Joseph Joseph are hiring a
Product Design Manager - Category Lead
At Joseph Joseph, we are driven by a simple yet powerful belief — that intelligent design has the ability to transform everyday living. We create distinctive, thoughtfully engineered products that not only solve real-world problems but also bring joy, beauty, and functionality to daily life.
Headquartered in London, we have grown into one of the world’s most admired houseware brands, with a presence in over 100 countries and partnerships with leading department stores, independent retailers, and a rapidly expanding e-commerce business.
We are seeking a talented Product Design Manager – Category Lead to join our New Product Development team at Joseph Joseph. As the Category Lead, you will take end-to-end ownership of the Cookshop, Cookware, and Cleaning & Organisation categories, reporting into our VP of Product Delivery and working closely with the Chief Creative Officer and cross-functional partners to deliver market-leading ranges on time and within budget.
What you will be doing:
- Category leadership:
- Set and execute the vision for Cookshop, Cookware, and Cleaning & Organisation, identifying opportunities to innovate and grow each category.
- Develop and maintain category road-maps in line with seasonal critical paths and commercial objectives and build inherent category value.
- Project delivery:
- Accountable for multiple, fast-paced complex projects launching into a global marketplace.
- Resolve design details and drive development forward, ensuring on-time launches against tight timelines.
- Liaise directly with packaging designers and manufacturing suppliers to manage prototypes, samples, and quality checks.
- Team management & succession:
- Line-manage the existing Cookshop & Cookware designer, providing coaching, feedback, and performance management.
- Mentor junior colleagues, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
- Cross-functional collaboration:
- Work with in-house and external designers, engineers, and commercial teams to align on requirements, budgets, and margin targets.
- Assess technical development issues, define scope for resolution, communicate options, and drive issues to closure.
- Commercial stewardship:
- Ensure all projects remain within agreed budgets and product costs align with margin targets.
- Analyse category performance post-launch, identifying learnings and improvements for future ranges.
What we need from you:
- An undergraduate (or master’s) degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Significant product development experience, with a proven track record of delivering complex consumer goods from concept to manufacture.
- Demonstrable category-leadership skills: strategic thinking, roadmap planning and the ability to drive innovation.
- Experience managing, mentoring, and developing design professionals, with the agility to support recruitment and handover processes.
- Strong stakeholder-management and communication skills, able to present ideas clearly to senior teams.
- Sound understanding of manufacturing techniques and processes, ideally with factory experience in the Far East.
- Proficiency in design applications such as Adobe CS and SolidWorks.
- A creative, entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to challenge conventional thinking while keeping ideas commercial.
What you will get from us:
- Competitive salary and holiday allowance
- Company performance related bonus
- A pension contribution
- An exclusive staff discount
- 24/7 healthcare appointment support
- Hybrid working – 3 days in office & 2 days from home and flex start/finish times
- External private employee wellbeing support
- Access to Perkbox
- Volunteer days
- Team Recognition scheme
- Training and Development
- Holiday carry-over scheme
- Season-ticket travel loan
- Cycle to work scheme
- Parental Leave support
- Holiday trading (buy/sell) and extra holiday days for long service
