Built by enthusiasts and for enthusiasts, Enthusiast Auto Holdings (EAH) has grown from a family-owned  Volkswagen repair shop in Wadsworth, Ohio into one of largest specialty e-commerce companies in the automotive  aftermarket industry. EAH designs, produces, and sells proprietary parts and kits for a rapidly growing number of  automotive makes and models, and it partners with hundreds of other performance brands to bring the enthusiast  community an unparalleled customer experience. Over one million enthusiasts follow EAH's banners on social  media. EAH owns the following banners (websites): ECS Tuning, Turner Motorsports, Pelican Parts, Rennline, (each of which target German makes), Texas Speed & Performance (Domestic), Z1 Motorsports (Asian), and EVAnnex (Tesla / EVs). EAH is owned by Cortec Group, a premier private equity firm, and senior management. Since its  partnership with EAH two years ago, Cortec has invested millions of dollars to expand EAH’s and TSP’s operations,  facilities, technology, and leadership.  

THE POSITION: 

EAH is looking for a motivated candidate to fill the role of Head of Product Development. This position will report  to the CEO of EAH and work from our company headquarters in Wadsworth, OH.  

The Role: 

The Head of Product Development will provide the vision and direction for all in-house brands (IHBs), with a  specific focus on new product development ideation, pipeline and roadmap development, improving time to  market (TTM) and successful execution of the product roadmap (speed and quality). 

This position requires excellent organizational, coaching and development, verbal and written communication skills  and the ability to work in a team environment. While the position resides in Wadsworth Ohio, there may be some  travel to banner companies. This position supervises a team of 20-30 across all banners and six total locations. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Product Pipeline & Roadmap 

• Develop and oversee company-wide processes that deliver a rigorous, commercially successful product development pipeline
• Make data-driven decisions on prospective new products and product lines, while maintaining a close relationship with the product team to ensure enthusiast needs are being met
• Engage with the community to learn customers, identify market trends and opportunities, with a specific focus on new markets (EV, overland, drift, driver assistance, etc.)
• Establish the foundational elements of future development efforts before engineering begins design, such as supplier partnerships, vehicle sourcing, financials, specifications, efficient scheduling, etc.
• Maintain a healthy balance of new product line creation, expansion of existing product lines, and development of select halo products 
• Maintain a regular cadence of engaging stakeholders, including sales and product, to ensure they have clarity and visibility to our vision and strategy.
• Collaborate with the product team to align on high level targets and objectives to ensure their goals are being met
• Create steam line processes, improve time to market (TTM) and ensure we execute product roadmap with speed and quality
• Provide oversight and share best practices across all banners for engineering processes and roadmap development.

Product Lifecycle 

• Ownership of house brand goods from cradle to grave, including ideation, planning and prioritization, pricing, inventory, merchandising, continuous improvement, EOL.
• Create a framework for collaborating/communicating across departments, including Sourcing, Product, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service to help maximize the impact of new product launches.
• Drive the creation of engineered goods that work to elevate our brands, product catalog, and address the needs of our enthusiast community 
• Create annual sales forecasts and collaborate with product, marketing, S&P, and sales to hit goals of revenue, gross profit, and margin
• Creation of (and subsequent pivoting as needs of the business dictate) processes and procedures to efficiently and repeatably develop and release new house-developed and private label performance products. 
• Define and report on throughput and efficiency metrics against quarterly and annual forecasts
• Provide consistent visibility to stakeholders on both new product releases as well as to the continued progress the development team is making towards defined development goals

Talent Management 

• Build and lead a high-performing team of design engineers, shop technicians, technical writers, quality assurance testers, and project managers.
• In conjunction with leadership team, drive change to improve team culture and drive accountability
• Propose and deliver programs that increase efficiency, throughput, and employee satisfaction
• Oversee management and associate training/development to increase associate skillsets and competency levels

Creativity & Inclusion 

• Foster an environment of openness across the organization toward new product ideas from multiple channels and departments
• Praise and promote daring and creative solutions to problem solving
• Curate events in which the community is able to engage with our team and build relationships to ensure the team is capturing the voice of the customer for design efforts.

EAH offers a competitive compensation package including excellent Medical, Vision, and Dental coverage, 401K  retirement plan and paid time off. Please include salary expectations along with your application on  careers@ecstuning.com. 

Note, this position requires relocation to Wadsworth, Ohio area.

Requirements 

• 10+ years of experience managing a high-accountability team
• 10+ years of documented successes in product management, preferably in the automotive aftermarket
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, or related field required; Masters degree in OCM, MOL, MBA, or related field preferred
• Strong interest in being on a growth-centric team
• Demonstrated leadership, coaching and influencing skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including a strong ability in Excel
• Positive interpersonal and communication skills (written & verbal)