Soft Goods Product Developer

Who We Are

WAYB never stops raising the bar on family products that are safer, healthier, and responsibly made. With thoughtful design and materials, we reinvent on-the-go gear to be better for families and the planet - way better. We carry out this mission by supporting and celebrating our people, from those who sew, to those who sell, and everyone in between. From our first product launch in 2019 to being named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces, we’ve built a team of curious creatives, capable makers, and big picture strategists who strive to do things a little differently.

What You’ll Do

Reporting to the Development Manager, the Soft Goods Product Developer will guide products from early concept through commercialization, ensuring WAYB’s standards for quality, innovation, sustainability, and user-centered design. You’ll manage technical specifications, manage prototype builds, and keep timelines, cost, and materials on track across multiple projects. Working closely with industrial design, engineering, manufacturing partners, and suppliers, you’ll communicate daily to troubleshoot challenges, refine construction and materials, and champion solutions that balance quality, cost, and manufacturing feasibility. You’ll maintain project calendars, materials libraries, and testing/compliance requirements. Ultimately, you’ll play a key role in bringing thoughtful, innovative softgoods to market while supporting the broader team needs across project management, testing, and operations.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Serve as an essential member of the product team, ensuring WAYB and Gentle Wuff bring to market products that accomplish our quality standards, design, and innovation
• Work closely with WAYB and Gentle Wuff industrial design teams to understand the vision and direction for the product
• Collaborate with internal teams and external manufacturing partners and suppliers to track product from prototype stages through commercialization and into production launch
• Own project development calendar, keeping the product on track to hit milestone deadlines
• Adhere to and advise on global compliance, regulation, and testing requirements
• Create the technical specifications for products to clearly communicate design requirements to manufacturing partners. This will include cost tracking through the Bill of Materials, dimensional data, and materials selection. 
• Review prototypes, samples, and production for adherence to quality and sustainability standards and manufacturing feasibility. Clearly communicate and track revisions to manufacturers.
• In collaboration with industrial design, design engineering, and category management, source high performance, sustainable, cost effective raw materials, chemistry, and trims. Maintain materials standards and sample library. 
• Ensure raw materials are confirmed and purchased to support an on time launch
• Monitor and contribute to quality control standards for raw materials and final production
• Assist customer service department with technical support 
• Apply company values, including environmental sustainability, to every material, process, and decision 
• Understand full scope of concept to commercialization to best support cross-functional expectations by maintaining clear lines of communication with logistics and operations; supporting sales and marketing needs and timelines 
• And other responsibilities as assigned

Who You Are

• You’re a collaborative team player willing to take on other duties to support your team
• You’re hard-working & diligent with a “no task is too small” attitude
• You’re extremely detail-oriented and organization is your superpower
• You take great care and responsibility for project and product success
• A strong communicator, you keep project documents updated and share information with teams, partners, vendors with ease and tact
• Not afraid to pitch in when needed, assisting in physical prototype builds as needed 
• Diplomatic by nature, able to keep varied teams and roles working towards same goal

What You’ll Need

• Authorization to work in the U.S. without a permit or sponsorship (required)
• Bachelor’s degree (required)
• 5+ years experience in a product field, with 3+ years of experience in Product Development, Project Management, Sourcing, Costing, or Design (required)
• Background check (required, due to user testing with families) 
• Willingness to work varied hours to comply with international time zones 
• Willingness to travel internationally (10-20% of time)
• Experience working and communicating across international teams
• Preferred: Sewing room or prototype experience
• Preferred: Experience with juvenile, outdoor, or other bags and equipment categories 
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator, SolidWorks , 3DExperience or other CAD experience preferred

Where We Are

WAYB’s Product Team is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a hybrid role, which has required  in-office days. This role also requires travel to various sites in order to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the position (10-20% travel). 

WAYB, Inc. (“WAYB”) is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. WAYB’s policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, marital or veteran status, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member), sexual orientation, pregnancy, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. It also prohibits discrimination based on a perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics. All such discrimination is unlawful.