SENIOR DESIGN MANAGER Industrial Design / Soft Goods - Vansburg｜Meet.jobs

Manta Sleep is looking for an experienced and organized Senior Design Manager, with a proven track record of turning ideas into products.

We need someone who:

• Is an organized team leader with extensive experience managing design projects
• Has an Industrial Design background, with a proven track record of turning ideas into shippable products.
• Has years of experience working with Chinese manufacturers and navigating complex relationships in order to deliver products on time and on budget.
• Is a self-starter who, when given resources & training, can get things done without hand-holding.
  

WHAT YOU’RE DOING

Be a team leader

- You have a leading role in the Product Design team in order to grow the product portfolio for Manta Sleep: http://mantasleep.com.

- You work closely with the Design Director and report progress directly to the CEO.

- You help to grow the team locally in Taipei, as needed.

Project management

- The product development process involves communication with various parties, including marketing, customer service, operations, visual design, product design, engineering, manufacturers, etc.

- You bring everyone together in order to get the project done on time and on budget.

- You keep the Product Design team accountable, monitor workloads, and protect time for focused creative work.

Product development

- You are in charge of the entire product development process. You allocate resources and are also not afraid to get your hands dirty, whatever needs to be done to move the project forward.
- You develop project briefs, conduct research, initiate user testing, and are actively involved in the strategic planning of new products and the ongoing improvement of existing products.

Manufacturing

One of the greatest challenges in turning designs into shippable products is working with our Chinese manufacturers & suppliers.

You will need to:

- Make sure designs are engineered to be ready for manufacturing.

- Manage the delicate and complex relationships with our manufacturers.

- Communicate product requirements and specifications.

- Work with our logistics team to negotiate product specs and pricing.

- Ensure our manufacturing partners deliver on time.

REQUIREMENTS

Someone with extensive project management experience

- You can set objectives and get things done on time and on budget.

- You can communicate with multiple people, teams, vendors and bring everyone together.
- You are skilled at detecting early signals when a project is headed off track, and then do what it takes to correct it.

Someone with strong written & spoken English

- Your English must be at a business level.

- In the office, we speak English.

- All communications with our executives and team will be in English.

Someone with outstanding attention to details

- You are someone who pays attention to every little detail – not only in your work but in everything you do. 

- This is a must-have for this position, and a fundamental core value at Vansburg.

Someone who is proactive and eager to take on responsibility

- In a small business environment, things come up, and problems need to be solved.

- If you are the kind of person who sits back and thinks “that’s not my responsibility,” then please don’t apply.

Someone with industrial design experience

- You have a deep understanding of the principles, tools, and processes for industrial design.

- Ideally, you have mass production experience with soft goods.

- Your educational background is in industrial, soft goods design, or a related field.

Someone with an exceptional aesthetic sense

- You are passionate about design and have a strong grasp of current visual trends. 

- You are highly creative and practical. Your designs are both beautiful and functional.

Someone with significant experience working with Chinese manufacturers

- You have years of experience working directly with Chinese manufacturers.

- You have a keen understanding of Chinese culture and how factories operate.

- You are great at managing relationships and getting things done.

Someone who genuinely cares about others

- If you are the kind of person that genuinely cares about others, and gives generously of your time and energy in helping others, then we want you on our team.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Your career development will be supported in 3 primary ways at Vansburg:

1. Autonomy - your team leader defines the goal, you decide how to get there.

2. Learning - you will be given regular training and support for whatever else you want to learn.

3. Strength - we believe in maximizing your strengths rather than improving your weaknesses, so your role can be adjusted to leverage what you’re naturally good at.

WORK CULTURE

We believe office politics is destructive, small-minded, and evil.

We believe in fostering cooperation rather than competition.

We believe in open and transparent communication.

We believe in showing appreciation and gratitude every day.

We believe the best ideas should win - not who the ideas came from.

At the end of the day, who better to describe the work culture at Vansburg than our team members?

Here is what some of them have to say:

“My favorite thing about working at Vansburg is the flexibility it offers. We have control over our projects, our learnings, and our work time, which is truly a blessing. ” - Daisy 

“We are trusted to get our jobs done however we want to with no micromanagement. I believe this kind of autonomy is rooted in trust. Trust in us to get things done, and trust in knowing that we have the right person for the job.” - Lia

“A culture of mutual respect and safety - we're encouraged to share ideas freely and speak up when we have a different POV, and I think that's very healthy.” - Nadia

EXCITED?

If so, we want to talk to you!

Note: International candidates must hold a valid Taiwan working permit.