Product Development Manager

IKO Home; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

IKO Home in New York, NY is seeking a hands-on Product Development Leader for kitchen and tabletop categories. You will own the full lifecycle from ideation through sampling, costing, and production, collaborating with sales, sourcing, and global manufacturing partners. Expect ~10% travel for factory visits and trade shows.

You will drive AI-assisted trend research, concept visualization, and buyer presentations to accelerate time-to-market while maintaining strong commercial judgment.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of in-house product development experience in housewares, kitchenware, tabletop, or related consumer hard-goods

Responsibilities

• Lead trend research and product ideation across kitchen and tabletop
• Build seasonal and retailer-specific assortments
• Manage full product lifecycle: specs, sampling, costing, approvals, production
• Develop licensed and branded programs with licensor style guides
• Direct packaging, storytelling, and merchandising
• Partner with sales on line reviews and presentations for national retail buyers
• Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate concepting, visualization, research, and presentation development

Skills

Product development

Licensed products

AI tools usage

Trend research

Project management

Tools

CAD software

Rendering tools

Job description

IKO | New York, NY (on-site) | Full-time | Reports to the CEO

About IKO

IKO is a designer and developer of kitchenware, bringing fashion-forward, trend-driven products to consumers through every major retail channel - mass, off-price, value, department, and specialty. We create private-label, branded, and licensed programs across cookware, kitchen prep, gadgets, and food storage storage, and we manage every step from concept through production with a global network of manufacturing partners. We're lean and entrepreneurial: good ideas move fast, and the person who develops a product sees it land at retail.

The role

You'll own product development for our kitchen categories and lead our expansion into tabletop - dinnerware, drinkware, and serveware. That means spotting market opportunities, building commercially relevant assortments, and driving products from ideation through sampling, costing, approvals, and production, on time and on target.

You'll report directly to the CEO, work hands-on with sales, sourcing, and our global manufacturing partners, and travel for factory visits and trade shows (roughly 10%).

We want someone who is already using AI tools to speed up trend research, concept visualization, and buyer presentations - and who knows where AI ends and commercial judgment begins.

What you'll do

• Lead trend research, competitive review, and product ideation across kitchen and tabletop
• Build seasonal and retailer-specific assortments that balance trend, function, and value
• Manage the full product lifecycle: specs, sampling, cost negotiation, CAD/rendering feedback, color and material development, and production approvals
• Develop licensed and branded programs, including working within licensor style guides and approval processes
• Direct packaging, product storytelling, and merchandising
• Partner with sales on line reviews and presentations for national retail buyers
• Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate concepting, visualization, research, and presentation development

What we're looking for

• 3+ years of product development experience in housewares, kitchenware, tabletop, or a related consumer hard-goods category
• Experience developing licensed products for retail
• A track record of products that sold through across retail channels, from mass and value to department and specialty
• Working knowledge of global manufacturing - materials, tooling, MOQs, and cost drivers for metal, plastic, silicone, glass, and ceramic goods
• Strong commercial instincts on target cost, margin, and what a buyer needs to say yes
• Demonstrated use of AI tools in a product development workflow
• Self-directed, organized, and comfortable running multiple programs in a small, fast-moving company

Nice to have: familiarity with major retailer development and compliance processes; industrial design or CAD skills.