Product Technologist

Full Time, Permanent Monday to Friday. We are also open to candidates seeking part-time work (2-3 days per week).

Salary: £30,000 - £45,000 DOE (This role may include overseas travel to China where required.)

Company Overview: This is a leading multi-million-pound retail manufacturing business specialising in a wide range of housewares categories, recognised for our commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

Due to continued growth, we are seeking an experienced Product Technologist with a background in home accessories and décor to join our clients expanding team. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is consumer-focused, solutions-driven, and passionate about delivering high-quality products while building strong internal and external relationships.

The Role: As Product Technologist, you will play a key role within the design and technical team, supporting the development and delivery of products from concept through to production. You will be responsible for evaluating new product designs, managing supplier relationships, overseeing critical paths, and ensuring all technical, testing, sealing, and compliance processes run smoothly. The role requires excellent attention to detail, strong organisational skills, and the ability to communicate effectively with suppliers, factories, customers, and internal stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Advise the Product Development and Account Management teams on product safety, suitability, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate across teams to assess product quality, testing requirements, and design feasibility.
• Identify and communicate product feasibility against legal and performance requirements, explaining constraints where necessary.
• Review product samples for functionality, quality, and physical characteristics, liaising with factories as required.
• Liaise directly with customers' technical teams to ensure all requirements are understood and achieved.
• Communicate technical and testing requirements to factories and review all test reports/results.
• Maintain accurate internal records and update customer technical databases and systems.
• Monitor critical paths and sample timelines to ensure key deadlines are met.
• Ensure buying, seal, and production samples are received, handled, and dispatched efficiently.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with partner factories, product teams, and customers.
• Conduct outgoing sample checks to ensure quality standards and labelling requirements are met.
• Analyse technical and quality data to identify improvements and resolve potential issues proactively.
• Support sustainability and ethical compliance initiatives across the supply chain.
• Ensure packaging, labelling, testing, and factory auditing requirements are completed and compliant.

Skills & Experience Required:

• Previous experience working as a Product Technologist within the homeware, textiles, home accessories, or décor industry is essential.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing, testing, sealing processes, compliance, and sustainability certifications.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Commercial awareness of the homeware market.
• A proactive and solutions-focused mindset with strong problem-solving abilities.
• Comfortable working independently while also collaborating effectively within a small team environment.
• IT proficient with experience managing technical systems and documentation.
• Willingness to travel, including occasional overseas travel where required.