NA Brand R&D Lead - Topical Pain

Opella•Morristown, NJ

8d•$127,500 - $184,167•Hybrid

About The Position

This role leads the end-to-end R&D strategy, innovation pipeline, and execution for North America Topical Pain brands. The objective is to translate science and technology into consumer-focused products, collaborating with Marketing, Sales, Regulatory, and Medical teams to drive business growth and successful product launches. The position involves developing and executing a long-term innovation and portfolio strategy (1–5 years), utilizing consumer insights, scientific expertise, external partnerships, and patent strategies to create differentiated products. Key responsibilities include ensuring on-time project execution, supporting regulatory and sustainability objectives, and strengthening the brand's competitive position. The role also emphasizes embedding sustainability, access, and social impact into decisions, modeling a challenger mindset, and fostering an ambitious, collaborative culture.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline required.
5+ years of R&D experience leading innovation pipelines and delivering successful product development for consumer health brands.
Proven experience developing OTC and NDA products, supporting FDA submissions, and managing multiple brands across various regulatory pathways while driving innovation and business growth.
Strong ability to translate consumer insights into brand strategies.
Ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to technical and business stakeholders.
Ability to identify opportunities for portfolio growth.
Demonstrated leadership in coaching cross-functional technical teams.
Experience allocating resources.
Experience managing budgets.
Experience assessing project risks.
Experience leading innovation programs from concept through commercial launch.
Experience building and leveraging external partnerships with suppliers, research organizations, and key opinion leaders.
Experience identifying emerging industry trends, novel ingredients, formulation technologies, and sustainable solutions.
Proven ability to manage a broad innovation portfolio, including business development opportunities, new product development, clinical programs, product claims, and commercialization activities in partnership with Project Management.
Fluent in written and spoken English.
Strong collaboration and influencing skills across R&D, Regulatory, Marketing, Commercial, and executive leadership teams.

Nice To Haves

Master's or Ph.D. preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead the R&D innovation pipeline for assigned brands, delivering new products and innovations that achieve growth and sales objectives while ensuring consistent execution and sharing best practices across the portfolio.
Drive short-, medium-, and long-term R&D projects, including new formulations, product claims, clinical studies, packaging innovations, and sustainability initiatives, while accelerating decision-making and project delivery.
Partner closely with Marketing, Sales, Consumer Science, and Project Management to develop larger, consumer-driven innovation programs and ensure projects are completed on time and in full.
Develop and execute patent strategies while leveraging external technology partnerships and scientific expertise to create differentiated products and strengthen the innovation pipeline.
Collaborate with Brand Leadership, Development, Packaging, Finance, and other cross-functional teams to build strong business cases, manage project risks, and deliver high-impact innovation.
Prioritize and lead base business protection initiatives to maintain product quality, regulatory compliance, and supply continuity while balancing business risks.
Provide inspiring leadership by fostering collaboration, encouraging bold decision-making, and driving accountability to deliver innovative solutions and long-term business growth.