Director, Product Design & Development

Four Hands is seeking a Director, Product Design & Development to translate our long-term brand vision into seasonal product collections that are cohesive, commercially relevant, and unmistakably Four Hands.  

This highly visible role sits at the intersection of design strategy, product development, materials innovation, and team leadership. The Director will partner closely with Merchandising, Planning, Sourcing, Marketing, Sales, and other teams to create design-forward products that lead the market while meeting expectations for margin, manufacturability, quality, and launch timing. 

In This Role

Creative Leadership

• Partner with Senior VP of Design to lead trend research and creative brief development bringing a clear, informed point of view on where design is going and what Four Hands should do about it 
• Build and evolve the seasonal material and finish library into a competitive advantage
• Develop the seasonal color story with Category Leaders, creating alignment on direction by launch 
• Build out established design houses season over season, layering core and design-forward updates that keep the line fresh without losing coherence 
• Partner with Marketing and Merchant Team on brand storytelling, editorial content, and design-led campaigns that build Four Hands' profile in the trade and consumer market 
• Partner with Sales leadership to build training content and collection context that gives the sales team the language and confidence to sell design-forward products 

Design Strategy & Product Development 

• Execute the translation of the annual creative brief into a complete seasonal design story: cross-category suites, capsules, item stories, and a material, finish and fabric library that is cohesive across every launch 
• Translate design direction at the suite and category level, guiding the team on form language, material, finish, hardware, and sub-category coverage before development begins 
• Drive the creative road map with enough specificity that Product Development, Merchandising, and Marketing can all build from the same foundation 
• Identify white space in the assortment: new categories, emerging formats and materials or functionalities, and build a plan to address them 
• Enforce the standard for what "brand-right" means across every category and hold the Product Development team to it through weekly design review 
• Review and approve CAD and render files for final design intent ensuring specifications and comments are fully resolved and actionable across international manufacturing teams 
• Partner with Sourcing, Merchandising, and PD Operations to own the yearly development calendar and protect the milestones that matter most 
• Partner with Merchandising and Planning to align design decisions with commercial goals, assortment strategy, and seasonal line plans and communicate changes to the PD team with clear context and prioritization 

Material Development 

Indoor Case Goods 

• Create the strategic direction for the indoor case goods material library with Sr VP of Design— wood species, stone, ceramic, painted and specialty finishes, and hardware — ensuring it spans the right range of price points, aesthetics, and vendor capabilities 
• Drive proprietary finish and material development that builds a competitive advantage — techniques and finishes that are distinctly Four Hands and cannot be easily replicated off the shelf 

Fabric and Leather 

• Create seasonal fabric and leather direction across categories with Sr VP of Design 
• Build mill and tannery partnerships that give Four Hands access to colorways, textures, and materials not available to the broader market 
• Drive the execution of proprietary leather and fabric development 

Outdoor Materials 

• Create the outdoor material strategy across all weather-exposed categories with Sr VP of Design — solution-dyed acrylics, performance weaves, powder-coated aluminum, teak, reclaimed and treated woods, all-weather wicker, and concrete composites 
• Drive outdoor finish development that aligns with seasonal creative direction and meets performance standards for UV, moisture, and fade resistance 
• Evaluate and introduce new outdoor materials with a clear framework: performance data, sustainability credentials, commercial viability, and vendor capability to produce at scale 

Lighting Materials 

• Set material and finish direction for lighting across all categories with Sr VP of Design aligned with the seasonal brief and brand aesthetic 
• Hold the standard for lighting development quality: shade construction, socket and hardware specifications, finish durability, and design intent from concept through production 

Design Systems & Standards

• Own the design language of Four Hands at a systems level, defining the material, finish, form, and construction standards that make the line coherent across categories, seasons, and price points 
• Establish CAD standards, specification templates, and design package requirements that allow the Product Development team to execute consistently and hand off to manufacturing without ambiguity 
• Create and maintain documentation systems that build institutional knowledge: capturing design rationale, material development history, and vendor learnings in a form the team can access and build on 

Technical Foundation

• Bring authoritative knowledge of furniture construction across all major categories, case goods, seating, upholstery, metal, outdoor, and lighting to every design, vendor, and development decision 
• Apply value engineering discipline at the direction-setting level, so that cost and manufacturability are designed from the start, not corrected at sample 
• Build and maintain deep knowledge of the Four Hands vendor base, understanding which manufacturers can deliver the required construction, materials, volume, quality, and design intent  
• Hold a high standard for international communication: design intent should be fully resolved and clearly documented before it reaches a manufacturing partner 
• Stay current on international freight procedures, certifications, and country-of-origin considerations that affect material sourcing and production decisions 

The Ideal Person

• BA or BBA in Industrial Design, Merchandising, International Business, or a related field 
• 15+ years of progressive experience in international product development and design leadership within the home furnishings industry 
• Demonstrated track record of building and leading creative teams that deliver commercially successful, design-forward products across multiple categories 
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of furniture construction across case goods, seating, upholstery, metal, outdoor, and lighting 
• Experience developing seasonal material libraries across indoor case goods, fabric and leather, outdoor performance materials, and lighting across multiple price levels and countries of origin 
• Experience owning a seasonal design program end to end: creative brief through market delivery, across multiple categories simultaneously 
• Strong commercial instincts with the ability to hold a design point of view and make it work within margin, assortment, and calendar constraints 
• Established industry relationships with designers, material suppliers, mills, tanneries, trade press, and manufacturing partners 
• Demonstrated external presence in the design industry: trade events, editorial, press, or design community leadership 
• Clear, confident communicator across all levels of the organization and across cultures, languages, and time zones 
• Expected domestic and international travel