Director of Product Development

Job Summary:

MycoWorks is seeking a person to fill the role of Director of Product Development.. This person will oversee the product development efforts of Fine Mycelium™  for applications in the Luxury Leather Goods, Performance footwear, and automotive industries as a leather alternative. This role will manage the process innovation efforts to improve and build on the performance of Reishi and develop new processes for new product applications in the future. Critical focus areas will include chemistry development to strengthen and stabilize Reishi and characterization. This will be accomplished by leading a team of engineers and tannery development experts to meet critical product requirements

This role will also work cross-functionally with multiple organizations throughout MycoWorks, including Product Management, Engineering, Quality, Technology Development, as well as other external partners and customers. The role reports to the VP of Product.

Responsibilities:

• Create and execute Product Development roadmap
• Understand and Study Key Product attributes and identify potential process improvements to meet those attributes.
• Provide leadership, mentoring and ensure team members are working together effectively
• Collaborate with other departments such as engineering, marketing and sales to ensure product success
• Prepare product development plans and forecasts
• Weekly travel to tanneries within the EU
• Ability to travel to the US on a bi-annual basis. 
• Monitor and evaluate product performance and identify strategies to close gaps to target.
• Identify and assess potential risks and develop mitigation plans
• Stay current with the latest industry trends and technologies
• Ensure safe and effective chemistry and processes are used. 
• Create and execute against an annual Master Plan as well as the corresponding 30-60-90 Day Plans
• Perform Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly gap analysis to validate all plans are on track, adjusting when necessary
• Manage the performance of your team - set clear goals and expectations, give timely feedback, conduct semi-annual performance reviews
• Assist the Quality department with the improvement of test methods that are tied to top Quality losses
• Meet budget, assessing adherence on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis
• Drive company vision across all product development efforts

Qualifications:

• Bachelors, or Minor in Science
• 10+ years of professional experience in leather tanning & finishing
• 5+ years’ Management experience 
• Bilingual in English and Spanish. French is a plus.
• Experience working in cross functional teams
• Experience in fabrication of leather goods is a plus
• Ability to communicate in technical and non-technical language
• Experience with developing a product portfolio and its roadmap
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent organizational and project management skills
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and leadership skills
• Proficiency in Google Drive
• Experience with new product innovation and go to market strategies
• Able to effectively give and receive feedback to individuals at all levels of the organization
• Ability to make business decisions quickly while under pressure
• Ability to operate with incomplete information and implicit instruction
• Demonstrated ability to manage a budget while hitting all other production goals
• Proven ability to manage by influence 

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