Product Developer (FTC)

FitFlop; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working hours

Summer Fridays

Birthday day off

Work from anywhere for 2 weeks

Nursery salary sacrifice

Career development allowance

Private health care and dental care

Wellbeing socials

Job summary

FitFlop is seeking an experienced Product Development Manager to lead footwear projects from concept through to manufacturing in a hybrid London environment. You will drive the critical path, collaborate with UK and APAC teams, and translate design intent into commercially viable products that meet aesthetic, comfort and cost targets.

With strong experience in footwear development, tooling blueprints, and PLM systems, you will mentor juniors and push continuous improvements while coordinating

Qualifications

• Solid experience of product development within footwear industry.

Responsibilities

• Manage products through development cycle from brief to manufacturing.

Skills

Footwear development

Blueprints & tooling

Team collaboration

APAC collaboration

Budgeting & costing

Footwear trends

International experience

Project organization

Excel proficiency

PLM systems

Tools

PLM

Excel

Job description

The Responsibilities:

• Manage products throughout the development cycle, from Product Brief and Design Handover through to Commercialisation and Manufacturing, ensuring successful delivery at each stage.


• Drive adherence to the critical path, aligning processes and coordinating with cross-functional partners in the UK and Asia to ensure key milestones, delivery dates and project objectives are achieved.


• Partner closely with the Design team to translate creative vision into commercially viable products that deliver against aesthetic, functional, comfort and cost requirements.


• Collaborate with Product Development, Materials and Innovation teams to ensure footwear tooling delivers against FitFlop's technology, fit, comfort and performance standards.


• Act as a key point of contact for development-related queries across Product Merchandising, Design, Product Development, Materials, Innovation, Planning and Marketing, ensuring effective communication and delivery of business objectives.


• Support and mentor junior team members, providing guidance throughout the product development process and fostering professional growth and collaborative working.


• Contribute to cost negotiations and margin management by conducting detailed cost engineering, cost breakdown analysis and value optimisation initiatives.


• Manage development activities to ensure timely delivery of samples, specs, budgets, PLM data, costings and supplier coordination in line with critical path requirements.


• Champion continuous improvement initiatives, identifying opportunities to enhance development processes, efficiency and product quality season after season.


• Create, maintain and manage accurate product specifications and technical information, ensuring design intent is maintained from concept through to bulk production.


• Work closely with Asia-based teams and suppliers to deliver packaging solutions that are efficient, sustainable and aligned with FitFlop's brand standards.


• Maintain accurate records, systems and administrative processes required to support effective product development and operational excellence.

The Person:

• Solid experience of product development within the footwear industry – in a busy role you’ll quickly become a key member of the team


• Experience with blueprints and developing new tooling


• A real team player, and able to work in partnership with UK and APAC based teams across Design, Product Development, Materials, Product Merchandising, Innovation and Commercialization


• Experience working on footwear collaboration projects with external partners is beneficial for this position


• Commercially aware to work within costing budgets to successfully deliver products within brief


• In depth knowledge of footwear development and trends


• International experience – especially collaborating and working with factories, development centres and tanneries


• Organisation skills – helping to keep projects on time and running smoothly


• Advanced user of Microsoft Suite (especially Excel) is essential for this position


• PLM software experience is beneficial for this position

We recognise that not everyone will meet every requirement. If you’re excited about this role and feel like you could add value, we’d love to hear from you.

The Benefits:

• Hybrid and flexible working hours


• Summer Fridays (6 ½ days in July and August on Fridays)


• A day off for your Birthday


• Work from anywhere for 2 weeks


• WorkPlace Nursery (salary sacrifice scheme to save money on your nursery fees)


• Career development allowance ( Personal allowance to use on career development)


• Private health care and or dental care (provided by AXA and DenPlan


• Socials organised by Wellbeing and Feel Good group

FitFlop is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, neurodivergence, ethnicity, religion or belief, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We actively encourage neurodivergent candidates and individuals with disabilities to apply. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know. We are committed to providing an accessible and supportive recruitment experience.