Product Development Manager

ABOUT US

Founded in 1954 in Sarasota, Florida, by Burt M. Baker, a retired Lockheed Aircraft engineer, Tropitone Furniture Company built its name serving hotels, motels, clubs, and resorts before becoming a pioneer of the modern outdoor furniture industry — introducing powder-coated aluminum frames and double-wrapped vinyl strapping that set new durability standards. Over the decades the company grew from a family business into an industry leader expanding into cushion and sling seating, umbrellas, and premium woven and Sunbrella fabric collections. Today, as part of the Brown Jordan family of brands, Tropitone continues to manufacture in the U.S. and abroad, recognized industry-wide for design excellence and quality craftsmanship in outdoor living. 

Position Summary

The Product Development Manager is the central nerve of our product creation process — the individual who carries a collection from its earliest creative spark through engineering, refinement, and into the hands of the world's most discerning designers and clients. In a company built on the belief that exceptional outdoor furniture must be as enduring in construction as it is beautiful in form, this role demands someone who holds both standards simultaneously and without compromise.

This is not a siloed function. The Product Development Manager operates at the intersection of marketing, engineering, and product design, serving as the primary conduit between disciplines that each speak a different professional language. You will translate the creative vision of our designers into production-ready specifications, carry the commercial requirements of our sales and marketing teams into the development room, and ensure that every collection that reaches our showrooms and trade partners reflects the craft, quality, and aesthetic intention the brand promises.

This role owns the visual marketing plan for new product introductions — coordinating showroom presentations, trade launch strategies, and the sales and marketing tools that bring a new collection to life in the market. The ideal candidate is a rare combination: someone with genuine appreciation for design excellence, deep operational fluency, and the relational intelligence to move confidently between the studio, the factory floor, and the showroom floor.

Product Development Pipeline Overview

The Product Development Manager owns and manages the full six-stage development pipeline across all brands and collections:

• Market research, trend analysis, design briefs, competitive benchmarking and brand gate review.
• Collaboration with industrial design and engineering on form, material specification, and structural integrity
• Prototype coordination, internal review sessions, design iteration, and cross functional sign off.
• Production drawing review, materials sourcing, durability testing, and regulatory and certification requirements.
• Final BOM review, cost modeling, margin approval, lead time confirmation and production scheduling
• Visual marketing plan development, showroom planning, sales tools, trade collateral, launch campaign briefing, and channel readiness.

Key Responsibilities Pipeline Management & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Own the end-to-end product development pipeline across all brands, managing multiple collections and SKUs in simultaneous stages of development without losing precision or momentum on any single project.
• Serve as the primary point of integration between marketing, industrial design, engineering, and operations — ensuring each discipline is informed, aligned, and sequenced appropriately at every stage.
• Build and maintain master development calendars for all active collections, mapping milestones, approvals, lead times, and launch targets with the clarity and discipline the luxury market demands.
• Facilitate structured stage-gate reviews, ensuring each collection clears defined criteria for design integrity, structural soundness, cost viability, and brand alignment before advancing.
• Maintain rigorous documentation across the pipeline: design briefs, revision histories, approval records, BOM updates, and launch readiness checklists, creating an institutional memory that supports continuity and accountability.

Concept Development & Design Collaboration

• Partner with industrial designers and the creative leadership team at the outset of each development cycle to define collection briefs, design intent, target market positioning, and material direction.
• Translate macro market trends, customer insights, competitive analysis, and trade feedback into actionable product development briefs that inspire designers while grounding ideas in commercial reality.
• Collaborate with the Director of Marketing and Marketing Project Managers to ensure that new collections are developed in alignment with each brand's distinct identity, price architecture, and target customer profile.
• Identify white space opportunities within the portfolio — gaps in product range, silhouette, material offering, or price tier — and bring forward well-reasoned development recommendations.

Engineering & Technical Development

• Work closely with structural engineers and manufacturing partners to ensure that every design concept is evaluated for technical feasibility, durability, safety, and production efficiency without sacrificing aesthetic quality.
• Lead the prototyping process: coordinating sample requests, managing prototype review sessions, documenting feedback comprehensively, and driving iterative refinement toward final approval.
• Review and validate engineering drawings, material specifications, and finish standards, ensuring that production documentation accurately reflects approved design intent.
• Manage durability, weatherability, and performance testing protocols appropriate to luxury outdoor furniture — including UV resistance, load testing, and finish longevity and track results against brand standards.
• Oversee compliance with relevant certifications, safety standards, and sustainability requirements applicable to the markets in which our products are sold.
• Maintain deep familiarity with materials central to luxury outdoor furniture — including aluminum, marine-grade wicker, solution-dyed fabrics, and performance textiles — and bring material expertise to both design and production conversations.

Costing, Sourcing & Vendor Relations

• Partner with operations and sourcing to identify, evaluate, and onboard manufacturing partners and material suppliers capable of meeting the quality standards, lead times, and volume requirements of a luxury multi-brand business.
• Own the cost modeling process for new product introductions, working with operations and finance to validate target margins and ensure pricing is aligned with brand positioning and channel requirements.
• Manage ongoing vendor relationships with a combination of high standards and genuine partnership, building trust with suppliers who understand that quality is non-negotiable.
• Monitor supplier performance across quality, lead time, and communication, escalating issues promptly and working constructively toward resolution.

Go-to-Market Planning & Visual Marketing

• Own the go-to-market plan for every new product introduction, coordinating launch timing, channel sequencing, and trade and consumer readiness across marketing, sales, and operations.
• Develop and execute the visual marketing plan for showroom presentations of new collections, including floor plan direction, vignette concepts, product grouping strategy, finish and fabric display systems, and signage and storytelling elements.
• Brief the marketing team on new collection stories, material narratives, design intent, and key selling features — ensuring that campaign concepting, photography, and trade collateral authentically reflect the product.
• Prepare and present new product introductions to the sales team and key trade partners, equipping them with the product knowledge, specification tools, and selling confidence to represent the collection at its highest level.
• Coordinate the production and delivery of sales support tools including finish and fabric sample sets, specification sheets, trade pricing guides, digital product configurators, and installation references.
• Plan and manage the presentation of new collections at major trade shows and design events, including product selection, display strategy, and on-site presentation standards.

Qualifications Required

• 7+ years of product development experience within a premium or luxury furniture, home goods, or design-led manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing a full product development pipeline from concept through go-to-market, with direct accountability for timelines, quality outcomes, and launch readiness.
• Experience developing visual merchandising or showroom presentation plans for new product introductions.
• Strong project management skills: capable of running complex, multi-workstream pipelines with rigorous attention to milestone management and documentation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present confidently to trade partners, executives, and design audiences.
• A genuine and discerning appreciation for design — you have an aesthetic point of view and the vocabulary to articulate it in a room full of designers.
• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Engineering, Architecture, Marketing, or a related field.