Product Lifecycle Manager - Soft Goods & China Sourcing

About this role

This role is for someone who has personally taken physical products through the full cycle with Chinese manufacturers — writing the spec, negotiating price and MOQs, running the sampling-to-production loop, and signing off on AQL-based quality control. Ideally in soft goods: memory foam, inflatables, textiles.

Your Mission

You own our products from the first spark of an idea to a quality-checked unit leaving the factory — and beyond. You turn what customers want into real products, build them with our suppliers, source the right materials, negotiate hard on cost, and make sure the quality is right every time. You carry a product through its entire life and keep making it better.

## Tasks

Discovery & Ideation

* Identify unmet customer needs through review mining, returns/complaint analysis, marketplace demand data, and competitive teardowns.
* Turn findings into clear product opportunities backed by evidence on demand, pricing, and the problem solved — and assess profitability and scalability before we commit.
* Maintain a prioritized pipeline of new products and improvements.

Prototype Development

* Write clear product specs (dimensions, materials, ergonomics, packaging) that suppliers can build against.
* Drive the sampling cycle with our manufacturing partners — request, evaluate, and iterate until comfort, form, and cost targets are met.
* Run hands-on comfort and durability checks, including assessments with real users, and feed results into the next round.

Sourcing & Materials

* Select and qualify materials — memory foam densities, cover fabrics, valves and bladders for inflatables, packaging.
* Source and negotiate on price, MOQs, lead times, and terms.
* Build reliable supplier relationships and develop backups to reduce single-supplier risk.

Quality Assurance & Control

* Define quality standards and AQL-based inspection criteria for each product.
* Coordinate and, where possible, conduct pre-shipment inspections and factory...