Associate Product Developer

Who We’re Looking For:

We are looking for a full-time Associate Product Developer based at our Los Angeles headquarters to own the development of innovative products across the Therabody portfolio, from ideation through launch.

This role will support the Therabody business in developing successful and profitable product programs that drive continued growth across existing portfolios while also supporting new product launches. The Associate Product Developer will help monitor consumer needs, market trends, competitive products, and emerging opportunities within their assigned product lines. This role will be part of the New Product Development team to support the creation of products that meet evolving consumer and retailer needs and strengthen Therabody’s position in the market.

This is a hands-on technical role: you will act as an engineer as well as a project manager, solving engineering problems directly and owning the engineering and quality documentation for your products. If you have a passion for innovation and enjoy being part of a collaborative, high-performing team, come join us!

Key Responsibilities

• Lead successful and profitable new product development for assigned products from ideation and concept through mass production and launch.
• Act as a hands-on engineer, not just a project manager: identify, troubleshoot, and resolve engineering problems through root-cause analysis, design changes, and testing, and partner with engineering and manufacturing teams to implement and verify fixes.
• Own engineering and quality documentation for assigned products, including product requirements, specifications, bills of materials, test plans and reports, design change records, and quality and inspection standards.
• Drive form factor development, including ergonomics, size, weight, materials, and finish, working with industrial design and engineering to balance aesthetics, usability, and manufacturability.
• Plan and run user testing throughout development, from early prototypes to pre-production samples, and translate findings into design improvements.
• After initial production, track product performance to identify and action product optimization and improvement opportunities for cost and consumer impact.
• Conduct market research to identify consumer needs and market gaps and analyze the competitive landscape to identify new product opportunities.
• Utilize various internal and external inputs to define what success looks like for new products, translating these requirements into product KPIs and product specs.
• Create project plans for each product and ensure timely execution.
• Collaborate with the cross functional team and key stakeholders from engineering, supply chain, marketing, science, and sales to refine and optimize the product, ensure it moves smoothly through the product creation process, achieves performance requirements, unlocks claim requirements, and launches on time.
• Communicate regularly with the engineering and manufacturing team overseas with clear and structured written, drawn and/or verbal directions and leading regular phone conversations to discuss and align on go-forward direction and answer questions.
• Work closely with the engineering and supply chain team to manage the cost of your products and ensure we hit necessary cost targets.
• Conduct internal and external product validation activities to identify product improvement opportunities before tooling and mass production.
• Review and provide feedback on product support material, such as packaging, in-box collateral, FAQs, and troubleshooting scripts for online resources and the call center agents.

Qualifications

• 1-3 years of experience in product development, human factors engineering, or a related field – preferably with experience from a consumer goods company.
• Hands-on engineering problem-solving experience, including root-cause analysis, design for manufacturing (DFM), and familiarity with quality tools such as DFMEA.
• Experience prototyping, running user tests, and evaluating form factor and ergonomics.
• Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent experience) in Engineering,
• A “100% on” consumer-first perspective when it comes to introducing new products/processes or improving current products.
• A mindset geared toward building relationships across multi-functional teams, coupled with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Highly-effective communication skills – both written (presentation/email) and face-to-face (ability to host succinct, effective conversations that solve problems and ability to make effective presentations to all levels of management) – are required.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritize effectively, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and stay organized in a fast-paced environment.
• A desire to learn and grow in a passionate environment.
• The ability to embrace transparency and shifting priorities while learning from each decision and focusing on the path forward.
• Engaging and persuasive personality with a unique ability to build relationships
• An outside the box approach to creative thinking and problem solving
• Outstanding organizational skills with a keen attention to details
• Excellent follow-up and time management skills
• Strong ability to multitask and meet tight deadlines
• Proactive self-starter that is creative and flexible with a can-do attitude
• Working knowledge of CAD (e.g., SolidWorks) and the ability to review 3D models and 2D drawings and give engineering feedback.
• Willingness and desire to travel, both domestic and internationally.