Head of Product Development

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of Product Development based in Netherlands.

This is a newly created department-head role with direct exposure to the CEO and end-to-end ownership of physical consumer product development.

You will turn customer insights into products that are specified, manufactured, priced, launched, and continuously improved.

The role combines customer research, product design, overseas manufacturing, commercial decision-making, and post-launch performance management.

You will use evidence from reviews, search behavior, social content, surveys, interviews, and testing to determine what products should be built and how they should be positioned.

You will also establish a disciplined feedback loop between launch predictions and actual commercial results.

Alongside individual product ownership, you will lead a small team and shape the research, analysis, and scoring systems that support product decisions.

The position is fully remote, with flexibility around a required daily overlap with US Eastern Time.

Accountabilities

Own the complete product development lifecycle, from identifying customer needs and opportunities through product specification, manufacturing, launch, pricing, and post-launch performance.

Build and maintain a detailed understanding of target customers, including purchase motivations, customer segments, purchase occasions, price and quality perceptions, trust signals, complaints, and return drivers.

Use customer reviews, search behavior, social media, surveys, interviews, concept testing, and pricing research to generate actionable product insights and continuously validate assumptions.

Define and prioritize the new product pipeline, determining which opportunities should move forward, wait, or be discontinued based on customer and commercial evidence.

Own product and offer design decisions, including materials, construction, specifications, packaging, sizing, color assortment, and market positioning.

Manage product development with overseas factories and manufacturing partners, including specifications, samples, quality standards, and production requirements.

Monitor live products and lead continuous improvement initiatives, investigating negative feedback to identify root causes and determining when products should be redesigned, relaunched, expanded, or discontinued.

Establish a results-oriented feedback loop comparing launch forecasts and assumptions with actual product performance and using those learnings to improve future decisions.

Balance pricing, product costs, and expected margins when evaluating product and offer opportunities.

Lead and develop the product analysts and sourcing/production coordinator, set priorities, review their work, and raise the overall quality and effectiveness of the team.

Guide the development and use of research and scoring tools, including AI-supported workflows, while maintaining appropriate human oversight and validation.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience developing and launching at least three physical consumer products sold to US consumers, with ownership of customer insights, product and offer decisions, and commercial results.

Experience launching at least one product primarily through an online channel, such as direct-to-consumer, Amazon, or another marketplace.

At least five years of experience within a consumer products company, brand, or retailer serving US consumers.

Evidence of making difficult product decisions based on customer insights, including having stopped, redesigned, or challenged a product or concept because of research or customer feedback.

Strong understanding of customer research methodologies, including…