Director, Product Development

Domino's Corporate•Ann Arbor, MI

About The Position

The Director, Product Development leads Domino's innovation agenda from consumer insight through commercialization. This role oversees Product Marketing and Research & Development to build a pipeline of menu innovation, product optimization, and strategic growth platforms that support sales, profitability, and brand differentiation. It combines consumer-centric marketing and culinary innovation, using research, data, and cross-functional collaboration to identify opportunities, develop business cases, and launch products that are consumer-relevant, operationally executable, and financially sound. The role also leads the Domino's Global Product Innovation Council, connecting international innovation efforts and identifying scalable opportunities. The Director develops and executes the innovation roadmap, manages a multi-year pipeline, and shapes menu strategy, portfolio architecture, product lifecycle management, and innovation processes. The role leads Product Marketing strategy and the R&D function, overseeing product development, testing, commercialization, portfolio management, operational readiness, and national launches. It also directs global product innovation governance and collaboration, uses consumer and market insights to guide decisions, and sponsors major cross-functional innovation programs. The position leads, coaches, and develops Product Marketing and R&D teams, including Senior Managers, fostering accountability, collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement, and succession planning. Successful candidates demonstrate Domino's Hungry for MORE Ways of Working and leadership expectations, including curiosity, enterprise thinking, adaptability, disciplined execution, and the ability to deliver results through others.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Food Science, Product Development, or a related field.
12+ years of progressive experience in Product Marketing, Innovation, R&D, Brand Management, Product Development, or related disciplines.
Minimum 7 years of leadership experience managing high-performing teams.
Experience leading cross-functional innovation programs from concept through commercialization.
Strong analytical capability, including demonstrated use of consumer research and business analytics.
Proven ability to influence stakeholders across multiple functions and organizational levels.
Excellent communication, storytelling, and executive presentation skills.
Demonstrates curiosity, thoughtful questioning, root-cause problem-solving, and a commitment to continuous learning.
Demonstrates enterprise thinking, strong partnerships, adaptability, resilience, sound judgment, disciplined execution, and accountability.
Ability to build and develop high-performing teams, foster collaboration, lead through change, and deliver results through others.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree in Business, Marketing, Food Science, or a related field.
QSR, restaurant, foodservice, or consumer packaged goods experience.
Experience scaling innovation across franchise or multi-unit operating systems.
Deep understanding of consumer behavior, menu economics, portfolio strategy, and product commercialization.
Experience working with stage-gate innovation and product development processes.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute the innovation roadmap and maintain a multi-year pipeline aligned with enterprise growth objectives, including at least three product innovations and at least one renovation each year.
Identify consumer, food, technology, and cultural trends; set priorities and resource allocation; shape menu strategy, portfolio architecture, and product lifecycle management with executive leadership.
Maintain supplier relationships and optimize innovation processes from consumer-driven ideas through commercialization.
Lead Product Marketing strategy for innovation, renovation, and optimization; develop customer value propositions and align initiatives with brand, sales, and marketing objectives.
Oversee business cases, forecasting assumptions, launch recommendations, and post-launch evaluations with Decision Science.
Lead portfolio and menu management, including additions, renovations, simplification, and SKU optimization; partner with Operations and the OpAC franchisee council to build system buy-in and support launches.
Lead R&D in designing, developing, testing, and commercializing products and menu platforms that meet quality, profitability, scalability, and operational simplicity standards.
Improve core menu items through renovation and optimization; partner with Quality Assurance, Operations, Supply Chain, and Procurement.
Champion a disciplined stage-gate process and oversee product testing, operational readiness, and national launch execution.
Establish strategic priorities and governance for product innovation across international markets; chair Global Product Innovation Council meetings and connect global marketing, culinary, operations, and innovation leaders.
Evaluate global concepts for scalability and commercialization; formalize sharing of best practices, consumer learnings, and product performance; build a globally informed pipeline.
Assess standardization, regional adaptation, and local innovation opportunities; establish scorecards and reporting; serve as liaison between U.S. innovation teams and international markets.
Partner with Analytics & Insights on research agendas and consumer learning plans; use research, sales data, behavioral trends, and market intelligence to guide innovation and portfolio strategy.
Translate consumer, category, and competitive insights into product opportunities; document successes and failures; manage internal sensory capabilities for development and consumer qualification.
Serve as executive sponsor for major innovation programs and national launches; lead cross-functional teams through concept development, testing, readiness, and commercialization.
Align Marketing, Operations, Technology, Supply Chain, Finance, Franchisees, Decision Science, and International teams; balance consumer appeal, operational feasibility, and franchisee economics.
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Product Marketing and R&D team, including Senior Managers; create development and succession plans and build relevant team capabilities.
Foster innovation, accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, cross-functional learning, and knowledge sharing.