Product & Innovation Manager

Tribe Recruitment; Auckland; On-site; NZD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading panel mounting solutions provider is seeking a Product & Innovation Manager to drive their global growth. This role involves leading product innovation, managing the product roadmap, and engaging directly with customers and partners. Candidates with a mechanical engineering background and experience in product development are encouraged to apply. This position offers the chance to impact innovation globally and requires openness to travel to key markets.

Qualifications

• Experience in product development and innovation in various engineering sectors.
• Ability to manage product lifecycles and R&D budgets.
• Skilled in building relationships with customers and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead product innovation and new product development.
• Define and manage the product roadmap.
• Engage with customers and partners for feedback.
• Ensure compliance and quality standards.

Skills

Product development

Innovation

Mechanical engineering

Analytical skills

Communication

Education

Mechanical engineering degree

Job description

About the Company

Fastmount is a leading provider of panel mounting systems for the marine market, with growing presence in the architectural and furniture markets. Backed by Oriens Capital and a global footprint across 40 distributors, Fastmount is positioned to accelerate growth worldwide. The company emphasizes product innovation, operational excellence, and a strong focus on branding, market insights, R&D, B2B sales, marketing, and technical support. The role focuses on customers and stakeholders in the USA, Europe, and Australia.

About the Role

Reporting to the CEO, this newly created role shapes the next phase of Fastmount’s global growth. As Product & Innovation Manager, you will turn customer problems and market insights into innovative, fit-for-purpose products. With a strong engineering foundation and a hands-on approach, you’ll work directly with customers, distributors, and partners to understand pain points and develop solutions that add real value.

You will define and drive the product roadmap, overseeing early concept through testing, validation, and launch. You’ll collaborate with engineering partners for design, simulation, and prototyping to ensure products meet technical, regulatory, and commercial requirements.

This role balances strategy with action: building innovation processes, developing new product lines, and contributing to Fastmount’s presence in key markets. Expect variety—from customer meetings in the US and Europe, to collaboration with engineering teams, to testing ideas at trade shows.

Responsibilities

• Lead product innovation and new product development to drive Fastmount’s global growth.
• Translate customer problems and market insights into commercially viable, fit-for-purpose products.
• Define and manage the product roadmap, balancing strategy with hands-on delivery.
• Work with engineering partners on design, drawings, testing, simulations, and prototyping.
• Engage directly with customers, distributors, and partners to validate concepts and gather feedback.
• Ensure compliance, quality standards, and technical documentation are met.
• Represent Fastmount internationally — travel to USA, Europe, and Australia for customer visits, distributor engagement, and trade shows.
• Contribute to innovation processes in a flexible, small-team environment where your ideas have direct impact.

What You’ll Need / About You

You’re an engineer at heart—curious, analytical, and always asking questions to uncover how things work and how they can be improved. You’re also commercially aware, able to connect with people, build trust, and translate customer conversations into actionable product opportunities.

Your background includes product development and innovation in sectors such as construction, architectural products, furniture, marine, or industrial engineering. You’ve managed product lifecycles end-to-end, overseen R&D or CAPEX budgets, and led cross-functional projects involving technical teams and customers. You’re inquisitive, flexible, and thrive in a small, hands-on team. You balance technical detail with big-picture strategy and have a global outlook to work across cultures.

To Succeed, You’ll Need

• A mechanical engineering (or related) background with proven experience in product development and innovation; experience in construction, furniture, or mass-produced sectors is desirable.
• Roles such as Product Development Engineer, Engineering/Commercial Product Manager, Chief Engineer, or Applications Engineer.
• Skilled in product strategy, roadmap ownership, and managing R&D/CAPEX budgets.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to design solutions from customer insight.
• Confident working with customers, distributors, and OEMs at a technical level—able to build trust and credibility.
• Ability to manage product strategy, roadmap, and R&D budgets.
• Excellent communication with strong influencing skills across technical and commercial stakeholders.
• A flexible, hands-on approach, with openness to travel (USA, Europe, Australia).
• Results-driven, accountable, and motivated to make a tangible impact on Fastmount’s global innovation journey.
• This is an opportunity to build something new, collaborate with global markets, and help shape the innovation engine for Fastmount’s growth.

Apply

To find out more, please contact Suzie Gates on 0221588311 and quote Job Id: 16478 for a confidential chat.

To apply for this vacancy you must be a New Zealand citizen, resident, or have the right to work in New Zealand with a valid visa. At the appropriate stage we will request your references; please do not include them on your CV when applying.