Sr. Product Development Manager - Electric Shaving bei Freebird

Description

Freebird is a high-growth DTC brand redefining shaving for millions of people around the world. We’ve scaled to 9-figures in revenue, served over 1 million customers, and built a reputation for high-performance electric shaving kits that deliver real results.

As we continue to scale globally, our product pipeline is a critical growth lever. We build complex, high-performance hardware products and bring them to market through close collaboration with Asia-based partners. Our team is lean, fast-moving, and execution-driven—we value ownership, clear thinking, and getting things done.

We’re looking for a Sr. Product Development Manager to play a key role in executing the development of our next generation of electric shaving products.

The Role

As Sr. Product Development Manager, you will own the execution and delivery of next-generation electric shaving products from concept through mass production, working closely with China-based ODM/JDM partners.

While overall product strategy and portfolio ownership sit with the Director, you will have meaningful ownership within your programs, translating strategy into shipped products and ensuring disciplined delivery across cost, quality, performance, and timing.

This is a remote, senior individual contributor role with success depending on personal ownership, disciplined execution, and the ability to independently drive programs to completion.  You will act as the primary product owner for assigned programs, driving decisions, schedules, and outcomes in a lean, execution-focused environment. Success requires strong technical judgment, cross-functional leadership, and comfort collaborating across time zones, including early morning or evening hours to support US and Asia-based teams.

What You’ll Do

New Product Development & Program Leadership

• Own execution of new product development programs from concept through mass production and launch
• Act as the day-to-day project leader, owning scope, schedule, risks, dependencies, and delivery commitments
• Create and maintain detailed project plans, schedules, and charters defining objectives, milestones, assumptions, constraints, and success metrics
• Plan, lead, and support major development gates including concept reviews, design freeze, EVT, DVT, PVT, and production release
• Prepare and deliver executive-ready updates, status reports, risk assessments, decision points, and gate review materials to senior leadership
• Proactively identify risks across cost, quality, performance, and timing, and drive mitigation plans to closure

Product Requirements & Technical Leadership

• Monitor and analyze the competitive landscape, translating market insights into actionable inputs for product definition
• Author and maintain clear, structured Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) and supporting specifications
• Translate consumer, brand, and business requirements into actionable technical requirements for ODM/JDM partners
• Review and approve key technical and design deliverables, including concepts, CMF proposals, prototypes, and validation builds
• Lead trade-off decisions balancing cost, performance, quality, schedule, and manufacturability

ODM / JDM Partner Collaboration

• Lead product and technical discussions covering industrial design, mechanical systems, motors, blades/foils, batteries, electronics, waterproofing, and packaging
• Hold external partners accountable for execution quality, milestone delivery, and performance targets
• Support supplier RFPs, technical alignment, and partner selection decisions as needed

Validation, Quality & Compliance

• Oversee product validation and verification activities, including safety, reliability, regulatory, and consumer-use testing
• Partner closely with Quality and Manufacturing teams to drive DFMEA/PFMEA, reliability testing, and corrective actions

Commercial & Lifecycle Support

• Support BOM development, cost modeling, and margin targets in collaboration with Sourcing
• Contribute to post-launch lifecycle activities including line extensions, refreshes, and cost-down initiatives
• Analyze field performance, consumer feedback, and returns data to inform continuous product improvement

Requirements

• 7–10+ years experience in consumer electronics or electromechanical product development
• Proven experience leading multiple hardware NPD projects through mass production
• Strong execution ownership across schedule, deliverables, and risk management
• Hands-on collaboration with China-based ODM/JDM partners
• Solid technical fluency across electronics and mechanical assemblies
• Comfortable reviewing designs, asking critical technical questions, and translating business needs into requirements
• Proven ability to independently manage complex programs without project support resources
• Experience working cross-functionally in lean, fast-moving environments
• Willingness to collaborate across time zones and support Asia-based partners
• Willingness to travel as needed (typically 10%)
• High bar for ownership, reliability, and follow-through

Nice to Have

• Direct experience developing electric shavers, trimmers, or grooming appliances
• Familiarity with blades, foils, motors, wet/dry use cases, and durability requirements
• Bilingual - English and Mandarin fluency (spoken and written)

Benefits

• Autonomy with support — real responsibility paired with strong leadership
• Remote-first & flexible — work with trust, autonomy, and accountability
• No politics, just execution — a fast-moving, results-driven culture
• Make your mark — help scale a 9-figure brand entering its next growth chapter
• Kind and people-focused — we communicate openly, collaborate deeply, and support one another
• Growth mindset — we embrace change, never settle, and continuously improve
• Bias for action — we move fast, keep it simple, and innovate without fear