About / Franklin, TN
Industrial Designer & Product Manager
Hardware products from first sketch to global launch: design, sourcing, testing and go-to-market.
- Total SKUs managed
- 35,000+
- Cross-functional team members coordinated
- 10 → 75+
I'm a hardware product manager and industrial designer. I take physical products from the first sketch through sourcing, testing and launch, at every scale from a one-off public fountain to catalogs totaling more than 35,000 SKUs.
Most recently at C.R. Laurence I ran the product lifecycle for CRL's highest-revenue architectural, railing and transaction hardware, led new product introduction, and directed the TurboFlex railing system with OnLevel in the Netherlands through stress and wind-pressure testing, global manufacturing and distribution contracts, and launch. Before that I led product development for more than 300 SKUs at Motech (Kitchen Bath Collection).
My background is hands-on. I studied 3-D Arts and Industrial Design at the University of Tennessee, I still prototype in metal, wood and concrete, model in Solidworks, Rhino and Blender, and build AI image pipelines in ComfyUI for marketing work.
Product management
- Product lifecycle management (PLM)
- New product introduction (NPI)
- Forecasting and market research
- Global vendor sourcing
- ERP management
- Go-to-market strategy
- Stage-gate R&D
Design and software
- Solidworks
- Rhino3D and Grasshopper
- Blender
- Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro
- VEX and Python
- ComfyUI, LoRA training, ControlNet
Fabrication
- Metal and welding
- Concrete
- Carpentry
- 3D printing and prototyping
- CNC routing
- Vacuum forming
Experience
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Nov 2024 – Jun 2026
C.R. Laurence
Product Management Specialist
End-to-end product lifecycle management for tens of thousands of SKUs across CRL's highest-revenue B2B architectural, railing and transaction hardware. Led new product introduction (forecasting, market research, global vendor sourcing, ERP and go-to-market) and ran R&D pipelines of 6+ concurrent stage-gate products. Directed the ground-up development and launch of the TurboFlex railing system with OnLevel (Netherlands).
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Jan 2022 – Nov 2024
Motech Corp (KBC)
Lead Product Development Manager
Owned product development start to finish for 300+ SKUs in B2B and B2C. Worked directly with factories on material sourcing and OEM delivery, and bridged engineering, marketing and outside stakeholders through launch.
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Feb 2021 – Jan 2022
Motech Corp (KBC)
Product Developer, Industrial Design
Designed and developed products around customer experience, pairing an industrial design background with data analysis across cross-functional teams.
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Feb 2020 – Apr 2021
Owl Badges
Product Developer, Industrial Design
Led product development for an OEM badge company, from modular clip systems to B2B and B2C packaging.
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Nov 2018 – Nov 2020
Paulk & Co.
Industrial Designer
Designed and fabricated luxury goods for city contracts and commercial clients, including public water fountains, sculptures and home furnishings.
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Feb 2013 – Jun 2014
Captivape
Industrial Designer
Remote CAD work for American-made goods under a mentor: my introduction to production and modern manufacturing.
Education
University of Tennessee
BFA 3-D Arts, minor in Industrial Design
Recognition and teaching
- HOPE Scholarship recipient
- Distinguished Tennessean Award
- ACE Mentor: guided students through large-scale design and engineering projects
- Taught welding, metalwork and carpentry to high school students at the University of Tennessee
Languages
- English: advanced
- Cantonese: intermediate (spoken)
- German: intermediate (written)
Brands and collaborations
- Acer
- CRL
- Penguin Random House
- Livewired
- Super Suppers
- Owl Badges
Contact
- linkedin.com/in/dtan000
- Based in
- Franklin, TN


