Head of Product Development

Location

Chesterfield, Derbyshire (initially full-time on-site for the first few months to support onboarding, collaboration and product immersion. Following this, the role will move to a hybrid arrangement with a minimum of two days per week in the office.)

Superior Wellness is the world’s fastest-growing manufacturer and distributor of premium hot tubs, swim spas, Chill Tubs, saunas, and wellness products. We lead the market through innovation, quality, and a customer-first mindset. Operating across multiple international markets, we design, develop, and deliver wellness products that improve people’s health and wellbeing.

As we continue our ambitious growth journey, we are looking for an experienced product leader to shape the future of our product portfolio and drive innovation across our global brands.

This is a senior leadership position responsible for Product Development, Engineering, Innovation and Global Product Compliance across the Superior Wellness portfolio. Reporting directly to the COO, you will lead our Product Development and Engineering function, taking ownership of the complete product lifecycle—from concept generation and design through to engineering, validation, compliance, manufacture and commercial launch.

Working closely with our manufacturing partners across China, Portugal and other international locations, you will ensure products are innovative, commercially successful, fully compliant with global regulations and designed with the end consumer at the heart of every decision.

This is a highly influential role requiring a technically strong leader who understands how to develop world-class products whilst balancing innovation, compliance, quality, cost and customer experience. You’ll play a key role in shaping the future direction of our product portfolio and building a high-performing product development team.

• Develop and deliver the company’s product development strategy and multi-year product roadmap.
• Lead the complete product development lifecycle from concept through design, engineering, testing, validation, manufacture and commercial launch.
• Manage and develop the Product Development and Engineering team, creating a high-performing culture.
• Own and continually improve the company’s stage-gate New Product Development (NPD) process.
• Design products with manufacturability, quality, cost efficiency and the end consumer experience at the forefront.
• Lead innovation, new product development and continuous improvement initiatives across the product portfolio.
• Manage supplier and factory development activities across China, Portugal and other international manufacturing locations.
• Oversee tooling development, prototype approval, engineering validation, sample sign-off, BOM accuracy and production readiness.
• Ensure products meet all applicable regulatory, safety and compliance requirements across UK, European, North American and international markets.
• Oversee product testing, validation and certification programmes.
• Work closely with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Purchasing, Quality and Aftersales teams to ensure successful product launches.
• Use dealer feedback, customer insight, warranty data, market trends and competitor analysis to drive future product development.
• Drive value engineering, product cost optimisation and margin improvement initiatives.
• Own the Product Development and R&D budget, including tooling investment, testing expenditure and business case development.
• Identify emerging technologies, market trends and opportunities that support the long-term growth strategy of the business.

• Successful delivery of agreed product development projects.
• Reduced product development lead times.
• Improved product quality and reliability.
• Reduction in warranty claims and field failures.
• Product margin improvement.
• Cost reduction through engineering and design improvements.
• Successful execution of the product roadmap.
• BOM accuracy and production readiness.
• Full compliance across all global markets.
• Increased customer satisfaction.

• Significant experience leading Product Development, Engineering or R&D teams…