Sr. Scientist (Topical)

Location:  Tarrytown, NY | Hybrid: Tuesday–Thursday in office; Monday & Friday remote

Schedule:  Full-time | 40 hours per week

Compensation: $110,000-$150,000 annually

Prestige Consumer Healthcare is a company that focuses on product innovation and quality in the over-the-counter healthcare and women’s health categories to better improve the lives of our customers and their world. For generations, our trusted brands have helped consumers care for themselves and their loved ones. We are the largest independent provider of over-the-counter products in North America, and we are constantly improving and creating products that match the ever-changing lifestyles and needs of people and families everywhere.

Why This Role Matters

The Sr. Scientist - Topical will help shape and execute Prestige's multiyear innovation pipeline across cosmetic and over-the-counter topical products. In close partnership with Marketing, internal R&D teams, external R&D partners, manufacturers, suppliers, Legal, Regulatory, Procurement, and Project Management, this role will help translate consumer and business needs into technically sound products that launch on time, manage risk, and support the company's financial goals.

In This Role, You’ll Get To

• Provide R&D leadership across multiple product lines and categories within the Prestige Consumer Healthcare portfolio.
• Partner with Marketing to strategically plan and develop a multiyear new-product roadmap across multiple brands with a focus on cosmetic and OTC topicals, aligning business goals and consumer needs while reducing technical and timeline risk.
• Lead specific R&D projects from start to finish and drive new-product execution from ideation through formulation development, scale-up, and launch.
• Manage internal and external teams involved in product formulation and development and collaborate closely with internal R&D and external R&D partners.
• Participate in consumer research to understand consumer needs and collaborate with Marketing to ideate new products.
• Develop and manage product plans and budgets using internal and external resources.
• Identify and evaluate new technologies that can be incorporated into future products.
• Ideate novel consumer claims and partner with Legal and Regulatory on claim substantiation.
• Lead technical scale-up activities in collaboration with manufacturers and partner with Project Management to help ensure projects launch on time.
• Build relationships with raw-material suppliers and other external companies that support R&D.
• Negotiate development agreements with external partners.
• Provide R&D support to currently marketed products and manufacturing activities.
• Collaborate with Procurement to negotiate and optimize product cost of goods.
• Ensure the multiyear R&D pipeline supports business financial goals with appropriate timelines and disciplined technical execution.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific or engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of product-development experience; candidates with advanced degrees and fewer years of experience may be considered.
• Successful track record of leading cross-functional teams.
• Ability to quickly develop a high-level understanding of complex technical issues.
• Excellent organizational, diplomatic, problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and governmental regulations; prepare reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals; and effectively present information and respond to questions from managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Practical mathematical and reasoning ability, including working with percentages, proportions, area, circumference, volume, and basic algebra and geometry, and applying sound judgment to standardized business and technical situations.
• High proficiency with computer skills, including Microsoft Office.
• Ability to travel up to approximately 15%, mainly within North America.
• Must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S.; Prestige is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.
• Ability to meet the physical demands of the role, including regular sitting; frequent talking/hearing; occasional standing, walking, reaching, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling; and occasional lifting/moving of up to 35 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities.

Preferred Qualification

• Experience in consumer healthcare innovation.
• Experience with topical products, including skin/body care and/or hair care.
• Experience with OTC formulation development.

Work environment: Primarily a professional office setting with a generally moderate noise level. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.