Vice President, Product

Ready to shape the future of fun?
At Vortex, we have been bringing communities, businesses, and families together with innovative aquatic structures since 1995. We are proud to have created custom installations spanning 50 countries and 5 continents Vortex creates precious memories for thousands of families around the world every day.
If you want an exciting career in an environment that values innovation and collaboration, we'd love to hear from you. We welcome all applicants and are committed to diversity, equity and ensuring everyone is empowered to succeed.
The
Vice President of Product & Engineering
will play a critical leadership role at Vortex, responsible for driving innovation, product excellence, and engineering execution across our portfolio of aquatic play structures products. The product range includes aquatic play structutres, large waterslide rides, water management system and controllers. This role will oversee product management, engineering, testing, and technical operations, ensuring seamless execution from concept to customer experience. Reporting directly to the President, the VP will sit on the executive leadership team and contribute to the overall growth strategy of the business.

This leader will set the strategic vision for product and engineering functions, develop high-performing teams, and lead Vortex's efforts in elevating product durability, performance, safety, and customer satisfaction in both municipal and commercial markets.

Duties and responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership

• Define and lead the company's long-term product and engineering roadmap in alignment with Vortex's strategic goals.
• Serve as a core member of the executive team, contributing to business planning, innovation, and company KPIs.
• Represent the product vision and engineering priorities to internal stakeholders, customers, and partners.

Product Innovation & Customer Experience

• Drive the end-to-end product lifecycle: ideation, testing, development, launch, and iteration.
• Collaborate with Product Management and Design to develop and execute a robust product roadmap that aligns with customer needs and business objectives.
• Lead improvements in product performance, material selection, durability, and overall customer satisfaction.
• Champion the development of high-quality, easy-to-install aquatic structures with a strong focus on safety, longevity, and accessibility.
• Optimize packaging, shipping, and installation processes to reduce damage, streamline deployment, and enhance user experience.

Engineering Execution

• Oversee all engineering activities, including technical architecture, manufacturing integration, testing, and compliance.
• Responsible for all disciplines of engineering including mechanical, structural, electrical and software.
• Establish advanced testing protocols and refine methodologies to meet and exceed global safety and performance standards.
• Foster engineering excellence through robust systems, clear KPIs, and quality benchmarks.
• Ensure scalability of Vortex's platforms and products in line with global growth targets.

Product Management

• Provide strategic guidance to designers and technical teams to prioritize features and enhancements.
• Maintain deep knowledge of customer needs, competitive offerings, market trends, and regulatory standards in recreational and aquatic equipment.
• Translate customer insights into actionable product development and innovation strategies.

Team Development

• Build, mentor, and scale high-performing product and engineering teams.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Implement best practices in hiring, onboarding, professional development, and performance management.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Customer Success to ensure product-market fit, seamless launches, and end-user satisfaction.
• Act as a critical bridge between business needs and technical execution, ensuring alignment and transparency.

Compliance & Technical Standards

• Ensure products meet all applicable safety and industry standards

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of engineering leadership experience particularly in product development, ideally in a manufacturing sector.
• Proven leadership of multi-disciplinary teams across engineering, product management, and technical operations.
• Strong technical background in structural engineering, material sciences, or mechanical design preferred.
• Experience in testing, safety compliance, and performance optimization for physical products.
• Deep understanding of product lifecycle management, including prototyping, design-for-manufacture, and post-installation support.
• Demonstrated success in scaling product teams and launching high-impact physical products.
• Exceptional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence and align multiple stakeholders across the organization.
• Strong customer-centric mindset and commitment to exceptional product experience.
• Excellent communication in English and French and leadership skills (Advanced level of English is required).
• Willingness to travel (up to 20%) and adaptability to fast-paced global environments

Proficiency in English is required for this role as approximately 40% of the responsibilities involve regular communication with stakeholders based in the United States and Europe.