About the Role

We are an emerging, premium North American outdoor lifestyle and transit gear brand seeking an entrepreneurial, deeply analytical, and hands-on Product Research, Development & Procurement Manager based in India.

This is a full-time executive role for a high-performance professional who will take ownership of our product lifecycle from market research and product identification through design development, technical specification, sourcing, sampling, costing, quality, and production readiness.

You will identify emerging market opportunities, research and evaluate products and materials, contribute to product design and development, translate conceptual ideas into production-ready specifications, and identify and develop high-quality, export-capable manufacturing partnerships.

You will serve as the critical link between North American market requirements and physical execution in India. The role requires someone who can move comfortably between market research, product development, design judgment, technical specifications, factory sourcing, commercial negotiation, quality control, and supplier management.

The ideal candidate is not simply a sourcing or procurement professional. You should be able to understand a product through a North American market lens, identify opportunities for improvement, contribute to its design and functionality, specify it technically, identify the right manufacturing partner, and drive it through sampling and production.

The strongest candidates will bring a solid foundation in product development, technical execution, sourcing, and procurement. While prior North American market knowledge and formal market-research experience are advantageous, we recognize that market understanding can be acquired by a strong product professional with the right analytical mindset and willingness to learn.

Key Responsibilities1. Market Research & Product Identification

Market Intelligence: Conduct ongoing research into North American outdoor, travel, lifestyle, transit, and utility markets to identify emerging consumer trends and commercially viable product opportunities.
Material Sourcing: Identify innovative, sustainable, and high-performance materials—including recycled polymers, technical textiles, weather-resistant hardware, and premium trims—through India's leading material and manufacturing markets.
Competitor Benchmarking: Deconstruct competing North American products to understand their construction, material choices, hardware, trims, features, functionality, and manufacturing methods.
Capability Alignment: Identify product opportunities that align Indian manufacturing capabilities with the needs and expectations of our target North American consumer.
Commercial Evaluation: Evaluate product concepts for functional and commercial viability, including manufacturability, target cost, raw-material availability, MOQ requirements, and production complexity.

2. Product Design & Technical Development

Product Design Development: Contribute to and refine product concepts based on market requirements, brand direction, functionality, aesthetics, materials, and manufacturability.
Design Direction: Establish and refine product direction, including silhouette, proportions, functionality, color and material combinations, construction, and key design details.
Concept Translation: Translate brand direction, aesthetic concepts, logos, color palettes, and functional requirements into clear, production-ready product specifications.
Technical Collaboration: Work directly with industrial designers, pattern makers, sampling teams, and factory technicians to develop products from concept through final sample.
Tech Pack Development: Build, review, and maintain detailed Tech Packs covering dimensions, Bill of Materials (BOMs), panel layouts, pocket configurations, hardware specifications, stitching details, labeling, packaging, and other production requirements.
Sample Evaluation: Review prototypes and samples on the factory floor and provide precise technical, functional, aesthetic, and construction feedback for subsequent iterations.
Design Optimization: Refine product construction and patterns to improve functionality, material utilization, durability, manufacturability, and cost without compromising the intended premium appearance.
Production Consistency: Ensure final specifications and approved samples provide the factory with sufficient detail to reproduce the product consistently in bulk production.

3. Strategic Sourcing & Procurement

Supplier Development: Identify, evaluate, and develop relationships with qualified manufacturers and material suppliers across India.
Compliance: Vet and prioritize established, export-capable manufacturers with appropriate social and ethical compliance certifications, including SEDEX and/or BSCI, where applicable.
Factory Inspection: Visit factories and physically inspect sample development and production processes, evaluating construction quality, seam quality, hardware performance, weight distribution, functionality, and overall workmanship.
Costing Analysis: Obtain transparent, line-item cost breakdowns covering raw materials, labor, trims, packaging, and other relevant production costs.
Commercial Negotiation: Negotiate unit pricing, minimum order quantities (MOQs), payment terms, production lead times, and other commercial terms to meet internal targets.
Supplier Network: Build and maintain a qualified supplier and manufacturing network capable of supporting future product development and scale.

4. Quality Assurance & Export Logistics

Quality Standards: Establish practical quality-control standards and pre-shipment inspection procedures across the supplier network.
Production Readiness: Work with factories to identify and resolve construction, material, quality, and production issues before approving products for bulk manufacturing.
Production Oversight: Ensure approved samples, Tech Packs, specifications, and quality standards are consistently reflected in bulk production.
Logistics Coordination: Work with factories, freight forwarders, Customs House Agents (CHAs), and other logistics partners to support smooth international shipping from India to North America.
Export Compliance: Maintain working knowledge of export documentation, HS/HTS classification, packaging requirements, freight configurations, container utilization, and Indian export procedures.

