Director - Product Development & Design

About Us  

Founded in 2002, bbase Design Group is a global leader in sustainable eyewear design and production, headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices in New York, Barcelona and Asia. We partner with leading brands and retailers worldwide, blending creativity, technology, and responsible innovation to deliver fashion-forward eyewear with purpose.   

The Role 

The Product Development (PD) & Design Director provides strategic, commercial, and creative leadership to product development and design across both eyewear and packaging. Operating within highly competitive, margin‑conscious, and sustainability‑driven global retail markets - with a primary focus on the US and European regions — this role requires deep expertise in those retail structures. Our priority client segments span big box, mid premium, optical, and sports. 

In this role you will be responsible for leading your teams to deliver bbase’s strategic priorities including: 

• Managed, focused business growth 

• Margin optimisation 

• Sustainable innovation as a competitive differentiator 

• Digital acceleration and 3D capability expansion 

• Operational excellence and efficiency 

The Director acts as the senior bridge between our PD and Design managers, and Business Development, Sustainability and Supply Chain, ensuring that creative output is client centric, highly commercial, relevant to our priority markets, and delivered efficiently. 

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, this role provides strategic clarity, cross functional alignment, resource prioritisation, and senior commercial direction across the Product Development and Design functions. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Lead and align the Product Development and Design managers and functions to deliver commercially successful, client‑centric product ranges across priority US and European markets. 

• Drive cross functional collaboration between PD and Design Managers and senior stakeholders across the business to support product delivery against growth objectives and development priorities.  Key stakeholders include Business Development, Sustainability and Supply Chain. 

• Drive product strategy using multi‑reference inputs — including retail benchmarking, competitor analysis, supplier capability, trend insight, and internal performance metrics — translating opportunity into scalable, profitable ranges. 

• Oversight of own range architecture and portfolio discipline (core, volume, fashion tiers), optimising margin, hit rate, and client share of buy across key segments (big box, mid premium, optical, sports). 

• Partner with sustainability leadership to embed responsible innovation into mainstream development, positioning sustainable product as a commercial growth driver. 

• Align vendor development strategy with margin, innovation, and speed‑to‑market objectives, working closely with global factory partners in conjunction with the Supply Chain Manager. 

• Lead digital acceleration and 3D capability expansion to reduce sampling risk, improve workflow efficiency, and enhance speed to market. 

• Identify and implement process improvements that strengthen operational excellence, delivery timelines, and cross‑functional collaboration. 

• Provide strategic oversight and mentorship to our Product Development, 2D & 3D Design Managers, fostering a culture of commercial awareness, innovation, accountability, and capability development, including AI adoption. 

• Act as senior escalation and decision‑making authority across cross‑functional initiatives, driving clarity, prioritisation, and executive‑level alignment. 

About You 

The successful candidate will bring the following experience and capabilities: 

• Proven commercial leadership experience operating within global retail environments, with deep understanding of US and European retail structures, margin models, and seasonal dynamics (eyewear or accessories experience ideal). 

• 10+ years in senior creative and product leadership, with a strong product development background and proven success leading global teams to deliver scalable, commercially successful ranges that balance innovation and margin. 

• Proven ability to operate at senior leadership level, influencing cross-functional stakeholders and aligning creative direction with broader business strategy and growth objectives. 

• Demonstrated ownership of complex product portfolios, including range architecture, pipeline prioritisation, and hit-rate optimisation across multiple client segments. 

• Direct experience working with international factories and vendor partners, driving development from concept through production while aligning sourcing strategy with cost, quality, and innovation objectives. 

• Experience integrating sustainability into mainstream product development in a commercially viable way, positioning responsible innovation as a competitive advantage. 

• Track record of driving process improvement, digital adoption, and 3D capability integration to accelerate speed-to-market and reduce development risk. 

• Exceptional client-facing presentation and influencing skills, able to align stakeholders around strategic product direction and long-term commercial plans. 

• Comfortable leveraging AI and digital tools to enhance research, concept development, workflow efficiency, and market analysis across the product lifecycle. 

• High energy, commercially driven mindset, with the resilience to thrive in fast-paced, margin-pressured global supply environments. 

• Proficiency in relevant design and development tools (Adobe Creative Suite and associated platforms). 

• A degree in a relevant discipline (design, product development, marketing, or related field). 

• Fluent English speaker (Cantonese and Mandarin a benefit).