Associate Manager, New Product Development

Division Information

Spectrum Brands' Home & Personal Care (HPC) Appliances business participates on a global basis in small electric appliances, shave/groom appliances and beauty appliances. Our well- known brands include George Foreman®, Black+Decker®, Farberware®, Breadman®, Juiceman®, Russell Hobbs® and Remington®. Our products appeal to consumer trends for healthy eating, stay-at-home cooking, creating today's new hair style and much more. We distinguish our product offerings from the competition by employing forward thinking, innovative technologies matched with a strong understanding of consumer needs to bring to market high quality, superior products that delight the end user.

Job Summary

The Associate, New Product Development (NPD) supports product planning and development activities for assigned product segments or categories.

This role leads assigned projects and executes defined workstreams within the Stage-Gate process, contributing to product development from ideation through commercialization. The Associate supports product definition, cross-functional coordination, and execution of development activities to ensure projects meet quality, cost, and schedule objectives.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Planning

• Supports development of product roadmaps and category initiatives
• Assists in gathering and organizing consumer insights, competitive benchmarking, and product data
• Contributes to product definition activities, including features, specifications, and supporting documentation

Product Development Execution

• Leads projects through the Stage-Gate process, ensuring execution against defined scope, cost, schedule, and performance targets.
• Supports development of product requirements, specifications, and validation plans.
• Assists with prototype evaluation, product testing, and performance validation activities.
• Supports cross-functional alignment and follows up on milestones and deliverables.

Cross-Functional Coordination & Communication

• Coordinates with R&D, Industrial Design, Sourcing, Quality, and Marketing to support project execution.
• Supports preparation for gate reviews, presentations, and cross-functional meetings.
• Communicates project status and escalates risks or issues as needed.

Continuous Improvement & Execution

• Supports improvements to NPD processes, tools, and documentation.
• Maintains accurate documentation and project records.
• Contributes to improving execution efficiency across projects.
• Identifies and mitigates technical, supply, cost, and regulatory risks.

Other

• Travel 1-2 times per year internationally for project collaboration and product trend evaluation.

Education and Experience Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field required.
• 2-5 years of experience in product development, engineering, or related roles.
• Exposure to consumer products or retail-driven environments preferred.
• Familiarity with Stage-Gate or structured product development processes.

Required Skills

• Basic understanding of product development processes and cross-functional workflows.
• Ability to lead smaller scope projects and execute assigned tasks with accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong technical aptitude and ability to support testing and product evaluation.
• Ability to gather, analyze, and summarize technical and business data.
• Structured problem-solving approach with ability to identify issues and escalate appropriately.
• Ability to work effectively within cross-functional teams.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Willingness to learn, take direction, and incorporate feedback.
• Proficient with 3D modelling software (Solidworks or Fusion preferred).

Work Environment

Working conditions are normal for an office environment.