Director of Product Development

The story of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 isn’t really about the fire. It’s about what happened next: A remarkable moment when the most brilliant engineers, architects and inventors came together to build a new city. Their innovations – born of passion and practical ingenuity – shaped not just Chicago, but the modern world. What started 140 years ago continues to this day.

We are currently seeking an accomplished and passionate product leader for the position of Director-Product Development. In this role the candidate will lead smart product strategy, including IoT device development and production, mobile and desktop interfaces/applications, and back-end data analytics. The Director of Product Development serves a critical role as part of the management team, reporting to the CEO. Success will entail overseeing the entire product development process and making key decisions about hiring versus outsourcing, prioritization of features, and integrating feedback from beta tests and early adopters. Experience leading a high-functioning, agile development team is critical, as is experience with both software and hardware development.

• Drive device research, definition, planning, prioritization, design and production
• Define and deliver mobile applications
• Create world-class data capture, storage and analytics
• Work closely with technology and software resources from concept through execution
• Lead product competitive intelligence, product positioning, and product marketing initiatives
• Develop a strategic understanding of evolving trends in the cannabis tech space

The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in the development of an IoT consumer smart device and knowledge of all aspects of hardware and software from design through manufacture. Experience with firmware, interface design, data capture and analytics is preferred. Requires an MVP mentality, quick to market, and ideally has resources for US rapid prototyping and supply chain management through production. An interest in cannabis on a personal and professional level is helpful.

Requirements:

• Product development and product management experience in mobile, Internet/cloud, or data industries.
• Proven experience in product planning and product delivery.
• Ability to understand technical subjects, emerging technologies, and market dynamics.
• Experience in product marketing and direct interfacing with sales teams.
• Proven analytical skills with data, metrics.
• Involvement in user experience design and user research.
• Personality and leadership style fitting the environment of an early stage, dynamic technology company.
• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in engineering, computer science or related technical degree

Highly desired:

• Experience and knowledge of enterprise directed data products (e.g. data as a service, data monetization, and related)
• Experience in IoT
• Several years in start-up or mid-size companies that experienced high growth
• Sourcing and management of supply chain and production of related devices
• A keen eye from both the consumer and industrial design perspective
• Technical Master’s degree or MBA

Bonus Points for experience in Machine learning / AI technology, as well as experience with data analytics .