Product Development Manager- Home Products

Earthbound Brands•Bentonville, AR

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Earthbound is seeking a mid-level Product Development Manager (PDM) to join its Product Development team. This role is crucial for bringing seasonal home assortments to life across Walmart's in-store and .com channels, focusing on Window Curtains, Window Hardware, and Decorative Accent categories. The PDM acts as a key liaison between internal teams (design, PD Directors, packaging, marketing) and external partners (Walmart merchants, suppliers, cross-functional Walmart stakeholders). The ideal candidate is organized, detail-oriented, commercially minded, and thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Requirements

3–5 years of experience in product development, ideally within home décor, soft goods, or consumer products.
Strong understanding of the retail product lifecycle from concept through to on-shelf execution.
Experience managing supplier relationships and navigating post-commitment processes.
Proven ability to work effectively with both internal teams and external retail partners — comfort working directly with merchant teams at major retailers is a strong plus.
Comfort working with data — you can read a category health report and speak confidently to what it means.
Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail — you can manage multiple categories and deadlines simultaneously without dropping the ball.
Clear, direct communicator — you know how to brief a supplier, align an internal team, and manage an external retailer relationship.
A collaborative spirit — you understand that great product is the result of strong partnerships, both inside and outside the building.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with Walmart or other major mass-market retailers preferred.
Familiarity with PDP audits and .com assortment requirements preferred.
Experience working with Airtable or similar project management and data tracking tools preferred.

Responsibilities

Partner with PD and Design leadership to support seasonal planning.
Contribute to the development and management of the Design Brief, including SKU counts, supplier matrix, price points, fabrications, and assortment structure.
Support the seasonal vision and operating plan process, ensuring category-level research and trend insights translate into clear, actionable product direction.
Own and maintain the Item Development Matrix (IDM) in Airtable throughout the product lifecycle.
Manage supplier relationships day-to-day, ensuring clear communication, accurate timelines, and on-brief execution.
Lead the handoff meeting with the Execution Team at post-commit stage, providing full context on suppliers, deadlines, testing requirements, and all relevant details.
Partner with the Execution Team on post-commit tracking, sample approvals, and IDM updates.
Conduct and/or support PDP audits — ensuring product details, imagery, and photography are correct and complete across all channels.
Participate in Round 1 sample reviews alongside Design and PD Directors.
Escalate design intent issues, color discrepancies, or quality concerns to the appropriate stakeholders promptly.
Support the internal leadership review process — ensuring designs are brief-compliant and aligned before presenting to senior leadership for approval.
Prepare and present comprehensive assortment updates at the packaging and photography handoff meeting, including a detailed review of needs across in-store and .com channels.
Coordinate with the Packaging Project Manager on sample requests, dielines, intake forms, and milestone deadlines.
Flag any deadline risks proactively to the Walmart Merchant.
Build and maintain strong working relationships with Walmart merchants and cross-functional Walmart teams — serving as a key point of contact on product details, timelines, and assortment updates.
Collaborate with Earthbound's internal marketing team to ensure product strategy aligns with marketing priorities and key category storytelling.
Work closely with design team counterpart and leadership to ensure product briefs are clear, specific, and actionable.
Partner with Retail Analytics to understand category performance, volume drivers, and business trends.
Contribute to the end-of-season review process — prepared to speak to product performance data and provide informed interpretation.