Sr. Manager, Creative Product Development

Virgin Galactic•Tustin, CA

22d•$121,650 - $185,625•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Creative Product Development leads the creative vision, product strategy, and end-to-end development of merchandise and product experiences supporting Virgin Galactic’s Astronaut Journey. This includes premium and exclusive collections created for future astronauts, flown astronauts, and invited guests. This role defines the aesthetic, emotional, and experiential identity of astronaut-related products, ensuring every offering reflects Virgin Galactic’s brand, mission, and values—particularly Bold Optimism, Astronaut Driven, Space for All, and Safety Above All. Serving as both a creative leader and product strategist, the Senior Manager develops distinctive merchandise that celebrates human spaceflight, strengthens the astronaut community, and extends the Virgin Galactic experience beyond the journey itself. Through exceptional design, storytelling, innovation, and craftsmanship, this leader will create products that become enduring symbols of achievement, belonging, and spaceflight heritage. This position is located in Tustin, CA and will work on-site 4 days a week and 1 day remote.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in premium product design, creative direction, luxury merchandise, product development, or related discipline.
Demonstrated experience developing and launching premium or luxury product portfolios from concept through production.
Experience serving high-touch customer populations, luxury consumers, exclusive membership communities, or similarly discerning audiences.
Experience operating within highly regulated, safety-conscious, security-sensitive, or technically complex environments is preferred.
Proven ability to translate brand strategy and customer insights into distinctive, storytelling-driven products and experiences.
Strong understanding of materials, manufacturing processes, prototyping, supplier management, quality assurance, and product lifecycle management.
Demonstrated ability to lead creative teams and influence cross-functional stakeholders at multiple organizational levels.
Strong business judgment with the ability to balance creative vision, customer experience, operational feasibility, cost, and commercial objectives.
Exceptional communication, presentation, decision-making, and project leadership skills.
Ability to manage multiple complex initiatives while maintaining quality, accuracy, and execution against critical timelines.

Nice To Haves

Experience operating within highly regulated, safety-conscious, security-sensitive, or technically complex environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead the creative vision and product strategy for astronaut-focused merchandise across apparel, accessories, collectibles, and premium lifestyle categories.
Develop cohesive, multi-tiered product portfolios tailored to distinct audiences and moments within the Astronaut Journey, including: Premium future astronaut and astronaut community collections, Exclusive flown astronaut collections featuring mission-specific storytelling, Elevated offerings for invited guests and key experience participants.
Translate Virgin Galactic’s brand strategy, mission, and values into compelling product concepts, design standards, and customer experiences.
Define product roadmaps, seasonal priorities, launch strategies, and creative milestones in partnership with key stakeholders.
Balance creative ambition, exclusivity, quality, scalability, commercial viability, and operational requirements throughout the product lifecycle.
Lead the development of bespoke products that reinforce astronaut identity, achievement, connection, and belonging.
Create limited-edition flown astronaut products incorporating flight data, individual milestones, spacecraft heritage, and other authentic mission elements.
Partner with Mission Operations and other technical stakeholders to thoughtfully integrate mission patches, flight profiles, approved imagery, materials, data visualizations, and relevant spacecraft details.
Ensure mission-related content and materials are represented accurately, appropriately, and in accordance with applicable safety, security, legal, and brand requirements.
Identify opportunities to personalize products while maintaining consistency with the broader Virgin Galactic brand and product architecture.
Direct the full creative development process, from initial concept and design exploration through prototyping, refinement, production, and launch.
Establish and uphold creative standards across all product categories, ensuring consistency in design, materials, packaging, presentation, and storytelling.
Lead design reviews and provide clear, actionable creative direction to internal teams, agencies, vendors, and production partners.
Champion the use of advanced materials, sustainable solutions, aerospace-inspired finishes, and innovative production techniques.
Embed meaningful narratives into each product, celebrating individual astronaut journeys, mission heritage, and Virgin Galactic’s pioneering spirit.
Ensure final products meet the highest standards for craftsmanship, functionality, durability, and premium presentation.
Partner with Astronaut Operations to integrate products seamlessly into training, events, expeditions, and other key Astronaut Journey touchpoints.
Collaborate closely with Brand, Commercial, Customer Experience, Mission Operations, Legal, Procurement, and other partners to deliver cohesive product launches and experiences.
Align product development with commercial priorities, partnership opportunities, brand campaigns, and customer engagement strategies.
Communicate creative direction, product plans, dependencies, risks, and recommendations effectively to senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
Build alignment across teams while navigating complex, high-visibility, and time-sensitive initiatives.
Lead the evaluation and selection of design, manufacturing, and production partners based on capability, craftsmanship, reliability, and alignment with Virgin Galactic’s standards.
Oversee product briefs, prototyping, sampling, production schedules, quality assurance, and final approvals.
Partner with Procurement and Legal to support supplier due diligence, contracting, intellectual property protection, and responsible sourcing requirements.
Proactively identify and resolve design, production, quality, cost, and timeline risks.
Ensure suppliers consistently deliver against established creative, quality, ethical, and operational expectations.
Develop elevated merchandise for invited guests that complements astronaut collections while preserving the distinction and exclusivity of astronaut-specific products.
Integrate product experiences into key moments, including Astronaut Office global experiences, welcome events, training days, flight day, and post-flight celebrations.
Design thoughtful product presentations, gifting moments, and launches that enhance the emotional impact of the overall experience.
Ensure each product touchpoint feels intentional, personal, and distinctly Virgin Galactic.
Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing creative product development team.
Set clear priorities, expectations, and measures of success while fostering accountability, collaboration, and creative excellence.
Embed Virgin Galactic’s values into product strategy, team culture, and creative decision-making.
Champion bold, future-forward thinking while maintaining disciplined execution and attention to detail.
Cultivate an inclusive creative environment that welcomes diverse perspectives and challenges conventional thinking.