Director of Product Development, Engineering & Manufacturing

About the project

Director of Product Development, Engineering & Manufacturing Furniture | Smart Furniture | Mattresses | Global Sourcing | Toll Manufacturing Company: DanKen Industries Engagement: Contract, Fractional, or Long-Term Stage: Early-Stage, Pre-Production & MVP Development Work Structure: Remote with international supplier and manufacturing coordination About DanKen Industries DanKen Industries is developing a premium furniture and smart furniture company serving the U.S. market. Our product portfolio includes upholstered sofas, sectionals, recliners, home-theater seating, upholstered beds, bedroom furniture, mattresses, media consoles, motorized TV-lift furniture, illuminated mirrors, and related accessories. Many products will incorporate smart features including powered reclining systems, linear actuators, adjustable headrests, LED lighting, USB and Type-C charging, wireless charging, Bluetooth audio, touch controls, electric fireplaces, motorized TV lifts, and other integrated technologies. DanKen will initially manufacture through qualified contract and toll-manufacturing partners, primarily in the Dominican Republic, supported by suppliers throughout China, the United States, Latin America, and other global markets. Our long-term objective is to establish a scalable manufacturing operation while maintaining ownership of product development, engineering documentation, Bills of Materials, specifications, sourcing strategy, quality standards, and manufacturing processes. The Opportunity We are seeking an experienced Director of Product Development, Engineering & Manufacturing to lead the technical development of our products from concept through production. This is far more than a CAD, sourcing, procurement, or factory-management role. We are looking for a technical leader capable of managing the complete product development process: Concept → Product Design → Engineering → Prototype Development → Testing & Validation → Cost Engineering → Global Sourcing & Supplier Qualification → Manufacturing Readiness → Production & Continuous Improvement The successful candidate should be able to transform ideas, sketches, reference products, and concepts into production-ready furniture while personally executing work within their areas of expertise and coordinating designers, suppliers, manufacturers, and specialized consultants when needed. Primary Responsibilities Lead product development from concept through production. Evaluate designs for manufacturability, quality, durability, cost, scalability, and performance. Develop and review 3D CAD models, engineering drawings, assembly drawings, BOMs, specifications, SOPs, work instructions, and production documentation. Engineer furniture structures, internal frames, mounting systems, hardware integration, and production-ready assemblies. Coordinate prototypes, engineering revisions, testing, validation, design freeze, and production readiness. Establish engineering standards, documentation control, quality requirements, and continuous product improvement. Collaborate with industrial designers to ensure products remain visually appealing while being practical, manufacturable, serviceable, and cost-effective. Mechanical & Smart Furniture Engineering Strong mechanical engineering and mechanism-development experience is highly desirable. Experience should include: Recliner and motion mechanisms Mechanical linkages and pivot systems Actuator and motor integration Structural mechanism frames and mounting systems Laser cutting, sheet metal fabrication, machining, welding, and manufacturing processes Manufacturing tolerances, durability, testing, and failure analysis Reverse engineering and product optimization The ideal candidate should understand how mechanical, electrical, structural, upholstery, and furniture systems integrate into reliable production-ready products, including cable routing, serviceability, smart-feature integration, and component accessibility. Upholstery, Foam & Mattress Development Experience with upholstered furniture, mattresses, or related soft goods is highly preferred. Knowledge should include upholstery construction, sewing, stitching, fabrics, synthetic leathers, foam selection, cushion development, comfort engineering, support systems, material utilization, manufacturability, and mattress construction including foam, hybrid systems, pocket springs, quilting, edge support, specifications, costing, and product validation. Cost Engineering & Reverse Engineering The successful candidate should understand true manufacturing costs rather than relying solely on supplier quotations. Experience should include product benchmarking, reverse engineering, should-cost analysis, value engineering, material and labor analysis, tooling evaluation, manufacturing-cost analysis, supplier evaluation, cost reduction, make-versus-buy analysis, and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs. Global Sourcing & Toll Manufacturing The role will support sourcing and supplier development across the Dominican Republic, China, the United States, Latin America, and other international markets. Responsibilities include identifying and qualifying suppliers, evaluating factory capabilities, preparing technical RFQs, comparing quotations, supporting negotiations, qualifying contract and toll manufacturers, establishing manufacturing standards, coordinating pilot production, solving production challenges, and supporting production scale-up. Experience sourcing furniture materials, foam, fabrics, hardware, mechanisms, electronics, wiring, packaging, and manufacturing services is highly desirable. Manufacturing Operations Candidates with hands-on manufacturing leadership are strongly preferred. Experience should include production engineering, process improvement, production planning, Lean Manufacturing, capacity planning, workflow optimization, quality systems, factory layout, manufacturing KPIs, inventory and material flow, production implementation, and continuous improvement. Ideal Background Relevant experience may include product development, furniture engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, upholstered furniture manufacturing, mattress development, soft goods, mechanism engineering, supplier development, global sourcing, procurement, cost engineering, contract manufacturing, toll manufacturing, production engineering, quality systems, and manufacturing operations. What We're Looking For We are not looking for someone who only creates CAD models, performs sourcing, manages projects, or purchases products from factory catalogs. We are looking for a technical leader who understands how products are designed, engineered, costed, sourced, prototyped, manufactured, validated, and successfully brought into production. The ideal candidate will help establish the technical foundation of DanKen Industries by leading engineering, manufacturing development, supplier qualification, production readiness, and continuous improvement while helping transform innovative concepts into production-ready products. Startup Environment DanKen is an early-stage, self-funded company operating with a lean and disciplined business model. This role offers the opportunity to help build the company's technical, engineering, manufacturing, and supplier-development foundation from the ground up. The engagement may begin as a contract, fractional, retainer, milestone-based, or long-term arrangement with significant opportunity to grow alongside the company as production and operations expand.

Skills required