Senior Product Manager

About the role

The Senior Manager of Product Development at Ancient Nutrition is a hands-on technical role responsible for formulation, sample development, ingredient feasibility, troubleshooting, product optimization, and commercialization readiness. This person will advance product development projects across innovation, renovation, reformulation, line extensions, and product optimization.

Responsibilities

• Develop, refine, and troubleshoot formulas across innovation, renovation, reformulation, line extension, and optimization projects.
• Translate product concepts, scientific rationale, consumer needs, and brand standards into technically feasible products.
• Evaluate formulas for ingredient functionality, dosage, flavor, texture, stability, sensory experience, cost, manufacturing feasibility, regulatory considerations, and consumer expectations.
• Partner with suppliers, flavor houses, co-manufacturers, and internal teams to create samples, evaluate prototypes, refine formulas, and resolve technical issues.
• Balance technical rigor, product quality, consumer experience, cost, manufacturability, and speed to market.
• Execute assigned projects through established intake, prioritization, dashboard, and project visibility processes.
• Maintain clear project status, documentation, decision points, risks, and upcoming milestones.
• Coordinate with Product Development teammates and cross-functional partners to support commercialization timelines and deliverables.
• Escalate technical risks, resource needs, timeline concerns, unresolved decisions, and cross-functional blockers.
• Identify opportunities to improve taste, texture, solubility, sensory experience, ingredient quality, cost, sourcing, manufacturability, and product performance.
• Provide formulation and technical support for renovation and reformulation projects.
• Ensure updated products maintain scientific integrity, brand standards, regulatory alignment, quality expectations, operational feasibility, and consumer value.
• Support projects from concept refinement through formulation, sampling, documentation, packaging, commercialization readiness, and Supply Chain handoff.
• Establish clear product requirements, technical inputs, formula documentation, sample feedback, risks, and launch-readiness criteria.
• Support alignment across formulas, labels, claims, documentation, costing, packaging, manufacturing feasibility, and production requirements.
• Resolve technical issues involving formulations, raw materials, sensory performance, manufacturing constraints, cost, suppliers, or production.
• Collaborate with suppliers, flavor houses, co-manufacturers, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Product Documentation, and Product Development to align ingredient and supplier decisions with product and business needs.
• Maintain clear and accurate documentation for formulas, revisions, sample feedback, technical decisions, and project rationale.
• Provide timely inputs for ingredient rationale, raw-material decisions, claims support, label review, commercialization handoffs, and change control.
• Support Supplement Facts Panel creation, raw-material approval workflows, CVC claims, bills of materials, finished-good specifications, and related documentation.
• Ensure technical decisions and documentation are traceable, consistent, and accessible.
• Support selected innovation and R&D initiatives based on team priorities.
• Evaluate ingredient compatibility, dosing, sensory implications, manufacturing constraints, and commercialization risks.
• Provide hands-on support for complex formulations, ingredient substitutions, sensory concerns, and raw-material challenges.
• Provide formulation, ingredient, and technical inputs to Education, Brand, Sales, Marketing, and Product teams.
• Translate complex technical information into clear explanations that support product understanding, launch education, sales training, and product storytelling.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert during presentations by explaining ingredient selection, formula design, format, flavor strategy, differentiation, and the technical reasoning behind product decisions.
• Ensure technical information aligns with approved product positioning and claims.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of experience in product development, formulation, R&D, food science, dietary supplements, nutrition, wellness, CPG, or a related field.
• Hands-on formulation experience in dietary supplements, functional foods, powders, capsules, tablets, gummies, stick packs, gels, liquids, beverages, or similar regulated products.
• Demonstrated success moving products from concept through formulation, sampling, refinement, troubleshooting, and commercialization.
• Strong knowledge of ingredient functionality, dosage strategy, flavor, texture, sensory evaluation, cost, manufacturing constraints, regulatory considerations, and launch readiness.
• Experience working with suppliers, flavor houses, co-manufacturers, Quality, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Product Documentation, Marketing, Sales, and Education.
• Strong technical problem-solving skills related to formulations, raw materials, sensory performance, suppliers, manufacturing, and commercialization.
• Able to manage multiple projects, communicate status clearly, and deliver work with ownership and urgency.
• Strong technical documentation skills, including formula records, ingredient rationale, sample feedback, label review, claims support, and commercialization handoffs.
• Able to translate scientific and technical information into clear, commercially useful language.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and adaptability in a fast-moving environment.
• Experience with SpecRight, TraceGains, Unifize, Asana, Smartsheet, or similar platforms preferred.
• Able to travel approximately 10–15% for supplier visits, contract-manufacturer visits, industry events, and company meetings.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Nutrition, Biology, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field required.
• Master’s degree in Nutrition, Food Science, Clinical Nutrition, or a related field preferred.

Core Values

Run to win the race: Pursue excellence in everything we do.
Committed to constant growth: Strive to refine and improve daily.
Take ownership: Be proactive and accountable.
Be purpose-driven: Be dependable and mission-aligned.
Play as a team: Support one another and work toward a shared mission.

Benefits and Culture

• Competitive health, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Disability and supplemental insurance options.
• Unlimited PTO for salaried employees.
• Paid maternity and paternity leave.
• Complimentary Ancient Nutrition products.
• A wellness-oriented, values-based culture.

Application Instructions

Please submit a thoughtful cover letter explaining why your experience and interests make you a strong addition to the Ancient Nutrition team. We look forward to hearing from you.