Director Product Engineering

Mamava is transforming the culture of breastfeeding and workplace wellness with human-centered lactation and privacy pod solutions. The category creator of freestanding lactation pods and the leading expert in lactation design, Mamava has provided private, dignified, and comfortable spaces to pump or nurse, at work and on the go since 2013. With the addition of TalkBox solutions—sound-resistant spaces for calls, meetings, telehealth, and focused work—Mamava is now the first, only and most-trusted provider specializing in full-spectrum privacy spaces. Women-founded and led, the company  is headquartered in Burlington, VT, and designs, engineers, and assembles its pods at Mamava Manufacturing in Springfield, VT.

Position Summary

The Director of Product Engineering reports to the Chief Product & Data Officer and directs and coordinates all in-house and outsourced engineering and product design activities required to develop our physical products, new products, produce existing products and support customers.

The position is responsible for new product design and development and sustaining engineering working with in-house, outsourced and supplier based design/engineering resources as needed. This is a managerial position that has leadership, professional development, and performance management.  Additional responsibilities include; product testing and evaluation, strategic sourcing, compliance, certifications and patents. The position partners with the Chief Product & Data Officer to set annual department priorities and manage the budget.

This is a salaried full time position based in Burlington, VT with a hybrid office schedule.

Responsibilities:

Management

• Approve and maintain department product development processes, train employees and ensure that standard operating procedures are followed.

• Forecast and budget operating costs for the department and direct preparation of budget requests.

• Develop annual resource plans to accomplish budgeted activities and identify needs for hiring, training, reassignment or dismissal of employees as needed.

• Assign personnel as required to perform development, documentation, reviews and evaluations, product testing, engineering support to supply chain and customer experience teams.

• Manage, mentor and provide performance development feedback and annual reviews for direct reports.

• Track industry trends, relevant legislation and competitor activities.

• Investigate existing patents and recommend new patents to protect Mamava design information. File patents working with a patent attorney when appropriate.

• Maintain a working knowledge of safety policies and regulations.

New Product Design and Development

• Work closely with the Vice President of Product to align strategies and share insights across product categories.

• Manage new product design and development with internal and external resources. 

• Manage safety and regulatory compliance requirements, testing plans, component supply and manufacturer qualification, prototype process and evaluation, packaging development, and final product specs and drawings. 

• Support operational activities, 3D modeling software file maintenance, and system configuration.

• Develop and manage budgets, strategies, and schedules for new products and new accessories for existing products to meet the specified quality, performance, cost and go to market objectives.

• Interface with product management, supply chain, customer support, and other internal stakeholders to provide project status reports and ensure needs are met.

Sustaining Engineering

• Identify changes to existing products that will reduce cost, improve quality and reduce customer complaints and then initiate projects to develop, evaluate and implement these proposed changes.  

• Work with Product Engineers to manage the process to evaluate alternative product designs proposed by suppliers or other key stakeholders. 

• Evaluate and approve design changes, component and assembly specifications, tooling requirements, BOM changes and drawing releases to supplier and production.

• Review changes to the packaging and shipping of components and finished products and assure that the quality of the delivered products is not compromised.

• Assure that assembly and operating manuals and technical instructions are provided for all branded products and field repair kits and that they are complete, professional and consistent with NFPA standards.

• Review pods and parts provided under warranty, customer complaints and inspect returned products to compile product failure data, determine the root cause(s) of failures and approve the proposed corrective actions.

Qualifications: 

• 8+ years of product development experience. In addition, experience in supply chain management and project management is desired.

• Experience effectively managing and mentoring direct reports. 

• Proven track record of managing all aspects of a successful product throughout its lifecycle. 

• Solid technical background with understanding and/or hands-on experience in design, development and/or engineering.

• Competency in use of 3D modeling software (ie. AutoCAD & Inventor Solid-works, Fusion, Creo/Pro-E, etc) as a development tool. Modeling level design competency is a bonus.

• Prior experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms.

• Strong problem solving skills and ability to work effectively with cross functional teams.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• MS/BS degree in Engineering or equivalent preferred

• Passion for mission-driven work that supports families, care, and inclusion.