Director of Product Development

Faber-Castell USA; Independence Township (OH); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Faber-Castell USA seeks an accomplished Director of Product Development to steer strategy and performance of the product design and development function for toys, arts, crafts, and activities. You will lead a multidisciplinary team of designers, developers, and specialists and guide the executive leadership team in strategic decisions.

The role demands a proven track record in high-volume consumer products for mass retailers, with strong cost, margin, and speed-to-market discipline, and

Qualifications

• Experience leading creative, design, or product development functions and delivering results through teams.
• Strong foundation in product development, design, engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Proven track record developing and commercializing high-volume consumer products for mass retailers such as Walmart, Target, Amazon, or comparable nationwide retailers.

Responsibilities

• Set and execute product development strategy for children’s portfolio, focusing on Creativity for Kids.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team, including hiring, performance management, and career growth.
• Represent product and creative development in executive strategic planning.
• Build and manage an innovation pipeline balancing breakthroughs, extensions, margins, and growth.
• Translate marketing strategies into clear product briefs, roadmaps, and plans.
• Review concepts, CAD models, prototypes, and documentation to provide actionable feedback.
• Drive speed to market while maintaining quality, safety, and craftsmanship.
• Establish design-to-cost and value-engineering practices to meet cost targets.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing on differentiated retail stories and price architecture.
• Ensure products meet target price points, volumes, and launch timelines.
• Oversee prototyping, validation, and testing with Quality and Compliance for safety and regulatory compliance.
• Coordinate with Finance, Sourcing, and Operations on costing, tooling, and production readiness.
• Manage multinational manufacturing and sourcing relationships including travel as needed.
• Improve speed to market through stage-gate discipline and process improvements.
• Utilize market and post-launch data to guide portfolio decisions and future development.
• Maintain complete and accurate product specifications and regulatory documentation.

Skills

Leadership experience

Product development

Mass retailers experience

Cross-functional leadership

CAD / technical design

Global sourcing knowledge

Tools

CAD software

Prototyping tools

Job description

Faber-Castell USA is a leading creative company dedicated to inspiring creativity and self-expression through exceptional arts, crafts, and children's activity products. With more than 260 years of heritage, Faber-Castell is known worldwide for quality, innovation, and sustainability.

As part of our continued growth, we are expanding our global toy and creative play business, with the U.S. playing a critical role in driving product innovation.

The Opportunity

Faber-Castell USA is seeking an accomplished Director of Product Development to lead the strategy, direction, and performance of our product design and development function across toys, arts, crafts, and creative activities. Our Creativity for Kids® activity toy brand will be the primary focus of this role.

The Director will lead a growing, multidisciplinary team of approximately 10 designers, product developers, and technical design professionals, along with freelance and contract resources. This position also serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, representing product and creative development in company-wide strategy and decision-making.

This is an opportunity to shape a high-performing team, build a disciplined innovation pipeline, accelerate speed to market, and deliver products that reflect the quality and craftsmanship associated with the Faber-Castell name.

The successful candidate will bring a proven track record of developing and commercializing high-volume consumer products for major mass retailers. They will understand mass-retail price points and margin structures, assortment and planogram strategies, high-volume production, and the speed-to-market expectations of large national retailers.

The Director will set the creative and technical direction for the department, evaluate and elevate the team’s work, and lead the staffing, processes, and resources needed to deliver results. The role calls for an experienced people leader who also brings a strong foundation in product development, design, engineering, or a related technical discipline.

What You'll Do

• Set and execute the product development strategy for the children's portfolio, including toys, arts, crafts, and creative activities, with Creativity for Kids as the primary focus.
• Lead, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary team, including responsibility for hiring, performance management, workload planning, resource allocation, and career development.
• Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team and represent product and creative development in company-wide strategic planning and decision-making.
• Build and manage an innovation pipeline that balances breakthrough concepts, line extensions, margin opportunities, and long-term portfolio growth.
• Translate Marketing-led strategies into clear product briefs, development roadmaps, and executable innovation plans.
• Set the creative and technical direction for the department by reviewing concepts, sketches, CAD models, prototypes, technical documentation, and presentations and providing informed, actionable feedback.
• Drive innovation and speed to market while maintaining high standards for product quality, safety, performance, and craftsmanship.
• Establish and oversee design-to-cost and value-engineering practices, ensuring products meet defined cost and margin expectations throughout development.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to develop differentiated retail stories, price architecture, assortments, and line presentations aligned with mass-retail requirements.
• Ensure products are developed to meet target price points, margin expectations, production volumes, and launch timelines.
• Oversee prototyping, validation, and testing in partnership with Quality and Compliance to ensure regulatory, safety, and performance requirements are met across markets.
• Partner with Finance, Sourcing, Operations, and Supply Chain on product costing, manufacturing feasibility, tooling, sampling, and production readiness.
• Manage multinational manufacturing and sourcing relationships, including travel to China and other manufacturing regions as needed.
• Improve speed to market through disciplined stage-gate practices, effective project management, and continuous process improvement.
• Use consumer insights, market trends, competitive activity, and post-launch performance to guide portfolio decisions and future development.
• Ensure product specifications, approvals, compliance records, and supporting documentation are complete and accurate.

What You'll Bring

• Significant experience leading a creative, design, technical design, or product development function, with a demonstrated ability to build teams, manage performance, and deliver results through others.
• A strong foundation in product development, design, engineering, or a related technical discipline, combined with progressive leadership experience.
• A proven record of developing and commercializing high-volume consumer products for major mass retailers such as Walmart, Target, Amazon, or comparable national retailers.
• Direct experience working within mass-retail price points, margin structures, assortment and planogram strategies, production volumes, and compressed development timelines.
• Deep knowledge of the full product development lifecycle, from initial concept and feasibility through commercialization and post-launch evaluation.
• Experience in toys, children's arts and crafts, activity kits, or related consumer-product categories is strongly preferred.
• Experience partnering with Quality and Compliance on product testing, certification, safety, and regulatory approvals.
• Experience with multinational sourcing, manufacturing, and factory relationships.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with the ability to balance creativity, cost, margin, quality, speed, and scalability.
• Strong cross-functional leadership experience working with Marketing, Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Operations.
• Executive presence and communication skills appropriate for contributing as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.
• Technical fluency to evaluate CAD models, prototypes, technical drawings, product specifications, packaging, and creative presentations.
• A working understanding of materials, manufacturing processes, and tooling relevant to toys, plastics, paper goods, and craft products.
• Strong design judgment and the ability to evaluate form, color, structure, functionality, and consumer appeal.
• A highly organized, decisive, and results-oriented leadership style suited to a fast-paced, execution-driven environment.
• Willingness to travel internationally, including to China, as business needs require.
• Must be based in the Cleveland area or willing to relocate.