Senior Physical Product Development Manager

Position Summary

The Senior Physical Product Development Manager will own the execution of Function of Beauty’s physical product development pipeline—from timelines, formulas, packaging, and artwork to merchandising, manufacturing readiness, and launch.

You’ll manage multiple haircare development and commercialization programs, partnering cross-functionally with R&D, Creative, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing, Sales, and external partners.

As the connective tissue across teams, you’ll drive weekly execution, prepare programs for Stage Gate decisions, identify risks early, and ensure every detail comes together on time for a successful launch.

This is a hands-on role for someone who loves running the machine: knowing every critical date, understanding how the pieces connect, spotting the slip before it becomes a launch risk, and keeping teams accountable to the plan.

This role is based in our NYC headquarters and requires in-office presence four days per week (Monday–Thursday).

Core Responsibilities

• PROGRAM & TIMELINE OWNERSHIP: Own the integrated project timeline for every active physical product development program, from approved concept through formula and packaging development, testing, artwork, retail merchandising, manufacturing readiness, production, and launch. Maintain timelines as the single source of truth, with clear owners, dependencies, milestones, and decision dates. When one milestone moves, understand the downstream impact and proactively reset the plan.
• WEEKLY PROJECT MANAGEMENT & STAGE GATE SUPPORT: Run weekly product development status meetings, maintaining a clear view of progress, risks, decisions, and next steps across every active program. Support Function’s Stage Gate process by gathering cross-functional inputs, ensuring required deliverables are complete, identifying open decisions and risks, and helping prepare programs for productive Gate discussions and decisions.
• FORMULA DEVELOPMENT & TESTING COORDINATION: Partner with R&D to translate formula development plans into clear project timelines across sample rounds, formula approvals, scale-up, stability, compatibility, claims, safety, and other required testing. Ensure decisions and feedback happen quickly enough to protect downstream packaging, procurement, production, and launch milestones.
• PACKAGING DEVELOPMENT: Drive timelines across all primary and secondary packaging development, including component sourcing, specifications, samples, color and decoration approvals, tooling, compatibility, and production readiness. Coordinate closely with Creative, Supply Chain, Quality, Plant Ops, and external packaging suppliers to identify technical or timing risks early and ensure components are ready for production.
• CREATIVE & ARTWORK EXECUTION: Partner closely with Creative to integrate brand and design development into the commercialization timeline. Own the executional artwork process across dielines, artwork rounds, cross-functional review, Regulatory and Legal inputs, proofs, color approvals, and final production file release. Ensure Creative has the specifications, samples, and supplier inputs needed to develop artwork and that approvals happen in time to protect production.
• RETAIL MERCHANDISING DEVELOPMENT: Manage the development timeline for physical retail merchandising associated with product launches, including displays, trays, fixtures, testers, signage, and other retailer-specific materials. Coordinate across Sales, Creative, Marketing, Supply Chain, and external partners to translate retailer requirements into clear deliverables, timelines, approvals, and production plans aligned with product launch timing.
• MANUFACTURING FEASIBILITY & READINESS: Partner closely with Plant Operations, R&D, Engineering, and Supply Chain to assess the feasibility of manufacturing new products in-house. Ensure the team evaluates line and equipment capabilities, filling and packaging requirements, batch sizes, change parts, line trials, labor considerations, and potential CapEx needs early enough to inform development decisions. Where internal manufacturing is not feasible, coordinate with external manufacturing partners and integrate their requirements and timelines into the overall project plan.
• SUPPLIER & EXTERNAL PARTNER COORDINATION: Work directly with packaging suppliers, contract manufacturers, testing partners, merchandising vendors, and other external partners to manage samples, specifications, lead times, approvals, and production readiness. Push partners to surface risks early and ensure external timelines are fully integrated into the broader commercialization plan.
• PRODUCTION READINESS: Drive cross-functional readiness ahead of production, ensuring formulas, raw materials, components, artwork, specifications, testing, quality requirements, and manufacturing plans are aligned. Partner with Plant Ops and Supply Chain to identify and resolve gaps before they risk scheduled production.
• CROSS-FUNCTIONAL LAUNCH COORDINATION: Connect R&D, Creative, Plant Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Marketing, Sales, and other stakeholders so physical product development and go-to-market timelines remain aligned. Ensure samples, specifications, decisions, and information reach the right teams at the right time.
• RISK MANAGEMENT & ESCALATION: Maintain a clear view of the critical path and key risks across formula development, testing, packaging, artwork, retail merchandising, raw materials, manufacturing, and supplier lead times. Surface risks early, understand downstream impact, drive mitigation plans, and escalate decisions before issues become launch delays.
• SYSTEMS & PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: Maintain disciplined project management and help continuously improve Function’s product development and Stage Gate processes. Build and maintain scalable templates, trackers, and SOPs for development timelines, sample management, testing, packaging and artwork approvals, manufacturing readiness, risk tracking, and launch handoffs.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• 5-6+ years of experience managing physical consumer product development or commercialization programs, ideally within beauty, personal care, or CPG.
• Experience taking products from approved concept through development, testing, packaging, artwork, manufacturing readiness, and production.
• Strong understanding of the dependencies between formula development, packaging, creative/artwork, testing, procurement, manufacturing, and launch.
• Experience working directly with manufacturing teams and/or contract manufacturers to assess production feasibility and prepare new products for scale-up and commercialization.
• Experience managing external suppliers, including packaging vendors, contract manufacturers, testing partners, merchandising vendors, or other development partners.
• A demonstrated ability to identify timeline risk early and understand how a delay in one workstream impacts downstream approvals, procurement, production, freight, and launch.
• Exceptional project management discipline: every deliverable has a clear owner, deadline, dependency, and definition of done.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate detailed development issues into clear risks, decisions, and recommendations for leadership.
• A proactive ownership mindset: you surface gaps early, follow up relentlessly, escalate when necessary, and seek out information rather than waiting for updates.
• Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment with multiple concurrent development programs and shifting priorities.
• Experience with project management tools such as ClickUp, Smartsheet, Monday.com, Asana, or similar platforms.

NICE TO HAVE

• Haircare product development experience.
• Experience working with both in-house manufacturing facilities and third-party contract manufacturers.
• Packaging development experience, including component sourcing, tooling, decoration, artwork, and compatibility testing.

Function of Beauty is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates