallelle, • Mentor the Associate Product Developer, building her capacity and enabling stronger execution across the team Experience and Skills • Degree in Accessories Design, Industrial Design, or a related field is preferred; experience that bridges technical product development and design thinking is highly valued, • 5 to 8 years of experience in product development, with a strong background in accessories, handbags, leather goods, or travel goods. Experience in bags is strongly preferred, • Deep technical knowledge of bag and accessories construction: materials, hardware, linings, stitching, closures, and manufacturing tolerances, combined with an industrial design sensibility that identifies innovative and unexpected material combinations to elevate the product beyond convention, • Proven experience managing overseas factory relationships, with strong knowledge of production calendars, lead times, and vendor communication best practices, • Experience managing multiple development timelines simultaneously across different product categories, • Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator for tech pack creation and revision, • Strong costing experience with an understanding of how design decisions affect margin, • Highly organized, self-directed and comfortable building process from scratch in a lean environment, • Strong sense of urgency without sacrificing accuracy. This role requires both speed and rigor, • Experience working with or alongside a creative founder or CCO with high standards is a meaningful plus, • Approaches each prototype not just as a technical checkpoint but as a creative problem to solve, challenging assumptions about how a bag is built and exploring alternative construction methods when standard approaches fall short What success looks like in role: • Sample rounds are reduced. Clear, complete feedback the first time means fewer back and forth rounds, • The development calendar is a live, trusted document that every department can rely on, • Designers are focused on designing and not chasing factory updates or writing vendor emails, • The VP of Production and Founder/CCO have high confidence in what is on track and early visibility into anything that is not, • New categories (weekenders, work totes, wearables, luggage) are developed with a replicable, well documented process that the team can build on, • The Associate PD is growing, receiving real mentorship and taking on increasing ownership, • Lead times are getting shorter, not longer, as the business scales Salary Disclosure and Benefits This is a 4 month contract role with a strong opportunity to transition to full time for the right person. The contract rate for this position is equivalent to an annualized salary range of $95,000 – $120,000, commensurate with experience. Should the role convert to full time, Parallelle offers a comprehensive benefits package including 100% employer paid medical coverage, PTO, and additional perks aligned with company policies.