VP Research and Product Development

Prenetics • New York, NY

10d

About The Position

IM8 is hiring a VP, Research & Product Development to lead its product portfolio across powders, gummies, liquids and emerging delivery formats. Reporting directly to CEO Danny Yeung and serving on the leadership team, this role owns formulation, ingredient strategy, quality and manufacturing partnerships. The VP will translate consumer insight and scientific evidence into products that customers choose, trust and continue using, with accountability for the commercial impact of product decisions.

This is a hands-on leadership role responsible for building and executing the R&D roadmap from concept through launch and lifecycle management. The role combines scientific and technical leadership with commercial judgment, including product business cases, unit economics, margin, retention and customer lifetime value. It also involves building the R&D and quality function, managing development budgets and launch milestones, and working closely with the CEO and cross-functional leaders.

The VP will lead formulation and continuous product improvement; oversee portfolio quality, regulatory compliance and clinical research; manage US manufacturing and ingredient-supplier relationships; and work with IM8’s Scientific Advisory Board. The company expects daily, fluent use of AI across research, product development and team workflows, with expert review of AI-generated output related to safety, dosing, quality or claims.

IM8 describes itself as a next-generation health and longevity brand co-founded by David Beckham and Prenetics. Its flagship Daily Ultimate Essentials contains 90 active ingredients, and the company says it conducts randomized controlled trials on its products and maintains a clinical-grade standard across its portfolio. The position offers a leadership-team seat, access to a Scientific Advisory Board, and competitive base salary, bonus and equity in PRE, which is listed on NASDAQ.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in nutritional supplements, functional food or beverage, or consumer health R&D.
• 5+ years leading formulation and quality teams.
• Track record of launching commercially successful products across powders, gummies and liquids.
• Deep ingredient knowledge spanning vitamins, minerals, botanicals, probiotics and prebiotics, adaptogens, amino acids and branded actives, including efficacy, interactions, stability and sourcing.
• Hands-on experience with US contract manufacturers, including technology transfer, scale-up, audits and partner management.
• Strong command of dietary supplement regulations, labeling, structure/function claims and quality systems.
• Experience working with scientific advisors, KOLs or clinical researchers and translating evidence into consumer-understandable claims.
• Commercial judgment, including fluency with COGS, margins and price points.
• Established use of AI tools in professional work, with examples of improved speed or quality.
• Degree in food science, nutrition, chemistry, pharmacology, biochemistry or a related field.
• Daily, fluent use of AI is expected from day one, including the ability to demonstrate its impact and build AI capability across the team.
• Entrepreneurial ownership and comfort with ambiguity and hands-on work; experience helping build a fast-growing DTC or challenger brand, or building a function from scratch.
• Understanding of the supplements landscape and ability to connect ingredients, formats and product experience to repeat purchase.
• Ability to balance scientific ambition with consumer appeal, manufacturability and unit economics.
• Ability to collaborate decisively, build credibility with scientists and manufacturing partners, make clear decisions and bring colleagues along.
• Commitment to protecting product quality while keeping development and launches moving.

Nice To Haves

• MS or PhD degree.
• Experience building a fast-growing DTC or challenger brand or building a function from scratch.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end R&D roadmap, from concept and white-space identification through launch and lifecycle management.
• Identify consumer and category trends and develop a prioritized innovation pipeline with clear business cases.
• Evaluate and lead development of delivery formats, considering consumer appeal, stability, cost and scalability.
• Partner with Marketing, Growth and Finance to establish target consumers, pricing, margins and defensible claims for launches.
• Own the P&L impact of product decisions, including cost of goods, margin, retention and customer lifetime value.
• Prototype and test concepts with consumers, and stop projects when evidence does not support proceeding.
• Develop and present recommendations to the CEO on new categories, formats and markets, including risks, investment and expected returns.
• Develop practical scale-up routes through pilot runs, ingredient co-development and manufacturing partnerships, and build capabilities where they provide an advantage.
• Lead formulation across formats, including actives, dosing, bioavailability, taste, texture, solubility, stability and shelf life.
• Direct continuous improvement of existing products, including sensory and mixability upgrades, COGS reduction, cleaner labels and reformulations.
• Build and manage raw-material and branded-ingredient suppliers, including qualification, pricing and dual-sourcing.
• Own portfolio quality specifications, testing protocols, Certificate of Analysis review, stability programs and release criteria.
• Ensure compliance with applicable dietary-supplement manufacturing, labeling and claims requirements, working with regulatory and legal specialists as needed.
• Lead relevant third-party certifications and audits.
• Manage investigations, corrective and preventive actions, change control and escalation of quality issues with manufacturing partners.
• Own technical and quality relationships with US manufacturing partners.
• Lead technology transfer, pilot trials and commercial scale-up to ensure consistent production against specifications.
• Partner with Operations on manufacturing costs, capacity, lead times and supply continuity, and resolve production issues.
• Qualify new manufacturing partners and establish quality agreements, performance scorecards and contingency plans.
• Work with the Scientific Advisory Board to assess ingredients, review formulations and guide the research agenda.
• Translate scientific evidence into product decisions and substantiated consumer claims.
• Oversee clinical research partners and product studies, aligning research priorities with the innovation roadmap.
• Build and lead a high-performing R&D and quality function with clear priorities and accountability.
• Manage development budgets, resource allocation and launch milestones, balancing speed, quality and commercial return.
• Work with the CEO and leadership team to keep product development central to IM8’s growth strategy.
• Use AI daily for literature and patent review, ingredient and competitor research, formulation ideation, and regulatory and claims research.
• Use AI and customer data, including reviews, support tickets, subscription and churn signals, to identify unmet needs and test concepts.
• Build AI tools into workflows for specification and CoA review, supplier comparison, stability tracking, documentation and Scientific Advisory Board briefing materials.
• Establish standards for checking AI outputs and require human expert sign-off for matters involving safety, dosing, quality or claims.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary.
• Bonus.
• Equity in PRE, listed on NASDAQ.
• Seat on the leadership team of a fast-growing premium health brand, with ownership over products.
• Direct access to a Scientific Advisory Board. The description presents this as an offering, not a formal benefit category.

What This Job Offers

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