Product Development Manager

About us:

SeedMaster is a Canadian-based manufacturer of precision seeding equipment, driven by innovation and agronomic performance. With a strong legacy in the Prairies and a growing international footprint, we're committed to helping farmers grow with confidence, pride, and curiosity.

Who are you?

The Product Development Manager leads Seedmaster's Product Development function, with full accountability for the design, validation, and lifecycle performance of all products. This role oversees both Seedmaster-branded product lines and a dedicated John Deere OEM product development team, ensuring alignment with customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and OEM specifications.

A critical component of this role is a deep understanding of agricultural equipment applications, including seeding systems, field conditions, operator usage, and serviceability. The Product Development Manager ensures that engineering decisions are grounded in real-world farming practices, enabling products that deliver performance, reliability, and value in demanding agricultural environments.

As a core member of the Operations & Engineering Leadership Team, this role translates market and field needs into engineered solutions, drives structured product development processes, and ensures seamless integration between design, manufacturing, supply chain, and field performance.

What's in it for you?

• Company pension
• Dental care
• Employee assistance program
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• On-site parking
• RRSP match

What will you do?

Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop Product Engineers, Design Engineers, and Test/Validation teams, including a dedicated John Deere OEM engineering group.
• Build a team culture that combines strong engineering discipline with practical understanding of agricultural equipment performance and customer needs.
• Establish priorities, resource allocation, and performance expectations across all product programs.

Product Ownership & Engineering Governance

• Own product requirements, specifications, drawings, BOMs, and engineering documentation.
• Ensure all products meet customer expectations, safety and regulatory standards, and operational requirements specific to agricultural environments (dust, vibration, weather, field variability).
• Maintain strong engineering governance, including configuration control and documentation discipline.

Agricultural Equipment Expertise & Customer Insight

• Develop and maintain deep knowledge of seeding equipment, agronomic practices, and field operations.
• Translate farmer, dealer, and service feedback into clear product requirements and design improvements.
• Ensure products are designed for durability in harsh field conditions, ease of service and maintenance, operator usability and efficiency, and performance across varying soil, crop, and climate conditions
• Engage directly with customers, dealers, and field service teams to validate product performance and identify improvement opportunities.

OEM Program Leadership (John Deere)

• Act as the primary engineering interface with John Deere for OEM programs.
• Lead design approvals, engineering change alignment, and compliance with OEM standards.
• Ensure OEM products meet quality, validation, and lifecycle expectations.
• Drive issue resolution, warranty analysis, and continuous improvement for OEM platforms.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Production Engineering to ensure Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) are embedded early.
• Collaborate with Operations to ensure designs align with production capability and quality systems.
• Work with Supply Chain to align supplier capabilities with design intent, cost, and availability.
• Engage Sales and Service teams to incorporate real-world usage, serviceability, and customer expectations into development.

Program & Financial Management

• Define and manage project timelines, milestones, and engineering deliverables.
• Allocate resources across programs to balance capacity and strategic priorities.
• Develop and manage the product development budget, including staffing, tools, and validation costs.
• Build business cases for new products and major design initiatives.

Continuous Improvement & Lifecycle Management

• Own Engineering Change Order (ECO) processes and product lifecycle management.
• Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions based on field failures and warranty trends.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to enhance product performance, reliability, and cost.

What do you need to succeed?

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 8+ years of product development experience in agricultural equipment, heavy equipment, or off-road machinery
• 3+ years of engineering leadership experience
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems, hydraulics, and structural design

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with seeding equipment or precision agriculture systems
• Experience working with OEM partners such as John Deere
• Familiarity with agricultural operations, farming practices, and field conditions
• Experience with validation testing in real-world environments

How to Apply: Once you click on the Apply for this Position button you will be taken to a page where you will have two ways to apply. You can upload your resume/CV or copy and paste your details into the box provided.