Director, Product Development

Description

The Director of Product Development will help lead the strategy, innovation, and execution of product development initiatives for Morphe. This role involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, overseeing communication to CM’s/R+D, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving the introduction of new and innovative products. The director will ensure that products align with Morphe’s brand values, industry trends, and customer expectations. This position requires an excellent understanding of product development fundamentals with an expertise in color cosmetics along with the ability to apply strategic thinking throughout ideation and conceptualization. This position will have individual project responsibilities and will lead a team of product focused developers in all aspects of formula, benchmarking, testing and production. As an individual contributor and with their direct reports, this person will help identify Blue Sky innovation opportunities, build hero/core franchises, incremental innovation pipeline and trend/capsule collections to support brand strategy. Act as a key partner cross-functionally and support teams projects in order to execute flawlessly. 

Product Development & Innovation: 

· Oversee the formulation of new products, ensuring high-quality standards and adherence to safety regulations. 

· Collaborate with CM’s R&D teams to create breakthrough products that meet market demands across all categories. 

· Guide teams in the selection of raw materials and ingredients based on performance, cost, and regulatory requirements. 

· Work closely with CM’s, raw material suppliers and packaging vendors to bring high performance products to the market 

Strategic Leadership: 

· Collaborate and execute product development strategies to drive innovation and align with business objectives. 

· Identify market trends and consumer needs, translating them into actionable product concepts. 

· Lead the ideation process for new products, including packaging and formulation innovations. 

· Establish and manage product development timelines, ensuring on-time delivery from concept to launch. 

Cross-functional Collaboration: 

· Partner with Packaging, Brand, Sourcing, Regulatory, Wholesale, Quality and Education to ensure a cohesive product development process. 

· Collaborate with the Brand team to develop product positioning, branding, and go-to-market strategies. 

· Work with packaging and design teams to develop innovative packaging that enhances the customer experience and supports sustainability efforts. 

Compliance & Regulatory: 

· Ensure that all new products are developed in compliance with international, federal, and local cosmetic regulations (e.g., FDA, EU regulations). 

· Oversee product and concept validation testing 

· Partner with Regulatory on all clinical, consumer and safety testing. 

Team Leadership: 

· Lead and mentor the product development team, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. 

· Provide leadership and professional development opportunities for team members. 

· Manage departmental budgets, allocate resources efficiently, and monitor expenditures to achieve financial objectives. 

· Travel to lab (both domestically and internationally) (6 - 10 x annually) 

· Travel to and over-see Marketing testing (2-4 x annually) 

· Trade-shows (2-4 x annually) 

Must be able to perform essential functions (with or without an accommodation) without posing a "direct threat" to the health and safety to self or others. 

• 7-10 years’ work experience and passion for color cosmetics’ product development 

• Must have applicable beauty experience and passion and excitement for the industry 

• Great capacity to develop various products, from vision to detail  

• Ability to be flexible and agile with internal teams on constant changes and condensed timelines  

• Effective communication and problem-solving skills  

• Must act as a proactive team player 

• Experience managing direct reports 

• Travel will be required – 20-50% 

• Microsoft Office skills including Excel and PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop experience, a plus.