Director of Product Development, Drift

The Director of Product Development will lead the end-to-end development of all fragrance and physical product innovation across Drift’s portfolio, including fine fragrance, car fragrance, home fragrance, and fragrance diffusion devices. This role will own the product development lifecycle from concept through launch, partnering closely with formulation labs, fragrance houses, regulatory consultants, operations, and marketing to bring high-quality, on-brand products to market on time and within scope.

This role reports directly to the VP of Innovation & Physical Product. While remote, the position requires weekly travel to fragrance partners, suppliers, and Drift’s warehouse (NY & NJ).  Candidates must have access to a personal vehicle for travel and product testing.

Responsibilities

• Lead all fragrance and product development initiatives across fine fragrance, car fragrance, home fragrance, and scent diffusion devices.
• Own the full product development lifecycle from concept, briefing, and benchmarking through evaluation, validation, production readiness, and launch.
• Create clear product and fragrance briefs that translate brand strategy, consumer insights, and white-space opportunities into actionable development direction.
• Drive innovation by identifying market trends, competitive opportunities, and white-space concepts aligned with Drift’s brand positioning, customer needs, and subscription model.
• Lead fragrance submission management, including evaluation, feedback, redirect rounds, and final selection in partnership with internal stakeholders and fragrance suppliers.
• Manage product testing programs, including fragrance panel testing, consumer feedback loops, functionality testing, efficacy testing, and stability testing where applicable.
• Oversee development of fragrance diffusion devices and ensure performance, user experience, safety, reliability, and cost targets are achieved.
• Maintain project timelines, stage gates, and critical milestones to ensure on-time execution across all active development programs.
• Identify project risks early and proactively drive solutions related to formulation, componentry, testing, regulatory, supply chain, timing, and cost.
• Own vendor and partner relationships across fragrance houses, formulation labs, test labs, and consultants through regular business reviews and project check-ins.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Creative, Operations, Supply Chain, and external manufacturing partners to align on product requirements, artwork, claims, launch timing, and commercialization readiness.
• Ensure all product development documentation is complete, accurate, and maintained in internal systems, including formulas, specifications, BOMs where applicable, claims support, test results, and approvals.
• Manage the collection, review, and tracking of fragrance regulatory and technical documentation from suppliers and consultants.
• Support product registration, compliance, and market readiness by coordinating documentation needed for launches, updates, and retailer or market requirements.
• Oversee sample management and organization for all active development programs, including fragrance submissions, component samples, prototypes, standards, and retain samples.
• Partner with packaging and creative teams to develop copy, artwork input, and product details that accurately reflect formula, claims, and regulatory requirements.
• Help define development standards, best practices, and scalable processes that improve speed, organization, and execution quality across the department.
• Mentor and lead product development team members, setting priorities and ensuring strong execution across multiple concurrent launches.
• Directly manage the Senior Manager of R&D and oversee day-to-day R&D prioritization, performance, and development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in home fragrance, car fragrance, and fine fragrance categories.
• Experience working in high-growth or startup environments.
• Experience supporting subscription-based product models or recurring assortment strategies.
• Familiarity with packaging development and manufacturing scale-up.
• Experience building or improving product development processes and tools.