Product Development Manager, Water Rides

White Water makes products, but we are a service business at our heart, which means we are a people business. In this way, we excel and create value for our clients by listening to their needs, collaborating to develop solutions, problem-solving and attending to the details. Our culture, as you would expect, reflects these traits. We are a diverse group of experts, from creative designers to talented engineers.

Whatever expertise we bring from all over the world, we listen and learn from each other because we are aligned with a clearly understood purpose. Together, we create fun for families globally. Are you interested in starting an exciting career with White Water? Apply today!

Position:
Product Development Manager, Water Rides

Shift: Regular Full Time, 40 hours a week
Department:
Water Rides

Location:

Richmond, BC, Canada

Reports to:

General Manager, Water Rides

Purpose:

The Product Development Manager, Water Rides leads the end-to-end development of water-based amusement ride systems, from concept to release. The role covers everything from precision mechanical devices (vehicles, safety systems, passenger interfaces) to large-scale machinery (conveyors, lifts, flumes, water propulsion). It combines strong technical expertise with leadership, guiding teams through Stage-Gate processes while using agile sprints and rapid prototyping to drive progress.

A key focus is maintaining rigorous design reviews to ensure safety, quality, and performance at every stage. This is a hands‑on leadership role in a dynamic industry where safety comes first, and the ultimate reward is creating experiences enjoyed by families worldwide.

Essential Responsibilities:

• 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.

Product Development & Design Execution:

• 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.

Prototyping, Testing & Validation:

• 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.

Client, Supplier & Project Interface:

• Int…