About the Company
Founded in 2017, RPG Commerce is a leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) omni-channel company dedicated to building cutting-edge everyday essentials. With an in-house portfolio ranging from innovative active wear to home and living products, RPG currently carries an in-house brand portfolio of brands, including MONTIGO, OiYO by MONTIGO and CASEBANG.
About The Job
We are looking for a Head of Product Design to lead and scale our in-house design function across the brand portfolio. This is a senior leadership role responsible for owning creative direction and Visual Brand Language, driving design innovation, embedding design into our go-to-market (GTM) operating model, building robust design processes, and growing a high-performing design team. You will set the aesthetic direction for product design while ensuring deliverables stay aligned with financial, merchandising, and commercial goals. Ideal for a design leader who leads with creative vision and can translate it into operational rigour and cross-functional execution.
Responsibilities
1. Creative Direction and Visual Brand Language
- Own and define Montigo's Visual Brand Language (VBL) across the portfolio, establishing a consistent aesthetic identity that carries through product, CMF, and campaign expression.
- Set seasonal creative direction for each collection — including collection themes, mood, and narrative — translating brand strategy into a clear visual point of view.
- Establish and maintain the seasonal colour palette, ensuring colour decisions are led with aesthetic intent and commercial awareness.
- Partner with the Brand team to ensure product design expression stays aligned with the wider brand identity and campaign direction.
- Stay current on trends in fashion, design, technology, culture and sport through the lens of the Montigo consumer.
2. Design Innovation and Roadmap
- Own design innovation across the portfolio, bringing newness in CMF (Colour, Material, Finish) and accessories into the product roadmap.
- Ensure design initiatives are aligned against financial, merchandising, and market share goals, with clear accountability for delivery against the product roadmap.
- Establish clear project structure and ownership, with a designated person-in-charge running each project end to end and operating independently across brands and functions.
3. Cross-Functional and GTM Integration
- Drive product designs through the GTM operating model, owning the creative brief and ensuring design deliverables stay on schedule against GTM milestones.
- Work closely with R&D, Product Merchandising, Commercial, and Brand teams to keep design fully aligned with cross-functional communications and merchandising strategy.
- Develop backup design concepts for each collection to provide flexibility and resilience in the product pipeline.
4. Design Processes
- Build and systemize design processes, SOPs, and timelines that adapt to the cross-functional integration structure.
- Strengthen project communication documentation, improving clarity and speed across Spec Sheets, product expectations, and Product Info Packs.
- Ensure ready-to-ship (RTS) priorities are protected throughout the design cycle.
5. People and Team Management
- Lead succession planning and team development, structuring the design team for clarity of roles, high output, and strong culture.
- Execute and hire for the team structure, bringing in key roles aligned to the capabilities the business requires, with clear roles and responsibilities.
- Reinforce RPG DNA and values through cross-functional collaboration and model behaviours, and support learning and development programmes so the team continues to upskill as the business grows.
What You Need To Have
- Minimum 8 to 10 years of product design or creative direction experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership or team management capacity.
- Proven track record designing consumer products (drinkware, home and living, lifestyle, or accessories preferred) within a fast-paced DTC, retail, or e-commerce environment.
- Strong aesthetic sensibility and a clear creative point of view, with demonstrated ability to define Visual Brand Language and lead seasonal creative direction.
- Strong command of CMF, materials, and the end-to-end product development process from concept ideation to mass production.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional collaboration with R&D, Merchandising, Commercial, and Brand teams within a GTM framework.
- Experience building and scaling design teams, including hiring, structuring roles, succession planning, and developing talent.
- Commercially minded, with the ability to align design decisions to revenue, margin, merchandising, and market share targets.
- Strong process and documentation discipline, with experience establishing SOPs and development timelines.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, comfortable operating both strategically and hands-on.
