Creative Product Manager
Qode · Ho Chi Minh City
Creative Product Manager
Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Employment Type: Full-time
About the Role
Our client is looking for a Creative Product Manager to lead its Creative & Product Development function. You will set the creative and product direction, lead the team that turns ideas into finished products, and make sure every new product is on-brand, high quality, delivered on time, and commercially scalable.
This is a hands-on leadership role. About half of your time goes to running the creative production and product development process and leading your team, so we are looking for someone with a clear aesthetic point of view who can also build the systems and standards to scale the team.
Key Responsibilities
1 - Research & Product Strategy
- Translate Business Strategy and Brand Strategy into a creative and product direction for each product line, series, and collection.
- Build quarterly Product Development Roadmaps across product lines and business goals.
- Define concept, aesthetics, visual storytelling, and a consistent visual language across the whole portfolio.
- Monitor market trends, competitors, customer behavior, and market gaps across the US and European markets, including Amazon, TikTok Shop, Walmart, Etsy, and related channels, particularly in Art & Craft, DIY, and Activity Kits.
- Identify product opportunities based on commercial value, customer experience, and ability to differentiate.
- Research new materials and finishing techniques; build and manage the innovation pipeline.
2 - Creative Production & Product Development Management
Idea & concept development
- Lead concept development from insight and ideation to Product Brief, Creative Brief, and detailed design direction.
- Define themes, illustration styles, colors, materials, formats, and product experience that fit the target customer.
- Build evaluation criteria for concepts and creative output (differentiation, customer experience, aesthetic quality, commercial potential, brand fit, and execution capability).
- Make sure concepts meet functionality, quality, cost, timeline, and manufacturability requirements, and can expand into a series or collection.
Creative production & art direction
- Review and approve concepts, moodboards, artwork, and visual direction, ensuring quality and consistency with brand positioning.
- Provide art direction for product projects, launch campaigns, and commercial content.
End-to-end development process
- Own the full process: Research, Ideation, Concept, Design, Prototype, Sampling, Validation, and Launch Readiness.
- Set review and approval criteria for each stage, from concept validation and artwork review to sample approval.
- Manage roadmap, timeline, milestones, resources, and quality across multiple projects at the same time.
- Maintain product specifications, design files, and artwork assets; proactively identify risks and resolve bottlenecks.
Team leadership
- Lead, assign work to, and coach the Product Development team: Product Research, Product Idea, Designers, and Artists.
- Set goals, output standards, and capability development plans for each team member; give clear, constructive feedback.
- Build and standardize SOPs, templates, frameworks, evaluation criteria, and approval processes.
- Standardize data, documentation, and creative assets so the team stays consistent as it scales.
Supplier & cross-functional work
- Work with Supply Chain and suppliers on sample development, material selection, packaging, manufacturing feasibility, and cost optimization.
- Ensure products meet quality, safety, e-commerce platform, intellectual property, and target-market regulatory requirements.
3 - Product Launch & Commercialization
- Manage the product lifecycle from development through post-launch.
- Partner with Marketing, Brand, and Social Media on Go-to-Market plans and on communicating product value and differentiators consistently.
- Prepare artwork, product information, and launch materials.
4 - Evaluation & Optimization
- Track post-launch performance: sales, conversion, customer reviews, return rates, and contribution margin.
- Analyze customer feedback and business data to assess concept effectiveness, quality, and product experience.
- Propose improvements, new versions, bundles, and series or collection extensions based on actual results.
Requirements
Must-have
- Strong creativity and a clear aesthetic sense, backed by a portfolio or products you directed.
- 7+ years of experience in Creative, Art Direction, Product Development, Product Management, or New Product Development (NPD).
- 3+ years of experience leading a team in a related field, with the ability to give clear feedback and develop people.
- Solid understanding of the product development process, including setting evaluation criteria at each stage.
- Proven experience developing physical products from concept to commercialization and managing multiple projects at once.
- Hands-on experience working with factories, suppliers, or manufacturing partners; working knowledge of materials, manufacturing, and cost optimization.
- Proficient in project management methods for schedule and budget control.
- English proficiency for working with international partners and reading technical and market research materials.
- Bachelor's degree in Architecture, Fashion Design, 2D Graphic Design, Art Direction, Product or Industrial Design, or a related field (Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, or Marketing backgrounds with strong creative experience are also welcome).
Tools
- Adobe Creative Suite, 3D tools, prototyping
- Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets
- Notion / Asana
- AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity for research and product development
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive salary, 13th-month salary, and profit-based bonus based on business performance.
- Monthly attendance bonus.
- Annual performance review and salary adjustment.
- Personal health insurance and comprehensive physical and mental health care policy.
- Annual health check-up organized by the company.
- 16 days of annual leave plus additional seniority leave.
- 3 remote working days per month.
- Learning and development budget; internal and external training in professional and soft skills.
- Onboarding program and a Buddy throughout the probation period.
- Annual team building, plus retreat activities for the management team.
- Internal engagement activities: monthly Fridays, Year-End Party, Mid-Autumn Festival, Women's Day (Oct 20, Mar 8), Men's Day, and other celebrations.