CPO – Chief Product Officer (m/w/d)

Responsibilities

Our client, a fast-growing consumer brand in the footwear space, is seeking a Chief Product Officer to build and scale their entire product organization during a critical growth phase. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on operational excellence across product development, engineering, design, merchandising, sourcing, production, quality, and product marketing.

You will partner directly with the founders to develop long-term product and category strategy while ensuring flawless operational execution. When development processes break down, you step in. When quality, costing, or timelines miss targets, you diagnose root causes and solve problems alongside your teams. Where critical capabilities are missing, you build them.

Key responsibilities include:

• Building and evolving the product organization structure, defining clear ownership, processes, and leadership across the entire value chain from strategy through commercialization
• Recruiting, leading, and developing strong functional leaders and specialists to create an autonomous, well-structured, scalable organization
• Translating company strategy into clear priorities, structures, and operational initiatives that drive results
• Steering cross-functional strategic initiatives from concept through successful implementation with focus on speed and outcomes
• Optimizing processes to shorten decision cycles, reduce complexity, and increase organizational velocity
• Developing international manufacturing and supplier networks, leading strategic negotiations on costs, capacity, quality, timelines, and terms
• Establishing operations in China and building a high-performing local team to support international expansion
• Implementing quality control and governance mechanisms that ensure standards are consistently met
• Managing commercial performance including costs, pricing, margins, volumes, timelines, and profitability
• Working directly with international teams and partners, diving deep into critical operational issues when needed

What We're Looking For

Essential experience and qualifications:

• Multiple years of leadership experience at Director, VP, SVP, or C-Level within the product function at a footwear brand or comparable international consumer company
• Proven track record building and scaling multidisciplinary product organizations from the ground up
• Deep expertise in footwear development, engineering, construction, materials, fit, sampling, testing, and production
• Extensive direct experience working with footwear factories and production partners in China, with an established network in Asian sourcing markets
• Strong knowledge of sourcing, costing, supplier management, production planning, and commercial negotiations
• Experience scaling product portfolios, categories, and international product lines
• Strong commercial acumen around margins, pricing, manufacturing costs, volumes, assortment planning, and product profitability
• Ability to develop C-level strategy while simultaneously diving deep operationally to understand and drive complex product, development, or production challenges
• Builder mentality with comfort in organizations where structures are created rather than inherited
• Leadership style characterized by high standards, clear accountability, and strong execution focus
• Fast, data-driven decision-making with entrepreneurial judgment
• Excellent English and high willingness to travel internationally, particularly to China and production partners
• Based in or willing to relocate to Hamburg, Germany, with regular on-site presence required

How We Work With You

Get A Job.ai is representing this confidential footwear brand in their search for a Chief Product Officer. When you apply through our platform at getajob.ai, one of our experienced recruiters will review your background and conduct an initial screening conversation. If there's a strong match, we will submit your profile to our client and coordinate next steps in the interview process.

Please apply exclusively through Get A Job.ai. Do not attempt to contact the client organization directly, as this may disqualify your application.

Pay

Compensation details will be discussed during the interview process and will reflect the seniority, scope, and impact of this C-level role, including performance-based components.

Equal Opportunity: Get A Job.ai is committed to inclusive recruiting practices. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and work to ensure fair consideration throughout our process.