Head of Product (Part-Time Contract) – Premium Jewellery & Utility Brand

About the role
Pixie Wing is looking for a part-time Head of Product to own new product development from idea to launch.
Pixie Wing is a premium jewellery brand built on a simple problem. Rings come off for work. Scrubs, gloves, gym, trade, water. The Pixie Wing Ring Keeper is a pendant that secures a ring against the chest in seconds, without unclasping the chain. It is designed for the Doers: surgeons, nurses, tradespeople, athletes, anyone whose hands are busy and whose ring matters.
We sit across two categories. We are jewellery, judged on material, finish and how it looks on the body. We are utility, judged on whether the mechanism works under pressure every day. Most brands pick one. We hold both. The next products come from the same place: a real problem, solved precisely, in a piece people want to wear.
We are New Zealand-founded, sell in 20+ markets through Shopify Plus, and the US is our largest market. Product development has sat with the founders until now. We have a live pipeline of new products and a range of necklaces and earrings to refine. The founders set the brand rules and make the final calls. We need someone to run everything in between: the point of view, the briefs, the designers, the factory and the detail.
What you will own
You own the product pipeline end to end. You are not on the tools; you direct the people who are.
Direction. Watch both of our categories: fine and fashion jewellery on one side, utility, everyday-carry and performance gear on the other. Find where they meet. Build a point of view on what Pixie Wing should make next, grounded in our customer data (returns, reviews, post-purchase surveys, customer service feedback). Bring the founders problems and opportunities, not finished SKUs.
Briefs. Turn that direction into clear design briefs for our freelance designers and engineers. Run the iterations so the founders see options at decision points, not every round.
Development. Run sampling and tooling with our China sourcing agent and the factory: sample reviews, mould and tooling decisions, rejection reasons, spec sheets, cost targets, timelines. Work through the issues that come up until the product is right.
Compliance and readiness. Own materials testing (SGS), physical performance tests, product specifications and the launch checklist, including pricing inputs across our 17 fixed-price markets.
Handoff to marketing. Deliver a launch pack to the Head of Marketing for each new product: final specs, materials and measurements, positioning line, samples for photography and pricing. Marketing takes it from there.
You report to the CEO and run one product decision meeting with him each week, with options framed and a recommendation.
What stays with the founders
The founders keep the brand rules, design sign-off and the go/no-go on every product. You will inherit a written set of product rules in your first month: what a Ring Keeper must do, the design principles behind the range, which materials, silhouettes and price positions are off-limits. Within those rules you have real authority to set direction. Outside them, you bring the case and the founders decide.
This is a role for someone who wants to shape a brand's product line without needing to be its author.
What we are looking for
Must have
Taste in both directions. You have a point of view on jewellery and on utility products, you follow both worlds, and you can explain why a product works or doesn't on each count. We will test this in the interview.
You have taken physical consumer products from brief to shipped product, working with external designers and an overseas factory. Jewellery, watches, eyewear, bags or small hardware all count.
You have run sampling and tooling: you know what a rejected sample looks like, how to read a spec sheet, and how to push a factory without burning the relationship.
You are comfortable owning a process with many moving parts and several outside parties, and you close loops without being chased.
You write clear, short briefs and summaries. Our founders read fast and decide fast.
Nice to have
Experience with plated stainless steel, titanium or PVD finishes.
Materials compliance for EU, UK or US markets.
Experience in a DTC or Shopify-led brand.
Some overlap with Chinese business hours for supplier calls.
Not required
Designing products yourself. We have designers. We need the person who directs them.
How the role works
Commitment: part-time contract, 2 to 3 days a week, with flexibility around sample arrivals and launch weeks.
Location: remote. Australia or New Zealand preferred for time-zone overlap with the CEO and our overseas sourcing agent.
Reports to: CEO.
Works with: freelance designers and engineers, our overseas sourcing agent, Head of Marketing, Head of Customer Service.
Tools: Slack, Google Drive, Shopify (product data), Claude Team workspace.
Rate: to be agreed with the candidate; day rate or monthly retainer.
Start: early 2027, or sooner for the right person.
First 90 days
Month 1. Learn the range, the customer data and the factory. Work through the product rules document with the founders and agree where your authority starts and ends. Take over the live product threads.
Month 2. Run the pipeline. The founders stop being copied on designer and supplier threads and see a weekly decision meeting instead. Rewrite the next design brief with your own point of view and get it to the designer.
Month 3. Deliver a product roadmap for the year with your recommendation on sequence, and the first launch pack to marketing.
How to apply
Send a short note on why this role, your CV, and two or three products you have taken to market with a line on your part in each.

Work arrangement
Yes