Product Development Manager: Furniture & Bath

At Elte we are always evolving. Our focus is on delivering thoughtfully designed, high-quality products that reflect our brand values and meet the needs of our clients and partners. We are expanding our core furniture and bath offerings with precision and purpose-bringing products to market that are rooted in design integrity, material excellence, and timeless appeal. We are looking for a leader who is passionate about product, grounded in execution, and driven to deliver best-in-class results. Our furniture and bath collections define and elevate the customer experience, and it's the Product Development team's responsibility to bring these offerings to life-on time, to spec, and with compelling storytelling. Operating at the intersection of design vision, technical capability, and operational excellence, the Product team ensures every product reflects our commitment to quality and thoughtful growth.

Mission

• Lead and manage furniture and bath product development to expand our brand's assortment and grow its contribution to sales. This role ensures our product launches are on time, meet our quality standards, and are supported with the resources and storytelling collateral needed to strengthen our brand and drive growth. This role reports directly to the Co-President/Chief Product Officer.

Core Responsibilities

• Build and lead a recurring product input process that gathers insights from internal sales surveys, trade partner feedback, assortment analysis, and competitor research to propose potential design briefs for the upcoming development cycle.
• Build and execute a seasonal product development process for all new products with each production partner-from initial design brief through to a finalized sample-ensuring seasonal deadlines are met, documentation is archived, and all defined product standards are communicated and upheld by our production partners.
• Create and manage a seasonal onboarding process for new products and materials-capturing key details, storytelling content, and visual collateral-and oversee their integration into our core sales resources (e.g., seasonal catalogues, price lists, etc.), while ensuring product and material information remains accurate and up to date on an ongoing basis, and maintaining a dated, clearly labeled master set of material samples from each vendor.
• Build and execute our product development process for external design collaborations-including the creation and sharing of product standards, process timelines, and required inputs-while managing communication between the designer and our production partners through to finalized samples.
• Lead and manage internal and/or contract-based team members-including content coordinators, product designers, rendering artists, and quality control specialists-to ensure seamless execution across all stages of product development and content onboarding.
• Build and lead a recurring process for resolving product-related issues to drive quality improvements and reduce recurring customer service problems.
• Serve as the primary contact for all vendors-holding seasonal business reviews and proactively identifying opportunities to improve pricing, lead times, terms, and claims management.
• Build and oversee core processes with our production partners that support reliable production and on-time delivery-including lead time reporting with escalation protocols, organizing proactive quality control inspections, managing sales inquiries and bespoke product requests, and monitoring vendor-held fabric and leather inventory to maintain consistent lead times.
• Coordinate with internal teams-including product management, e-commerce, marketing, sales, and inventory-to ensure alignment throughout product development, launch, and ongoing seasonal cycles.

Experience Requirements

• 5+ years' experience in furniture product development with global manufacturers

Competencies

• Expertise in managing the product development process from design brief to finalized sample
• Expertise in furniture design, construction, materiality, and production processes
• Deep understanding of North American and European design sensibilities
• Experience leading and managing full-time and contract-based team members
• Execution-focused with strong follow-through and a track record of getting things done
• Highly organized (e.g., using trackers and checklists, maintaining archives, etc.)
• Strong vendor relationship and negotiation skills
• Strong written, verbal, and visual communication skills
• Proficient in Excel, CAD software, and other product development tools

Company Values

• We are committed to quality. We sweat the details. We are motivated by being great, not big. We are the tortoise, not the hare.
• We are hands-on. We roll up our sleeves, take initiative, and get things done. We dive deep and go right to the source. We don't point out issues without suggesting solutions.
• We are open-minded. We are curious, we ask questions, and we are always eager to learn. We are nimble, light on our feet, and embrace change.
• We are humble. We don't have egos. We aren't afraid to ask dumb questions or admit we don't know the answer. We have empathy for our clients, our partners, and each other.

If you are interested in this career opportunity, we'd love to hear from you! Elte thanks all applicants who apply, but also those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and Elte Accommodation Policy, accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.