Head of Product Design & Development

About Lovepop

Lovepop is on a mission to create one billion magical moments.  We combine art x engineering to create the most magical paper art cards & gifts.  Featured on Shark Tank in 2015, Lovepop has become one of the top 10 Shark Tank investments in lifetime revenue.  Lovepop consistently ranks in the top Google results for cards online, enjoys 18% national brand awareness, and has helped its customers create over 50 million magical moments.  The opportunity ahead of us is large, exciting, and meaningful, and we are constantly looking for A+ talent to help us become the number one online destination for cards.

About the role

As Lovepop’s Head of Design & Product Development your mission is to create inspiring product lines and designs that deliver magical moments to customers, attract new customers, drive repeat revenue, establish Lovepop as the #1 online destination for cards, and deliver a strong return on investment of design resources.

This position reports directly to the Co-Founder & CEO and is an integral part of the executive leadership team.  Upon joining, you will fully own the entire Lovepop product development process, which currently includes over 1,000 active products, 10+ product form factors, 200+ new designs launched annually, and a team of 50+ designers across our US and Vietnam organizations. As a remote-first company, this role can be based anywhere in the United States.

Design inspiring products - Our success is tied to how well our products resonate with our customers!

• Creative content generation that is on point and quick, makes you laugh, makes you cry

• Amazing aesthetics and eye for design across illustration, 3D engineering, and sentiments

• Attention-getting concepts across humor, pop culture, trend, and Zeitgeist

• Resonance for core occasions such as birthday, sympathy, and key holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas

• Resonance on traditional themes such as heartfelt, garden, and religious contentInnovation on new product lines

Run a cohesive and compelling product development and design strategy - A set of principles and guardrails that can motivate and empower the design team and Lovepop organization to confidently and quickly make awesome new products!

• Clear strategic rationale for product development strategy, building on Lovepop’s existing product development strategy

• Thoughtful product development lanes, with clear objectives and resource allocation

• Clear approach to expanding Lovepop’s creative styles and reach

• Strategic pricing approach

• Strategic merchandising approachCollaborate with CEO and CMO, as well as Marketing, Retail, and Lovepop.com teams on the Lovepop brand and bringing it to life

Lead customer-obsessed product development

• Ownership of customer-job-to-be-done framework, and assignment for all products (e.g., product taxonomy)

• Consistent customer insights gathering and application back into the product development process (e.g., reviews, on-site surveys, focus groups)

• Depth in perspective on how product development choices impact customer lifetime value

• Bonus: Customer co-development projects, or pre-order / voting on designs

Develop & nurture design partnerships

• Drive growth in licensed product partnerships (e.g., Disney, Star Wars, and Harry Potter) as well as strategically develop new licensing opportunities

• Explore and build additional product partnerships (potentially to include sales team collaboration, charity partnerships, brand collabs, designer collabs, or other opportunities)

Own product design team execution and results

• Iteration on the product development model and processes

• Design team metrics, including revenue, pace, cycle time, design ROI

• Company communication on execution and status, including with FP&A, Lovepop leadership team, and strategic board conversations

• Accurate & timely royalty reporting and minimal audit penalties

Own product design team strength & health

• Recruit, grow, and retain exceptional designers and design team leaders

• Maintain an environment for people to thrive and accomplish their goals

• Set clear expectations with all design team members for their roles and create a performance-, customer-, and team-oriented culture based on the Lovepop values

Qualifications

• Design experience: 10+ years of relevant experience, including hiring designers and design leaders, substantially moving the needle on product development performance, and generating creative product lines.  Experience driving product line expansion and experimentation, merchandising and assortment planning, and managing a creative team to perform on customer-oriented metrics.  Has an incredible eye for design and a proven track record of developing inspirational product that does its job exceptionally well.  Strong art x engineering background.  Experience developing high profile partnerships, licensing brands, negotiating license agreements, and developing licensed and partnership product lines.

• Leadership experience: 5+ years of experience leading a motivated, aligned, and outcomes-oriented team.  Prioritizes effectively, delegates appropriately, and generates leverage in their day.  Keeps talent benches, hires exceptional people, and develops them with a healthy combination of support, ownership, monitoring, and direct feedback.

• Financial acumen:  Can lead an organization to make smart investments, manage a budget, and identify and pursue initiatives that will move the needle in the metrics.  Ability to partner with accounting and FP&A to ensure accurate financial statements for the product development P&L.

$175,000 - $200,000 a year

Note that the pay listed above is a base salary. In addition, the role is eligible for a competitive bonus program. Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate, including skill set, experience, qualifications, and other job-related reasons.

Operating philosophies

Lovepop Values

Engineering: Curiosity to discover how the world works

Hunger: Desire to take on more than is expected

Magic: Delivering unexpected experiences

Connection: Building relationships with each other

The team I’m on is more important than the team I lead: The ideal candidate fully subscribes to the philosophy described in Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage that organizational health is key, and can only be maintained when all leaders put their working team’s objectives ahead of the objectives of the team they themselves lead.

We need nimble and dynamic A+ players everywhere: A+ talent loves working with A+ talent, and organizations perform to the lowest common denominator.  Today’s pace of change, and the ambitious goals we have set, mean that all our people need to challenge our ways of working and think strategically, with open minds and the ability to effect change and take ownership of it.