Senior Manager, Product Development

AG1 • Chicago, IL

6h • $115,000 - $135,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

AG1 is seeking a Senior Manager, Product Development to join its growing Product Development team and lead development for new product formats and platforms. Reporting to the VP, Product Development, this role owns formulation, innovation, and continuous improvement from concept through commercialization. The Senior Manager will drive platform innovation strategy, build and operate the frameworks that govern the platform, and represent it independently with cross-functional and executive stakeholders. It is a hands-on, lab-close role focused on building a platform capability.

The role is intended for someone based in the greater Chicago area. It follows a hybrid arrangement, with an expectation of working onsite at the lab outside Chicago an average of two days per week, or more often as business needs require.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of product development experience in the beverage or CPG industry, including substantial hands-on formulation experience.
• Based in the greater Chicago area.
• Bachelor's degree in Food Science or a related field.
• At least 5 years as a food scientist with Ready to Drink (RTD) or beverage processing experience.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a strategic decision-maker, owning formula direction, prioritization, and resourcing trade-offs.
• Track record of independently representing a function before senior leadership or executive stakeholders.
• Experience partnering with contract manufacturers and flavor houses to take products from concept to commercial scale.
• Strong grounding in sensory evaluation and stability testing methodologies.
• Experience building or owning innovation frameworks and processes, such as stage-gate systems or prioritization frameworks.
• Comfort working hands-on in a lab-based environment.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills and credibility to operate as a peer among functional directors.
• Builder's mindset, comfort with ambiguity, and willingness to define processes where none exist.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end product development and innovation for new platforms, from formulation through commercialization, owning the platform with a business-owner mindset.
• Own and evolve the Innovation Brief system for the platform, ensuring its accuracy and completeness.
• Lead desirability, viability, and feasibility evaluations for new product concepts and shape how ideas are assessed and prioritized across the platform pipeline.
• Own readiness at key phases and milestones in the company's Stagegate process.
• Drive material and formulation modifications to improve product quality, stability, and cost, and to unlock new product opportunities.
• Partner with flavor houses to develop and refine platform-specific flavor systems in coordination with internal flavor expertise.
• Support relationships with contract manufacturers and ensure formulations translate to production scale and manufacturing partners can execute to specification.
• Own sensory and stability validation for platform formulations and ensure products meet quality and shelf-life standards before launch.
• Drive development and continuous improvement of platform innovation processes, including stage gate, Innovation Brief, and DVF systems.
• Partner closely with Manufacturing to align development, pilot, and scale-up activities.
• Share best practices, tools, and learnings with leads of other platforms across the Product Development organization.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and performance-based incentive plans.
• Paid holidays, company-wide reset and reflect days, and unlimited PTO, based on country of residence.
• In-person team meetups.
• Access to AG1 products and branded swag.
• Monthly telecom stipend to offset some home internet or Wi-Fi costs for eligible team members.
• Other benefits and insurances as required by law, based on country of residence.
• Competitive mix of base salary, performance bonus, and stock option allocation for eligible roles.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior