Director, Advanced Development

Director, Advanced Development 

Position Overview: 
SharkNinja is seeking a Director of Advanced Development to lead and inspire the creation of next-generation products for the Shark and Ninja brands. This role will help us build a new generation of innovative products for the Shark and Ninja brands. We thrive on designing and manufacturing great products that delight our customers. Working as part of our Advanced Development team, you will bring inspiration, creativity, and technical know-how to our development efforts to deliver credible solutions to populate our product roadmap.   

As the Director, you will have the opportunity to directly influence product strategy, work closely with cross-functional teams, and ensure that SharkNinja’s innovative designs meet the highest standards of quality, performance, and consumer value. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Provides clear leadership and direction for the Advanced Development team. Oversee product development projects, ensuring alignment with company goals and product roadmaps, while balancing creativity with technical feasibility. 

• Leads the exploration and development of new product concepts, focusing on cutting-edge technologies and consumer insights. Champion a culture of innovation while ensuring practical execution through prototyping and testing. 

•  Manage and mentor a team of senior engineers and designers, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.  

•  Partners closely with product management, design, and manufacturing teams to ensure that new concepts transition smoothly from development to production.  

• Collaborate with global teams across the U.S. and China to drive alignment and success. 

• Takes ownership of the product development lifecycle, including ideation, CAD design, prototyping, testing, and validation. Ensure that all designs meet the highest technical and functional standards. 

• Maintains a strong focus on consumer needs and market trends, ensuring that every product developed is both innovative and aligned with customer desires.  

• Leads the creation of proof-of-concept prototypes, utilizing CAD, rapid prototyping methods, and testing to validate ideas and ensure they are technically viable and aligned with consumer expectations. 

• Evaluates and optimizes the development process, driving continuous improvements in efficiency, design quality, manufacturability, and cost-effectiveness. 

• Ensures that all designs adhere to robust engineering standards and principles, driving high-quality, reliable, and manufacturable solutions. 

• Serves as the primary point of contact for advanced development initiatives, effectively communicating project status, challenges, and successes to senior leadership and other key stakeholders. 

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering, or a related field with a focus on engineering principles. 

• 8-12 years of experience in Mechanical/Product Design/Engineering, with at least 2-4 years in a senior leadership role. 

• Experience in the consumer goods household appliance space desirable. 

• Proficiency in SolidWorks and/or Creo CAD package(s) to a high level 

• Strong hands-on experience in building prototypes, testing, and iterating on designs. You’re comfortable working directly with teams to build, test, and refine prototypes. 

• Exceptional problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify key challenges early in the development process and take decisive actions to address them. 

• A highly collaborative approach to working across teams and regions, with experience in managing cross-functional projects and driving alignment between diverse groups. 

• Experience working in a global organization with cross-functional teams across different regions (e.g., the U.S., China) and an understanding of international product development challenges and opportunities. 

• A natural curiosity, with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement. You thrive in a fast-paced environment and are always looking for new ways to enhance design and engineering processes.