WhiteWater

Product Development Manager, Water Rides

WhiteWater

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Office

Location: Richmond • 🇨🇦 Canada

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Salary

💰 CA$130,000 - CA$150,000 per year

Job Level

SeniorLead

Tech Stack

Assembly

About the role

  • Act as the technical authority for new water-based amusement ride systems and features, providing final approval on critical design, safety, and manufacturability decisions.
  • Champion a culture where safety, quality, and guest experience are prioritized above all else.
  • Define, implement, and enforce a formal design review process with structured multidisciplinary reviews, documented findings, and verified action closure.
  • Plan, monitor, and adjust budgets, schedules, and resources for assigned product development projects.
  • Establish best practices, standards, and processes for staged product development while incorporating agile sprint cycles and iterative prototyping.
  • Mentor, coach, and manage engineers and designers, ensuring accountability and professional growth.
  • Foster collaboration across engineering disciplines (mechanical, controls, project management) and with manufacturing, sales, and service functions.
  • Lead staged execution of ride vehicle and system development, from concept through design freeze, prototyping, validation, and release.
  • Translate client and market requirements into innovative ride concepts, components and features.
  • Chair and document formal design reviews, ensuring alignment with requirements, safety and regulatory standards.
  • Manage design across a wide scope: from precision passenger restraint mechanisms to large-scale machinery such as conveyors, lifts, rotating structures, and flume vehicles.
  • Direct the production of CAD models, drawings, BOMs, specifications, and ECOs, ensuring conformance to company standards and industry codes (ASTM F24, ISO, CSA, UL, CE).
  • Apply DFM/DFA principles to improve cost-effectiveness, quality, and reliability.
  • Oversee integration of vehicles, conveyors, lifts, and subsystems into complete ride packages.
  • Manage prototype builds of ride vehicles and system components, validating safety and manufacturability.
  • Develop and execute test protocols for verification and validation, including performance, throughput, durability, and safety testing through the use of formal Design Validation Processes (DVP) Lead root cause investigations, corrective actions, and risk mitigations using DFMEA/PFMEA outcomes.
  • Conduct formal hazard analyses and risk assessments (HAZOP, FMEA, FTA) to ensure compliance with safety standards.
  • Ensure designs meet reliability, maintainability, and safety objectives at all development stages.
  • Interface with clients during design reviews, product demonstrations, and installation phases.
  • Collaborate with suppliers and partners on specifications, prototypes, and readiness, ensuring cost, quality, and schedule alignment.
  • Support sales proposals by providing preliminary concepts, technical inputs, budgets, and cost estimates.
  • Manage development deliverables against project scope, schedule, and budget, escalating issues when required.
  • Extensive international travel: 10-20% may be required for the role for meetings, site visits, and validation testing.
  • Drive continuous improvement through lessons learned, design standardization, modular approaches, and adoption of new tools and technologies.
  • Research the current state of the art in ride technology to inform product roadmaps.
  • Prepare and submit invention disclosures for intellectual property (IP) protection and patent filings.
  • Ensure compliance with ASTM F24 and other standards, quality systems, and safety regulations.
  • Execute responsibilities with integrity and in accordance with lawful and ethical standards.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
  • Professional Engineer designation (P.Eng. in Canada or P.E. in the U.S.) preferred
  • 10+ years of product development experience with complex mechanical systems, ideally within amusement rides, heavy equipment, automotive, or aerospace industries.
  • Hands-on machine design expertise ranging from precision mechanisms to large-scale systems (e.g., conveyors, lifts, flume structures).
  • Demonstrated success implementing and leading structured design review processes.
  • Extensive experience conducting formal risk assessments (HAZOP, FMEA, FTA).
  • Track record of leading cross-functional teams through Stage-Gate or similar product development processes.
  • Experience applying agile methodologies, including sprint cycles and iterative prototyping.
  • Proficiency with 3D CAD software (SolidWorks, Inventor, CATIA, NX) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
  • Strong knowledge of steel fabrication, composites, machining, assembly, and integration of controls/electrical systems.
  • Familiarity with industry standards and compliance requirements (ASTM F24, ISO 13849, CSA, UL, CE).
Benefits
  • Health insurance
  • 401(k) matching
  • Flexible work hours
  • Paid time off
  • Professional development opportunities

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard skills
mechanical engineeringproduct developmentmachine designdesign review processesrisk assessmentsagile methodologies3D CAD softwareDFM/DFA principlestest protocolshazard analyses
Soft skills
leadershipmentoringcollaborationcommunicationaccountabilitycontinuous improvementproblem-solvingproject managementclient interfacingteam management
Certifications
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical EngineeringMaster’s degree in Mechanical EngineeringProfessional Engineer (P.Eng. or P.E.)