Senior Manager, Product Innovation (Raw Sugar)

Careers with WM Partners' Portfolio Companies

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Raw Sugar Living is seeking a Senior Manager, Product Innovation to lead the creation of their next generation of products across haircare and body care. This role is responsible for front-end innovation and product development—from identifying consumer insights and white space opportunities through concept creation, claims development, and validated product readiness. Sitting at the intersection of product development and brand strategy, this role shapes both what we build and how it comes to life for the consumer. You will develop distinctive, category-disrupting products and scalable innovation platforms, grounded in strong insights, clear positioning, and compelling reason-to-believe.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in product innovation, product development, or R&D within beauty, personal care, or CPG
Proven track record of creating and launching innovative, high-impact products
Strong ability to translate consumer insights into tangible product concepts and platforms
Deep understanding of formulation, ingredients, and packaging (without needing to be a bench chemist)
Experience working with external formulators, labs, and contract manufacturers
Balance of creative thinking and technical product knowledge
Experience building innovation pipelines and multi-year product strategies
Strong project management and cross-functional leadership skills
Ability to manage multiple projects and thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment

Responsibilities

Identify emerging consumer trends, market opportunities, and competitive white space
Translate insights into breakthrough concepts and scalable innovation platforms
Develop a 2–3 year innovation roadmap, balancing near-term launches with longer-term, disruptive opportunities
Ensure innovation drives incremental revenue, margin expansion, and brand differentiation
Own accurate and organized data management across formula setup, product information files, development samples, initial pricing and ongoing product lifecycle management.
Coordinate with commercialization and compliance workflows during new product development and product lifecycle management, including tracking testing, documentation, and compliance milestones in alignment with regulatory guidance and commercialization timelines.
Lead the product development process from concept through validation, ensuring the original innovation vision is preserved through execution
Own concept creation, product positioning, and high-level claims development
Partner with external formulators and suppliers to develop high-quality, cost-effective products
Guide formulation direction, ingredient selection, and product performance standards
Build and manage strong relationships with contract manufacturers, labs, and packaging suppliers
Drive iterative development cycles to optimize performance, cost, and speed-to-market
Ensure all products meet Raw Sugar’s clean beauty, safety, and sustainability standards
Partner with Marketing, Design, and Operations to ensure product concepts align with brand strategy and positioning
Translate innovation vision into clear briefs, product requirements, and development guardrails
Serve as the innovation lead and product expert, supporting internal teams with claims, storytelling, and technical insight
Build and scale best-in-class innovation capabilities, including tools, processes, and ways of working
Introduce AI-driven insights and modern innovation approaches to accelerate concept development and decision-making
Improve development workflows to enhance speed, agility, and pipeline quality
Establish scalable processes for pipeline development, concept validation, and product readiness