Head of Product Tech

At Loaf we make insanely comfy sofas, beds and homewares that help people lead more comfortable lives. Founded in 2008, Loaf has steadily grown each year to become one of the leading premium furniture and homeware brands in the UK. We now have 12 Shacks (stores to everyone else!), with more on the way. It's an exciting time to join an ambitious business.

As our Head of Product Tech, you will be accountable for driving product quality, commercial value, operational performance, and thoughtful innovation across our global supply base; supporting the delivery of the business and product strategy through the implementation of the quality framework - encompassing supplier capability, product make, build, quality & comfort, risk management, and continuous improvement. Your work will ensure our products don’t just meet standards, but offer exceptional comfort, feel unmistakably Loaf and are built to last.

Provide expert technical support to the business, ensuring Loaf products and suppliers meet—and where possible exceed—legal and industry requirements. You will champion Loaf’s uncompromising standards, where quality and attention to detail define our products and create moments of genuine customer delight.

The Job

Technical Product Development

• Bring early technical and sourcing insight at concept stage to shape products that are beautifully made, practical to manufacture, and on cost

• Support the Product Development team to ensure the right product is produced by the best supplier from a quality and technical perspective

• Support range architecture & development decisions through product specifications.

• Find smarter ways to make our products without compromising on quality, comfort, and sustainability.

• Act as the escalation point for critical quality or supplier issues, investigating recurring or serious customer-reported problems and driving root-cause solutions

Suppliers & Sourcing

• Work closely with the CPO and Category Leads to support a global sourcing strategy aligned to Loaf’s brand, growth plans, and commercial goals

• Conduct supplier visits both locally and internationally to review quality and technical processes and to conduct on site quality checks.

• Identify sourcing opportunities that enable the product team to deliver the product strategy at pace, while balancing the need for a best in class supply base and commerciality.

• Evaluate, onboard, and (where needed) rationalise suppliers and manufacturing partners

• Build long-term, trusted relationships with our makers to deliver better products through improved make and build, quality, efficiency, innovation, and sustainability.

• Work with the Category Leads to manage supplier performance through scorecards - obtaining supplier performance review feedback and reporting on the same to relevant stakeholders in the business.

• Identify supply chain risks related to materials, capacity, and geopolitical factors

Cross-functional Leadership

• Work hand-in-hand with Category Leads and local quality and sourcing teams and agents to keep products on critical path and ensure they are made exactly to the Loaf specification

• Partner with the Head of Customer Experience and CX teams to ensure product quality supports a consistently great customer experience

• Work closely with the Recovery & QC team to understand returns and support any product exits.

Ethical Trading & Compliance

• Ensure all suppliers comply with ethical trading standards, Modern Slavery Act requirements, and internal supplier policies

• Oversee factory audits, remediation plans, and continuous improvement programmes

• Act as the point of escalation for ethical, environmental, or reputational risk in the supply base

Returns & Insight

• Own and improve key quality and customer KPIs, including:

  • return rates

  • customer product complaints and escalations

  • supplier audit and performance outcomes

• Use insight from returns and customer feedback to drive continuous product and supplier improvement

Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead, coach, and develop the quality and sourcing teams

• Build scalable processes, tools, and governance as the business grows

• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement

We're looking for

• Obsessed with beautiful products, detail-driven but commercially pragmatic

• Calm, decisive, and confident in complex or high-risk situations

• Passionate about product excellence and craftsmanship

• Comfortable balancing creative ambition with operational execution

• Strong critical thinking skills & curiosity to understand complex business problems end to end and problem solve

• An inherent drive to grip issues and solve problems from end to end - “delivering the goods”

• Deep knowledge and understanding of upholstery, furniture and homeware construction, testing and manufacturing methods.

• Deep understanding of global sourcing across furniture and homewares categories

• Experience working with overseas and domestic suppliers

• Demonstrable track record of both internal and external stakeholder management.

• Experience of having developed and managed quality control and reporting processes.

• Working knowledge of supplier ethical compliance and auditing.

• Experience adjusting to the changing needs of a fast paced and growing business.

• A clear communicator at all levels of the business

• Organised with the ability to prioritise both your own and the team's objectives and workload

• Good working knowledge of MSOffice with the ability to extract meaningful conclusions from data.

Some of our benefits:

• 25 days holiday, increasing by 1 day each year for 3 years, plus 8 days for bank holidays

• Enhanced family leave policy

• Staff and friends and family discount scheme

• Healthcare cash plan

• EAP programme

• Shopping discounts

• Cycle to work scheme

• Half a day for Christmas shopping

• Life Assurance - 4 times annual salary

What's it like working at Loaf?

We are a forward-thinking, friendly bunch committed to building a fabulous company with brilliant people. The customer is at the heart of everything we do and we're always striving for better, more efficient ways to deliver to the highest standard.

As a business, we're working really hard to be inclusive. No matter what identity or background, we want everyone to feel welcome in a place where we can all be ourselves.

We'd love you to join us on our journey.