Furniture Technologist

A leading UK online furniture retailer is looking for a Furniture Technologist (Quality & Performance) to take full ownership of product quality from concept through to customer delivery. This is a hands‑on role at the centre of the Product team, acting as the link between design, suppliers, and real‑world product performance. You will ensure everything we develop is built correctly, compliant, and performs consistently once in the hands of the customer. You will work closely with Buying, Design, Merchandising, Customer Service, and our global supplier base to deliver products that are commercially viable, technically sound, and built to last. This is a hybrid role, with a minimum of 3 days per week based in our London office or warehouse in Clacton‑on‑Sea, Essex, and the remaining 2 days working from home.

Key Responsibilities

• Own technical development and quality standards across furniture and lighting from concept through to production.
• Own product compliance across all ranges, ensuring adherence to UK and EU regulatory and safety standards.
• Stay up to date with relevant legislation and ensure all products and suppliers remain compliant.
• Partner with suppliers to ensure products are manufactured correctly, consistently, and to required standards.
• Review and sign off technical packs, materials, construction methods, and finishes.
• Own and manage product specifications, including revision control and communication of changes to suppliers and internal teams.
• Lead and coordinate product and component testing across UK and international suppliers.
• Approve pre‑production samples, identifying issues early and resolving them before bulk production.
• Own supplier quality performance, including review and approval of QC reports prior to shipment.
• Drive value engineering and cost optimisation without compromising product integrity.

Quality & Performance Ownership

• Attend the warehouse in Clacton‑on‑Sea on a weekly basis to review in‑stock product quality and work directly with the Warehouse Quality Control team.
• Own the monthly returns and refunds analysis, identifying trends, root causes, and priority issues.
• Take full responsibility for product quality performance post‑launch, ensuring issues are resolved at source and not repeated.
• Lead root cause analysis on all key quality issues and implement corrective and preventive actions across suppliers and internal teams.
• Maintain and update product quality standards and documentation, ensuring consistency across all suppliers.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Buying and Merchandising to balance design intent, quality, and commercial targets.
• Provide technical guidance to Buying and Design teams throughout development.
• Partner with Customer Service to understand recurring issues and ensure feedback is actioned at product and supplier level.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong, proven experience specifically within furniture is essential — candidates without direct furniture experience will not be considered.
• Experience in a Furniture Technologist, Product Development, or Quality role within retail or manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of furniture construction, materials, and production processes.
• Confident interpreting technical drawings and translating them into production‑ready products.
• Experience working with overseas suppliers and managing quality in fast‑paced supply chains.
• Solid understanding of UK and EU product safety standards, testing, and compliance requirements.
• Strong problem‑solving ability with a practical, hands‑on approach.
• Able to take ownership, make decisions, and drive issues through to resolution.
• Highly organised and comfortable working at pace.

Additional Requirements

• Able to travel to factories in the Far East approximately 2–3 times per year to support product development and supplier quality.
• Mandarin language skills are beneficial but not essential.

Role Summary

This role is accountable for ensuring that products are not only developed correctly and compliantly, but continue to perform in the real world. It requires a balance of technical expertise, commercial awareness, and hands‑on involvement across both supplier and UK operations.