Senior Director of Product Development

Senior Director of Product Development

Los Angeles (Hybrid | 2 days/week onsite)

The Honest Company is a personal care company dedicated to creating cleanly-formulated and sustainably-designed products spanning categories across diapers, wipes, baby personal care, beauty, apparel, household care and wellness. Launched in 2012, the Company is on a mission to challenge ingredients, ideals, and industries through the power of the Honest brand, the Honest team, and the Honest Standard.

We're on a mission to empower people to live happy, healthy lives. We're a wellness brand with values rooted in consciousness, community, transparency, and design. Every day and in every way, we hold ourselves to an Honest standard. We believe that it is our responsibility to do our part to help create a healthy and sustainable future for all.

You will be fully accountable for steering the multi-year long-term innovation pipeline, driving macro-level category strategy in partnership with Brand, and guiding a dedicated team of in-house chemists to concept, develop, and optimize award-winning products. The Senior Director will ensure all initiatives seamlessly deliver on the company's shared category strategic vision, uncompromising quality standards, and aggressive business growth objectives.

The Honest Company is expanding our Research and Development leadership team! We're looking for a strategic, visionary, and highly experienced Senior Director of Product Development. As a Senior Director in the Research and Development department, you will serve as the principal strategic leader and primary executive liaison between Research and Development and the cross-functional leadership of the operating units—including Brand, Operations, Sales, and Marketing Communications.

Strategic Vision & Portfolio Leadership: Partner directly with Brand and Executive leadership to architect, cultivate, and champion the long-term innovation pipeline and overarching strategic vision for Honest Baby Personal Care, Adult Personal Care, and future adjacent categories.

End-to-End NPD Governance: Direct, optimize, and champion high-impact projects through the Honest NPD stage-gate process from initial concept to commercialized launch, ensuring flawless execution, superior quality, and strict adherence to corporate timelines.

Macro Product Concepting & Strategy: Direct in-depth global reviews of key categories, emerging macro trends, and the competitive landscape to define forward-looking product strategy. Lead and orchestrate cross-functional collaboration among key stakeholders—including formulation, packaging, Claims & Clinicals, brand marketing, and sales—to develop robust, highly differentiated product concepts with undeniable Points of Difference (PODs). Strategically weigh development trade-offs with an executive focus on organizational effort vs. long-term ROI.

Executive Technical Marketing: Serve as the authoritative internal expert on the product portfolio, providing critical technical insights to marketing communications, sales, and investor relations. Cultivate deep, collaborative relationships with R&D technical experts to translate complex ingredient science and clinical claims into powerful, consumer-facing narratives. Champion comprehensive product and brand education across all global consumer touchpoints.

Process & Systems Optimization: Establish, scale, and continually elevate front-end innovation processes, advanced tracking tools, and methodologies to streamline departmental functions, mitigate project complexity, and accelerate rapid prototyping.

Market Intelligence & Insight: Analyze global macro-category dynamics and clean ingredient trends, collaborating closely with consumer insights to draw high-level, actionable conclusions that future-proof product roadmaps.

Industry Representation: Represent The Honest Company as a thought leader at key trade shows and global conferences to spearhead strategic manufacturer and raw material supplier relationships, evaluate competitive landscapes, and maintain cutting-edge industry education.

Ability to travel up to 15%

Bachelor's degree required; an advanced degree or Bachelor's in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Cosmetics Science, or a related technical field is highly preferred but not required.

12+ years of progressive product development experience within a CPG Personal Care environment, paired with an authoritative, deep understanding of R&D operations. Direct formulation or laboratory experience is a distinct plus.

Minimum of 6–8+ years of direct people management experience, with a proven track record of leading, mentoring, and influencing scale cross-functional teams and executive stakeholders across a matrixed organization.

Proven, expert-level mastery of product development, advanced sensory evaluation, clean beauty standards, and complex stage-gate operational processes.

Demonstrated mastery in managing substantial departmental budgets, complex financial metrics, and high-volume, high-stakes project portfolios successfully.

A powerful combination of creative problem-solving skills, sophisticated consumer-insight comprehension, and an agile aptitude for high-level strategic thinking in a fluid, fast-paced environment.

Executive-level interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills. A highly collaborative leader possessing an unshakeable sense of ownership, accountability, urgency, and corporate integrity.

The pay range for this role is $220,000 - $260,000. Actual compensation is based on many factors including but not limited to depth of experience, skill level, ability, knowledge, education, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.

The total rewards package for this position may also include base, annual incentive plan, benefits, retirement plan, equity, and Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Benefits & Perks

At Honest, we're all about investing in our people. We're dedicated to providing a benefits package that supports your well-being, growth, and balance. Check out our benefits and perks we offer to help you thrive both in and out of the office:

Comprehensive Health & Wellness: We've got you covered with top-tier health, dental, and vision plans to keep you and your family feeling great.

401k with Company Match: Your future matters to us. We match your 401k contributions to help you secure a strong financial future.

Wellness & Fitness: Stay healthy with a monthly fitness reimbursement and, for those in our Playa Vista office, an onsite gym to keep you active and energized.

Work-Life Balance: We value your time. We provide a generous and flexible vacation policy to relax, recharge, and spend time on what matters most.

Family-Friendly Leave: Growing your family? We offer generous maternity and paternity leave to support you during this exciting journey.

Ownership & Equity: Ownership isn't just a mindset here—it's real. Every full time employee is granted equity, giving you a direct stake in our future. When we win, you win.

Education Reimbursement: We're committed to your growth—whether it's for professional development or a new passion, we offer education reimbursement to help you learn and level up.

Pet Insurance: We love your furry family members too! Our pet insurance ensures your pets are taken care of, because they're part of the family.

Please note: Benefits offerings may vary based on the position and geographic location.