Senior Product Development & Innovation Leader

UFP Industries, Inc; Blanchester (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

UFP Industries, Inc. seeks an experienced Senior Industrial Designer / Product Development Manager to lead product development from concept to commercialization. The role blends design leadership with innovation process deployment and cross-functional collaboration.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in Industrial Design, consumer-centric innovation, and Leadership in cross-functional teams. You will drive adoption of innovation frameworks, coach teams, and establish repeatable

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of product development experience.
• Experience developing physical products from concept to commercialization.
• Demonstrated success working within structured product development environments.
• Experience collaborating with engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and commercial teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of new product concepts from opportunity identification through launch.
• Translate customer needs, market insights, and business objectives into compelling product solutions.
• Create and evaluate product concepts, prototypes, and design specifications.
• Collaborate with engineering and manufacturing teams to ensure design feasibility and commercialization success.
• Lead projects through structured Innovation and Stage-Gate development processes.
• Facilitate ideation sessions, design sprints, and innovation workshops.
• Apply Design Thinking, Lean Innovation, and customer discovery methodologies to identify unmet market needs.
• Conduct concept testing and consumer validation activities.
• Support portfolio management and prioritization activities.
• Partner with Business Leaders, R&D, Engineering, Operations, Marketing, and Commercial teams.
• Build strong relationships and influence decision-making across multiple levels of the organization.
• Present concepts, recommendations, and project updates to senior leadership.
• Conduct customer interviews, ethnographic research, usability studies, and competitive assessments.
• Translate consumer insights into actionable design and development opportunities.
• Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies, materials, and manufacturing innovations.
• Provide support for other department projects as needed

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, or closely related field

Job description

UFP Industries, Inc. seeks an experienced Senior Industrial Designer / Product Development Manager to lead product development from concept to commercialization. The role blends design leadership with innovation process deployment and cross-functional collaboration.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in Industrial Design, consumer-centric innovation, and Leadership in cross-functional teams. You will drive adoption of innovation frameworks, coach teams, and establish repeatable