Project Management Director, Innovation (Hybrid Role - New York)

Olaplex • New York, NY

3d • $160,000 - $180,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

OLAPLEX, a category-defining leader in prestige hair care, continuously seeks talented individuals to join in our mission to transform foundational hair health and deliver great hair days today, tomorrow, and for years to come.
As the original bond builder, we are dedicated to fostering a culture that celebrates the bonds within our teams. OLAPLEX elevates individuals from all backgrounds with the belief that together we can unlock the full potential of science to extend the health, life, and beauty of hair for all.
About the Role:
The Project Management Director, Innovation is a high-impact strategic role responsible for architecting the execution of our most complex, high-stakes New Product Development (NPD) launches. Reporting directly to the SVP of Transformation & Business Planning, you will serve as a deep subject matter expert across the disciplines required to launch Olaplex products —from R&D and Supply Chain to Creative and Go-to-Market strategy.
This role requires a leader with significant influence who can orchestrate work across the organization. You will move beyond simple timeline tracking to true program governance: anticipating bottlenecks in high-complexity launches, negotiating trade-offs with senior leadership, and driving the "speed-to-excellence" needed to achieve our commercial goals.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in Project/Program Management within CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods), specifically in Premium/Luxury categories. Haircare and/or Beauty experience preferred
• Deep understanding of the entire product lifecycle: R&D, Packaging Engineering, Global Supply Chain, and Omni-channel Marketing
• Relevant cross-functional experience across Supply Chain organizations, Product Development (including R&F formulation and packaging project management)
• Expert-level proficiency in Smartsheet/Asana
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership without direct authority

Responsibilities

• High-Complexity Launch Ownership: Own end-to-end delivery of the company’s most critical NPD initiatives, translating strategy into actionable, data-driven roadmaps with measurable business outcomes (launch timeline adherence, risk-adjusted ROI, quality targets
• Stage-Gate Governance: Lead the evolving stage-gate process; define exit criteria, decision rights, and escalation paths to ensure rigor and agility across Innovation, R&D, Packaging, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Finance
• Advanced Risk Management: Proactively identify cross-functional friction points; develop data-backed mitigation options for C-suite alignment
• Executive Facilitation: Lead alignment forums with VP/C-level stakeholders to resolve dependencies and resource allocation; drive consensus on critical path and funding
• Process Architecture: Analyze product lifecycle to identify inefficiencies; implement workflow improvements to optimize R&D–Creative–Operations interfaces
• Supplier & Partner Strategy: Align with Supply Chain to manage external partners and ensure external timelines meet internal launch windows
• Technical & Creative Fluency: Bridge formulation/packaging constraints with brand/creative intent; ensure briefs are feasible and executed to standard
• Master Planning: Own the master schedule; use Smartsheet/Asana for scenario modeling and portfolio planning beyond task tracking.
• Crisis Management: Escalation point for launch-critical issues; diagnose root causes and drive rapid resolution

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Work/Life Balance: Flexible paid time off, 11 paid holidays, and flexible work schedules
• Wellness: Company Contribution to Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance for Employees and their Families, Company Paid Employee Life Insurance, Optional additional Life Insurance, and Short and Long-Term Disability Coverage Options
• Parental Leave: Up to 18 weeks for birthing-parents and up to 10 weeks for non-birthing new parents
• Financial Well-being: Roth and 401k plans: 100% match up to the first 4% and is immediately vested
• Professional Development Reimbursement Program: Career development is as important to us as we know it is to you!
• Our culture has an “attitude of gratitude” and a shared passion for our brand. Join our Bond Builder DEI committee to play a role celebrating DEI at OLAPLEX
• Products: Twenty (20) free products per year, plus a friends and family discount

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed