POSITION OVERVIEW

At AC Infinity, we're looking for an experienced Product Development Manager to manage and coordinate consumer-product development programs across our U.S. and international product, engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams. This position will play a hands-on role in moving new products from initial concept through engineering development, validation, production, launch, and continued improvement. The Product Development Manager will help coordinate communication between Product Management, Industrial Design, Engineering, Firmware, Software, Manufacturing, Sourcing, Quality, and other teams to ensure projects remain organized, on schedule, and aligned with product requirements. AC Infinity develops connected consumer products that combine hardware, electronics, sensors, intelligent controls, firmware, software applications, and environmental-control technologies. This position requires someone who can understand how these different disciplines work together and effectively coordinate development activities across teams in the United States and China. The ideal candidate is highly organized, technically capable, comfortable working directly with engineers and manufacturing teams, and able to identify project risks and follow through on issues until they are resolved. This position requires professional fluency in both Mandarin Chinese and English and the ability to travel regularly to China for extended periods throughout the year.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Product Development and Project Management

• Manage product-development programs from initial concept and requirements through engineering development, validation, production, launch, and post-launch improvement.
• Develop and maintain project schedules, milestones, deliverables, responsibilities, and deadlines.
• Coordinate activities across Product Management, Industrial Design, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Firmware, Software, Manufacturing, Sourcing, Quality, and Operations.
• Ensure product requirements and project priorities are clearly communicated to the appropriate development teams.
• Track project progress and follow up with responsible team members to ensure deliverables are completed on schedule.
• Identify project risks, delays, technical concerns, and unresolved decisions and escalate significant issues when necessary.
• Help resolve conflicts involving product requirements, engineering limitations, cost, quality, manufacturing capabilities, resources, and schedules.
• Maintain accurate project documentation, schedules, meeting notes, action items, and development records.
• Provide management with regular visibility into project status, schedules, risks, blockers, and required decisions.
• Manage multiple product-development projects and priorities simultaneously. Cross-Functional Coordination
• Serve as a key point of coordination between U.S.-based and China-based product-development, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
• Facilitate communication between Product Managers, designers, engineers, Project Managers, factories, suppliers, and other development partners.
• Ensure teams clearly understand project requirements, priorities, responsibilities, dependencies, and deadlines.
• Coordinate meetings, technical reviews, project updates, and follow-up activities across multiple teams and time zones.
• Help identify communication gaps or misunderstandings that could result in delays, design changes, or unnecessary engineering rework.
• Translate business and product requirements into clear action items for technical and manufacturing teams.
• Help ensure engineering solutions remain aligned with the intended product functionality and customer experience.
• Escalate unresolved issues to the appropriate department leaders when cross-functional decisions are required. Technical and Manufacturing Coordination
• Work directly with engineering teams throughout the product-development process.
• Participate in discussions involving mechanical design, electrical engineering, firmware, embedded systems, sensors, controls, wireless connectivity, software applications, and related technologies.
• Coordinate product-development validation stages including EVT, DVT, PVT, pilot production, and mass-production readiness.
• Track engineering issues identified during development and validation and ensure appropriate follow-up and resolution.
• Work with factories, contract manufacturers, suppliers, and engineering partners to support product development and production readiness.
• Help identify manufacturability, quality, cost, sourcing, and production risks during development.
• Coordinate engineering samples, prototypes, validation builds, pilot production, and other development activities.
• Support the transition of new products from development into mass production.
• Assist with resolving technical, manufacturing, or quality issues identified during validation and production. China and International Development Coordination
• Work closely with AC Infinity's product-development, engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, and supplier partners in China.
• Communicate professionally in both Mandarin Chinese and English with U.S. and China-based teams.
• Travel to China regularly to support product-development programs, engineering reviews, validation builds, supplier coordination, factory activities, and production readiness.
• Be willing and able to spend extended periods in China based on business and product-development needs, with total travel potentially reaching up to four months per year .
• Help bridge communication, technical, cultural, and operational differences between U.S. and China-based teams.
• Develop strong working relationships with engineers, factories, contract manufacturers, component suppliers, and other international development partners.
• Provide clear updates to U.S.-based management regarding project progress, technical issues, production readiness, and other developments occurring during international travel. Product Development Process Improvement
• Follow and help improve standardized product-development processes, documentation, and stage-gate procedures.
• Maintain organized project records and ensure required development documentation is completed.
• Identify opportunities to improve project tracking, communication, accountability, and cross-functional execution.
• Help establish consistent practices for project updates, engineering reviews, validation, production readiness, and issue tracking.
• Participate in post-project reviews and help incorporate lessons learned into future product-development programs.
• Support department leadership in improving the overall efficiency and consistency of the product-development process.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 5 years of professional experience in product development, project management, technical program management, engineering program management, hardware product management, or a related field.
• Professional fluency in Mandarin Chinese and English, including the ability to communicate effectively in a professional and technical business environment.
• Demonstrated experience taking physical products through multiple stages of the product-development lifecycle.
• Experience developing consumer electronics, connected hardware, smart-home products, appliances, IoT products, environmental-control products, or other electromechanical products.
• Experience coordinating projects involving multiple technical and business functions.
• Working understanding of multidisciplinary product development involving several of the following: o Mechanical engineering o Electrical engineering o Firmware and embedded systems o Mobile applications or cloud-connected software o Sensors and control systems o Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or other wireless connectivity o Manufacturing and production
• Familiarity with product-development validation stages such as EVT, DVT, PVT, pilot production, and mass production.
• Experience working directly with engineering and manufacturing teams.
• Strong project-management, organizational, problem-solving, and prioritization skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to identify project risks, follow up on outstanding issues, and escalate problems when necessary.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively across teams, cultures, and time zones.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to China, including extended stays, for a total of up to four months per year depending on business needs.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Significant experience working with engineering, product-development, manufacturing, or supplier organizations in China.
• Experience working across both U.S. and China-based product-development organizations.
• Educational or professional background in engineering, product development, technical program management, or hardware product management.
• Experience developing connected products that combine hardware, firmware, software applications, sensors, controls, and wireless connectivity.
• Experience developing smart-home, environmental-control, HVAC, ventilation, lighting, IoT, or other connected electromechanical consumer products.
• Experience working directly with factories, contract manufacturers, component suppliers, and engineering partners.
• Experience coordinating multiple product-development programs simultaneously.
• Experience with formal product-development processes and stage-gate systems.
• Experience supporting new-product introduction and the transition from engineering development into mass production.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a hands-on Product Development Manager who takes ownership of projects and follows them through from concept to production. This person should be comfortable moving between conversations with Product Managers and designers, technical discussions with engineers, project-status reviews with management, and production discussions with factories and suppliers. The ideal candidate does more than maintain schedules and organize meetings. We are looking for someone who understands enough about physical product development to recognize potential problems, ask the right questions, follow up with the appropriate teams, and help drive issues toward resolution. This person should also be highly comfortable working between the United States and China. Professional Mandarin and English communication skills are essential, as this position will regularly coordinate with China-based engineering, manufacturing, and supplier teams and may spend extended periods working in China throughout the year. Success in this position will be measured by organized and predictable product-development execution, clear communication between U.S. and international teams, accurate project visibility, timely identification and resolution of development issues, and successful delivery of products through engineering validation and mass production.