Required Qualifications & ExperienceEducation

Minimum Requirement: Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution required. B.Com., BBA, B.Tech, or a related degree preferred.
Advanced Degree: Master's degree, particularly an MBA in Supply Chain Management, International Business, Operations, or a related field, is a strong asset.
Preferred Specialized Background: Formal education or advanced training from institutions such as NIFT or NID is highly preferred, particularly in apparel/gear production, lifestyle accessory design, industrial product development, or related disciplines.

Professional Experience

3+ Years of Relevant Experience: Proven, hands-on experience in technical product development, material sourcing, merchandise/product research, procurement, or manufacturing operations within India.
Export Experience: Prior experience working directly with an international export house, buying agency, product-development company, or comparable manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.
Product Lifecycle Experience: Demonstrated experience taking technical consumer products from initial concept or specifications through multiple sampling stages and into production.
Factory Experience: Direct experience working with manufacturers, suppliers, sampling teams, and factory personnel in India is essential.

Design, Technical & Commercial Skillset

The successful candidate should bring a balanced combination of product design judgment, technical development capability, commercial expertise, and manufacturing knowledge.

Product Design & Development

Design Judgment: Strong visual and functional judgment with the ability to assess whether a product is appropriate for the intended North American market, brand positioning, and consumer.
Product Design: Ability to contribute to product concepts and develop/refine silhouette, proportions, functionality, materials, color, construction, and key design details.
Design for Manufacturing: Ability to balance aesthetics and functionality with manufacturability, material availability, production complexity, durability, and target cost.
Design Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with industrial designers, technical designers, pattern makers, sampling teams, and factory technicians.
Technical Design Tools: Familiarity with technical drawing, CAD, Adobe Creative Suite, or other relevant product-development tools is an advantage.

Technical Product Development

Technical Specification: Strong ability to independently construct, interpret, and audit comprehensive Tech Packs, BOMs, technical drawings, specifications, and patterns.
Material Knowledge: Strong understanding of fabrics, technical textiles, premium trims, structural hardware, stitching, and relevant manufacturing processes.
Construction Knowledge: Ability to understand and evaluate panel construction, seams, reinforcement, hardware integration, pattern development, and other manufacturing details.
Sample Development: Ability to identify problems in physical samples and translate observations into clear, actionable corrections for designers and factories.

Commercial & Procurement

Procurement Economics: Strong commercial judgment with the ability to analyze factory costing, material consumption, yields, MOQs, and overall production economics.
Cost Optimization: Ability to identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs and production waste without compromising product quality or design intent.
Negotiation: Demonstrated ability to negotiate effectively with manufacturers, industrial vendors, raw-material suppliers, and factory owners.
Supplier Management: Ability to establish productive, long-term relationships while maintaining appropriate commercial and quality standards.

Logistics & Operations

Quality Control: Working knowledge of product quality standards, factory inspections, pre-production approvals, and pre-shipment inspection.
Logistics: Solid working knowledge of international shipping, export documentation, freight configurations, and customs clearance.
Production Planning: Understanding of production lead times, capacity planning, packaging, carton configuration, container utilization, and landed-cost considerations.

Personal Attributes

High Autonomy: Exceptionally organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable operating independently without requiring constant supervision.
Ownership: Takes responsibility for problems through to resolution rather than simply identifying issues and passing them to others.
Commercial Assertiveness: Confident challenging suppliers on cost, quality, timelines, and production issues while maintaining strong, long-term supplier relationships.
Analytical Thinking: Able to evaluate products and suppliers from technical, commercial, operational, and market perspectives.
Communication: Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate technical requirements clearly across North American management, designers, suppliers, and factory teams.
Adaptability: Comfortable working across design, sourcing, manufacturing, quality, and logistics rather than operating within a single functional discipline.

Location

Chandigarh / Mohali / Panchkula, India

The role is based in the Chandigarh Tricity region, with substantial travel throughout India as required.

Current residency in the Chandigarh Tricity region is preferred.

Travel

Extensive India-wide travel required, particularly to major manufacturing and sourcing centers such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and other relevant industrial and production hubs.

Working Hours

The role requires flexibility to work extended or evening hours when necessary to coordinate with North American management, designers, and business operations across time zones.

Employment Type

Full-Time | Permanent

Compensation

Highly competitive and commensurate with experience, technical capability, and relevant industry background.

Candidates with demonstrated experience across product development + design development + factory sourcing + technical product execution will be strongly preferred.

Pay: ₹25,000.00 - ₹45,000.00 per month

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Chandigarh

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