Senior Product Operations Manager

Job description

--- | | | | --- | --- | | Company: | In Common With + Quarters | | Reports to: | Felicia Hung, Co-founder | | Location: | Brooklyn, New York | | Employment: | Full-Time | | Compensation: | $110,000-$140,000 annually | | Direct Reports: | One | | Expected Start Date: | March 29, 2027 | | Application Deadline: | November 30, 2026 | --- **In Common With + Quarters** In Common With is a design studio defining a new vocabulary for interiors, in which old-world craft meets at-scale manufacturing. Founded in 2018, our practice brings endless curiosity, exceptional materials, and unparalleled adaptability to lighting and objects for all spaces—created with our team of expert craftspeople, artists, and engineers around the world. In 2024, we opened Quarters, a hybrid retail and hospitality destination in Tribeca. Through ongoing collaborations with our peers in the worlds of art and design, Quarters crafts a vision of home that’s unfolding and alive. Our obsessions with craft and collaboration originate from a boundless interest in people, objects, and an ongoing conversation between the two. Every product we make and every partnership we cultivate has that in common. --- **The Role** In Common With and Quarters are entering an exciting stage of growth, expanding product categories, strengthening global manufacturing partnerships, and building the operational infrastructure needed to support long-term scale. As the company continues to evolve, we are investing in leadership that brings greater structure, visibility, and operational excellence to our product development process. The Senior Product Operations Manager plays a critical leadership role in transforming creative vision into operational execution. This position is responsible for designing and leading the systems, processes, and cross-functional partnerships that enable products to move efficiently from concept through development, launch, and production. By creating clarity around timelines, budgets, vendor partnerships, and product readiness, this role helps ensure the organization can deliver exceptional products while maintaining quality, profitability, and scalability. Reporting to Felicia Hung, Co-founder, and partnering with Product Design, Supply Chain, Finance, Sales, and Marketing, this role manages Product Operations day to day and is accountable for delivering its goals. Given goals set with the Co-founders, this person determines the plans, timelines, and processes to achieve them. The role leads one direct report, an engineer. The Senior Product Operations Manager establishes planning frameworks, oversees product development operations, strengthens global vendor relationships, and creates the visibility needed for leadership to make informed decisions throughout the development process. This is an opportunity for an experienced, hands-on product operations manager who turns goals into reliable plans and execution. The ideal candidate is highly organized, collaborative, and solutions-oriented, with the ability to balance big-picture thinking with exceptional attention to detail. They are energized by building systems and leading cross-functional work in a design-driven environment where craftsmanship and collaboration are central to the company's success. --- **Core Responsibilities** Strategic, Hands-On Product Development Operations - Own and drive the integrated product development calendar and Gantt timelines, managing milestones and deliverables, proactively identifying risks (cost, margin, feasibility, timeline) and enabling confident decision-making at the leadership level. - Plan and manage operations for multi-category product development, ensuring timelines, budgets, and deliverables align with business goals across design, marketing, and sales. - Translate creative direction into clear operational plans, ensuring feasibility, margin health, and manufacturability at each stage. - Manage approved product development budgets—including prototyping, testing and launch readiness—ensuring financial accountability and operational efficiency. - Lead material sourcing and feasibility reviews, championing cost-optimization through thoughtful value engineering—without compromising design integrity. - Oversee and execute product operations workflows, ensuring seamless transitions across design iterations, manufacturing, and downstream teams. Vendor & Production Coordination - Execute the global vendor strategy agreed with the Co-founders, supporting innovation, reliability, and scale—identify and onboard partners that meet our standards of quality, ethics, and performance. - Lead vendor selection, onboarding, and contract negotiation within approved terms, including NDAs and workflow integration. - Define vendor capabilities and establish performance management through KPIs, scorecards, and a regular review schedule. - Oversee product sampling, material and finish approvals, and BOM accuracy, ensuring a smooth handoff from development to production. - Partner with Product Design to review manufacturability, troubleshoot design issues, and facilitate real-time problem solving with vendors. - Build and maintain a centralized documentation system for vendor onboarding and collection sampling. Operational Readiness, Compliance & Quality - Lead go-to-market operational readiness across product, packaging, inventory, and compliance—ensuring all functions are aligned for successful launch and production. - Define quality standards across finish, fit, and function; establish quality control and testing protocols and packaging specifications that protect design integrity, operational efficiency and customer experience. - Manage product compliance, including third-party certifications (ETL, CE, CB, UL) and monitoring regulatory shifts that may impact production or market access. - Hand off the complete product package to the Supply Chain team, with all documentation needed for successful order fulfillment, including BOM, purchasing, QC standards, and compliance details. - Provide costing and margin analysis to the Co-founders and Finance to inform pricing strategy, margin goals, and portfolio decisions, supporting long-term product and brand health. - Collaborate with Supply Chain and Finance team on pilot production budget to align with overall inventory budget. - Collaborate with the Supply Chain Team on redundancy and risk mitigation strategies across critical materials and single-source vendors, ensuring operational continuity. - Orchestrate any escalated current product troubleshooting with Supply Chain. Lead alternate sourcing and product updates for current products, collaborating with Supply Chain to minimize disruption to current production. --- **Ownership + Working Style** - Given goals set with the Co-founders, determine the plans, priorities, and processes to achieve them, resolving complex, cross-functional problems independently. - Drive department-level outcomes through scalable systems, cross-functional initiatives, and clear success metrics. - Manage and develop the Product Operations team, starting with one direct report, setting clear expectations and coaching performance. - Shape department direction through recommendations on capacity, sourcing, and product economics; final strategy and goals are set with the Co-founders. - Champion continuous improvement by measuring results, analyzing performance, and implementing initiatives that enhance efficiency and impact. - Develop and maintain scalable SOPs and systems across Product Operations, ensure the team follows them, and recommend changes to shared systems for approval. --- **Requirements** - 6+ years of experience in product development or product operations, including 3+ years managing people and cross-functional programs in product-based industries, ideally lighting, furniture, or high-end retail. - Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Industrial Design, or a related field, or equivalent experience; advanced degree is a plus - Proven track record of managing people and delivering complex, cross-functional programs. - Experience managing international manufacturing partners, product costing and BOMs, and certifications such as UL, ETL, or CE. - Proficiency with project management and ERP/PLM systems, and familiarity with 3D modeling programs and shop drawings. - Must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future employer sponsorship. --- **Desired Qualifications** - A passion for design and a keen interest in the studio’s work. - Detail-oriented with excellent organizational and communication skills - Ability to work effectively with others across functions and levels. - Comfortable with ambiguity and change; able to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment. - Demonstrated ability to own work, meet deadlines, and follow through on commitments. - Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills. - Open to giving and receiving feedback as part of a culture of growth and learning. - Conducts work with integrity, confidentiality, and professionalism. - A genuinely empathetic group. We have a non-negotiable no jerks policy. Being nice is free. - Dog-friendly (we share our studio with a few four-legged coworkers) --- **Studio + Compensation** - This is a full-time, in-person position based in our Gowanus, Brooklyn studio. The target start date is April 1, 2027. - Studio hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. - $110,000–$140,000, commensurate with experience - Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance (with 100% monthly premium coverage options), generous PTO, a 401(k) with employer match, and profit sharing. --- **How to Apply** Apply below. Please share in your cover letter why you are a good fit for the studio, and what unique perspective you bring. The application deadline is November 30, 2026. Due to the level of responses we receive, we will not follow up with all applicants directly, but if we feel you are a good fit, we will follow up with qualified candidates within one to two weeks. Thank you for your application!