AVAILABLE COMPANY BENEFITS

• 401(K) Program with company match.
• Healthcare insurance for full-time employees (Medical, Dental, Vision).
• Life Insurance for full-time employees.
• Long-term disability for full-time employees.
• Paid Time Off.
• Fitness Reimbursement Program.
• Employee Discount Program.
• Company Lunch (two times a month).
• Company Breakfast/Beverage (two times a month).

JOB TYPE

Full-Time

PAY TYPE

Salaried:

$80,000-$100,000 a year Final compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, technical background, and overall fit for the position.

EXPECTED HOURS 40

Per Week + SCHEDULE

• Day shift
• Monday to Friday
• Additional hours may be required based on product-development schedules, international collaboration, and business needs.
• Regular international travel is required.
• This position requires travel to China and may require extended stays in China, with total travel potentially reaching up to four months per year.

LOCATION

• This position will be in the City of Industry, CA 91789.
• Candidates interested in employment with AC Infinity must relocate before starting work if moving from a different area. This is required.
• This position is an in-person position. It is not a remote position.
• Regular international travel to China is required.

NOTICE FROM THE COMPANY AC

Infinity is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetic information, creed, citizenship, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Pay:

$80,000.00 - $100,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) matching Dental insurance Employee discount Flexible spending account Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Vision insurance Application Question(s): Years of experience leading led cross-functional consumer hardware/electronics product-development programs involving teams in both the U.S. and China, from product requirements through engineering validation and mass production? Are you professionally fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese, and are you willing and able to spend approximately four months per year traveling in Asia across multiple trips?

Work Location:

In person