Overview
Product Development Manager, Formulation Jobs in San Diego, CA at Confidential
Title: Product Development Manager, Formulation
Company: Confidential
Location: San Diego, CA
An innovative and fast-growing company in the San Diego area is seeking a Product Development Manager to lead high-impact product development initiatives across various beauty categories.
This is a hands-on technical role responsible for driving products from concept through commercialization, including formulation, testing, and manufacturing scale-up. The role offers a unique opportunity to work on both established, shelf-ready products and new product innovation for major retail channels.
The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in formulation development, contract manufacturing, and OTC products, along with a strong ability to lead cross-functional execution and deliver high-quality consumer products at scale. The Product Development Manager, Formulation team member reports to the Vice President of Product Development.
Key Responsibilities
1) Product Development & Scale-Up
- Drive formulation development to achieve targeted performance, sensory attributes, appearance, and claims
- Coordinate validation, and commercialization readiness across product lines
- Manage timelines, critical paths, and cost considerations for development and scale-up
- Drive lab, pilot, and full-scale production in partnership with contract manufacturers
- Ensure smooth transition into manufacturing with consistent quality and supply
2) OTC, SPF & Regulatory
- Serve as day-to-day driver for OTC and SPF product development, under the guidance of the VP of Product Development
- Partner with Regulatory to support claims substantiation and ensure compliance with FDA and U.S. regulations
- Align formulations, testing protocols, and documentation with on-pack claims
- Coordinate development testing, including stability, compatibility, and performance validation
- Ensure formulations are compatible with packaging and meet regulatory expectations prior to launch
3) Cross-Functional Supplier Management
- Act as the primary day-to-day contact across a network of contract manufacturing partners
- Coordinate formulation development, testing, scale-up, and technology transfer
- Collaborate with Packaging teams to ensure formula–package compatibility and aligned timelines
- Partner closely with Quality, Regulatory, and Commercial teams to drive execution
- Maintain clear documentation and communicate development progress to stakeholders
4) New Product Innovation
- Drive end-to-end development of new products for a range of retail channels
- Translate customer briefs into scalable, compliant, and cost-effective formulations
- Support innovation across mass retail, drug, grocery, specialty, and club channels
- Balance innovation initiatives alongside ongoing product development priorities
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Biology, or a related field
- 8+ years of product development experience in beauty, personal care, and/or OTC categories
- Demonstrated experience with OTC drug products and SPF formulations
- Strong background working with contract manufacturers
- Proven ability to manage complex development timelines, testing programs, and budgets
- Preferred to have experience supporting major retail customers
- Familiarity with shelf-ready packaging and retail quality expectations
- Strong cross-functional collaboration with Packaging, Regulatory, and Quality teams
- Ability to travel as needed to CM locations during production runs, located mostly in the Los Angeles area.
Work Schedule:
Hybrid Schedule – Monday through Friday 8:30AM to 5:00PM with variation based on business demands (Mon & Fri remote, Tues – Thurs in-office)
Pay range: $115,000 to $125,000
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Paid time off
