Job Description

What you'll do
The Automotive Product Development team is dedicated to enhancing the equity of CTR's Retail Brands by improving the design and user experience of our private-label branded offerings. The Principal Product Developer will support the Product Development Manager in building processes and capabilities that deliver a consistent, authentic, and customer-driven product experience for our Automotive brands, Motomaster and Simoniz.
Lead and execute product development efforts from concept to production for all categories and brands within the portfolio under the guidance of the Product Development Manager.
Take on the role of lead designer, executing design tasks in close collaboration with the Product Development Manager. This position demands a distinct combination of project management skills and industrial design expertise to guarantee successful project execution and groundbreaking product development.
Communicate design intent through 3D CAD models, sketches, and redlining proposals for products in development to engineering teams and manufacturing vendors.
Develop and specify Visual Brand Language (VBL) packages for products in development, ensuring a strong and consistent visual brand language across the assortment.
Assist in testing and analyzing prototypes, product proposals, and competitor benchmark products.
Engage with Merchandising and Brand stakeholders to present findings through presentations.
Recommend product solutions by conducting competitive analysis via comp shops, gap analysis, product benchmarking, and testing.
Partner with category business and brand management teams to align on business priorities, product assortment architecture, through ongoing analysis of business categories and consumer foresight.
Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support business innovation pipeline goals by providing guidance on new technology, product design, manufacturing considerations, and other areas in the product value chain to deliver a competitive advantage.
Manage the creation of technical specification guides specific to product opportunities that integrate Critical to Quality (CTQ) and Critical to Experience (CTE) components.
Provide ongoing product and technical leadership to ensure product certification, registration, and integrity improvements.
Collaborate with Brand teams to provide art direction for packaging, marketing, etc., ensuring consistent brand presentation across all customer-facing channels.
Work closely with Global Sourcing, Quality, Brand, and PRO teams to integrate specifications into their work streams.
Travel domestically and internationally to vendor partners to participate in onsite engineering and manufacturing builds.
Conduct multi-pronged user-centric design research exercises with Brand, QA, and Merch teams to understand all aspects of the product experience. Analyze findings into actionable insights that identify feature sets, functionalities, and innovative approaches.
What you bring
Undergraduate degree in Industrial Design with 5+ years of experience in product development within industries such as consumer hard goods (toys, tools, home appliances), automotive OEM or aftermarket parts.
Creativity and strong problem-solving skills.
Strong sense of style, trends, and form applicable to both 2D & 3D design.
Proficiency in 3D modeling and rendering software (Solidworks & Keyshot preferred).
Proficiency in 2D graphics software like Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator.
Familiarity with manufacturing processes relevant to consumer goods.
Experience managing external agencies including briefing, selection, and project management.
Proven ability to work cross-functionally; demonstrated ability to collaborate, influence, and negotiate with senior colleagues.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate strategy into product specifications or direction clearly.
Ability to formulate recommendations based on thorough research and risk/reward assessment.
Strong presentation skills adaptable to various audiences.
Experience understanding consumer/market needs in developing technical product requirements.
Customer-focused and action-oriented approach.
Highly organized with attention to detail; able to manage multiple projects with varying scopes.
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About Us
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited ("CTC") is one of Canada's most admired and trusted companies. With more than 90 Owned Brands, 1,700 retail locations, financial services, exemplary e-commerce capabilities, and exciting market-leading merchandising strategies. We dream big and work as one to innovate with purpose for our customers at every level of our business, investing in new technologies and products, and doubling down on top talent to drive the company forward. We offer competitive salaries and wages to CTC employees, as well as store discounts, supported learning through our Triangle Learning Academy, Canadian Tire Profit Sharing, and retirement and savings programs for eligible employees. As part of our enhanced flex benefits program, we offer mental health benefits in the amount of $5,000 per year for benefits-eligible employees and their families, including total well-being, and mental health tools and resources for all employees. Join us in helping to make life in Canada better through living and working our Core Values: we are innovators and entrepreneurs at our core, outcomes drive us, inclusion is a must, we are stronger together and we take personal responsibility. It is an especially exciting time to join CTC and its family of companies where career opportunities are wide-ranging! Join us, where there's a place for you here.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
We are committed to fostering an environment where belonging thrives, and diversity, inclusion and equity are infused into everything we do. We believe in building an organizational culture where people are consistently treated with dignity while respecting individual religion, nationality, gender, race, age, perceived ability, spoken language, sexual orientation, and identification. We are united in our purpose of being here to help make life in Canada better.
Accommodations
We stand firm in our Core Value that inclusion is a must. We welcome and encourage candidates from equity-seeking groups such as people who identify as racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, women, people with disabilities, and beyond. Should you require any accommodation in applying for this role, or throughout the interview process, please make them known when contacted and we will work with you to help meet your needs.