Requisition Number: WS-8657
Area of Interest: Product Development - Design
Organization: Corporate
Brand/Division: Williams-Sonoma
Position Type: Full-time
JOB DESCRIPTION
Position Summary
Design and development of WS Food Prep product categories including: Cookware, Cooks Tools, Bakeware and Cutlery.
Specific Responsibilities
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Support the design/development needs across multiple categories to produce new products that reflect the WS Brand and customer's needs, while innovating best in class meaningful design.
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Manage projects from concept and product benchmarking, through to prototyping, design engineering specification to part approval and final production.
* Work with designers and engineers of our vendors and manufacturers through all aspects of the development and product implementation process, keeping a new traditional aesthetic in mind.
* Apply best practice processes for NPD projects through specification documents including 'design specification', 'quotation BOM's', 'issues tracking', 'part approval' and 'product review and improvement' documents
* Specify, implement and approve key production deliverables such as, prototypes, tooling modifications, testing, and production to meet project-timing milestones.
* Ensure that all the final design details and pre-production samples are approved
* Review and approve product specifications, final designs and final design samples
* Ensure products have been designed to required regulatory and WS requirements
* Research applicable new trends and technologies and present product ideas
* Liaise with external design/engineer/manufacturers/vendors and internal WS departments
REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Qualifications
* Bachelor's degree (or experience in related field).
* Proficiency in MAC and PC, Adobe Creative Suite, 3D CAD Software ("Solidwork" & "Keyshot" ideal).
* Strong organizational skills.
* Ability to prioritize and schedule work in a deadline driven environment.
* Strong communication skills.
* Advanced knowledge in the area of new product development processes from concept to production (ideally in the Kitchen electrics, bakeware, tools or kitchenware fields)
* Strong conceptual design
* Model making, Rapid prototyping exposure or hands on experience
* Strong hand sketching abilities
* Exposure to prototype, quality, benchmarking, life testing and regulatory product testing
* Organizational and product development project management skills
* People relationship skills; ability to motivate suppliers/vendors and their teams, and ability to provide recommendations to the William Sonoma team
*LI-MV
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
About Williams-Sonoma Inc.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of products for the home. The retail segment of the Company’s business sells its products through five retail store concepts: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma Home. The direct-to-customer segment of the Company’s business sells similar products through its seven direct-mail catalogs and through six e-commerce Websites. The Company’s Williams-Sonoma stores offer a selection of culinary and serving equipment, including cookware, cookbooks, cutlery, informal dinnerware, glassware, table linens, specialty foods and cooking ingredients. The Company has two segments: retail and direct-to-customer. The catalogs reach customers in the United States, while the five retail concepts, as of February 1, 2009, operated 627 stores in 44 states.
(Source: 10-K)