VP, Product - remote

Nathan James is looking for a VP, Product to lead end-to-end product commercialization and strategy in support of our mission being a key driver in helping 4X the business over the next three years.

People-first company, design-first home.

We are a design-first, home furnishing company focusing on the habits of urban dwellers and first time home buyers. We pride ourselves on the best in class customer happiness, providing the highest possible quality products that are affordable for the majority and assembly that isn't dreadful.

As a people-first company, we understood from day one the importance of being fully distributed. 

A person who will be happy, fulfilled, and successful in this role and as a remote team member at Nathan James is someone who values life and identity outside of work.

This role is the Product Function Owner at Nathan James and reports directly to the COO. This role will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of contract manufacturing (sourcing, quality management and on-time production) as well as all aspects of product development (product design and product engineering). This role will be leading the function to support the launch of 100+ new SKUs annually and expanding product lines across the home category, while continuously improving our product experience.

This role will make an immediate impact by leading our China and Vietnam Country Managers to execute Nathan James’ mission and oversee the production of 50-100 containers per month. The role will also oversee our Director of Product Development and her team while providing guidance on our product assortment expansion into new home furnishing categories. VP Product is responsible for cultivating and leading high performing teams, managing organizational design, developing efficient internal/external procedures in order to simplify operations for scale. This role will require approximately 4-6 weeks of travel per year to visit existing vendors, our teams and potential new vendors. 

We understand, now more than ever, that time is infinite. That’s why with everything we work toward, we try to solve for happiness. Happiness means a lot of different things to different people, so we put in the work that goes into building an inclusive and supportive place for you to do the best work of your career. Our values and our benefits are designed to support a healthy relationship with your work. Our operating values provide the framework we use in building a happy and resilient organization.

We also understand working for Nathan James isn’t the main function of your life, and we don’t expect that! We’ve found that a team member who will be happy and fulfilled as a remote team member at Nathan James is someone who values their personal identity outside of work. That’s why we don’t create mandatory team hangouts or events. We focus on how to improve collaboration, not forcing engagement.

We collaborate best when we listen and learn from each other. We become stronger when we advocate new perspectives and viewpoints. This gives us all the chance to amplify our voices to achieve our goals. This is why we’ve been a remote company since day 1. We focus on what we’re solving for, so we don’t create barriers or expectations that distract us from our mission. We also don’t set unreasonable working hours, deadlines, or goals. We create with calm, “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”.  

When you join the Nathan James team, you can expect a thorough, but mindful onboarding process with ramp-up time to learn. You can expect to give and provide direct feedback. You can expect minimal meetings. You can expect to work with smart and good people. You can expect to be counted on. Most importantly, you can expect to do the best work of your career here. 

We’re looking for someone with an entrepreneurial mindset who has extensive experience managing the complete product lifecycle in furniture from an engineering perspective. You must have a deep understanding of raw materials, where they’re sourced from, who are the primary buyers and what they are being used for. You’re aware of the emerging manufacturing markets and know how to spot opportunities. You’re a big proponent of automated manufacturing. You are deeply analytical, data-driven, and comfortable analyzing data to make decisions. You should be a decisive individual who is tuned into the industry and able to intuitively forecast future challenges based on today’s news. You are proactive in your process and learn quickly, leveraging both software and documentation.

You are a big-picture thinker who is comfortable and effective working both at the strategic and tactical levels.You have high standards, you’ve seen great, and want to implement great. You’re passionate about pushing the boundaries on product experience, especially when it comes to home! You're eager to unlock your own potential, and subsequently unlock even more rapid growth for Nathan James’ product function. If everything you’ve read so far is exciting you on a weird level, then you are the type of person to be a key contributor to innovation and scaling a business like Nathan James! 

On a granular level we’re looking for:

For this role we do require that your normal workday has at least 4 hours overlap with the Montreal workday (currently UTC-5) without impinging on your personal/family life. 

This is a remote role, since we are a remote company! We encourage everyone to work in whichever manner that helps them perform their best.You’re free to work where you work best, anywhere in the world: home office, co-working space, or coffee shops. That hinges on effective writing, self-awareness, and comfort with open communication.

Our benefits are all aimed at supporting a life well lived both at work and away from work.

We’re all about reasonable working hours, sharing, ample vacation time, wellness, education, comfort, and giving back. We offer competitive salaries, for a similar role in the country you will be working from.

Please submit an application here that speaks directly to this position. There are no right answers or cookie-cutter expectations. A cover letter is not required, but those that clearly demonstrate how Nathan James would be a great fit for you and how you would be a great fit for us, will be given full attention and are highly appreciated. 

You’ll hear from us about advancement to a video screen and then on to a work sample, where you’ll get a chance to see the types of challenges you would be solving in this role. Our interviews are all remote by Whereby video chat (no software needed), with your future colleagues, on your schedule.

We appreciate your consideration into having Nathan James be part of your career.

Our open conversation starts with this post. We look forward to hearing from you.
Check us out on LinkedIn here!