Project Management Director, Innovation (Hybrid Role - New York)

OLAPLEX, a category-defining leader in prestige hair care, continuously seeks talented individuals to join in our mission to transform foundational hair health and deliver great hair days today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

As the original bond builder, we are dedicated to fostering a culture that celebrates the bonds within our teams. OLAPLEX elevates individuals from all backgrounds with the belief that together we can unlock the full potential of science to extend the health, life, and beauty of hair for all.

About the Role: 

The Project Management Director, Innovation is a high-impact strategic role responsible for architecting the execution of our most complex, high-stakes New Product Development (NPD) launches. Reporting directly to the SVP of Transformation & Business Planning, you will serve as a deep subject matter expert across the disciplines required to launch Olaplex products —from R&D and Supply Chain to Creative and Go-to-Market strategy. 

This role requires a leader with significant influence who can orchestrate work across the organization. You will move beyond simple timeline tracking to true program governance: anticipating bottlenecks in high-complexity launches, negotiating trade-offs with senior leadership, and driving the "speed-to-excellence" needed to achieve our commercial goals. 

Key Responsibilities 

Strategic Program Leadership 

• High-Complexity Launch Ownership: Own end-to-end delivery of the company’s most critical NPD initiatives, translating strategy into actionable, data-driven roadmaps with measurable business outcomes (launch timeline adherence, risk-adjusted ROI, quality targets
• Stage-Gate Governance: Lead the evolving stage-gate process; define exit criteria, decision rights, and escalation paths to ensure rigor and agility across Innovation, R&D, Packaging, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Finance
• Advanced Risk Management: Proactively identify cross-functional friction points; develop data-backed mitigation options for C-suite alignment

Cross-Functional Orchestration & Influence 

• Executive Facilitation: Lead alignment forums with VP/C-level stakeholders to resolve dependencies and resource allocation; drive consensus on critical path and funding
• Process Architecture: Analyze product lifecycle to identify inefficiencies; implement workflow improvements to optimize R&D–Creative–Operations interfaces
• Supplier & Partner Strategy: Align with Supply Chain to manage external partners and ensure external timelines meet internal launch windows 

Operational Excellence & Technical Fluency 

• Technical & Creative Fluency: Bridge formulation/packaging constraints with brand/creative intent; ensure briefs are feasible and executed to standard  
• Master Planning: Own the master schedule; use Smartsheet/Asana for scenario modeling and portfolio planning beyond task tracking.
• Crisis Management: Escalation point for launch-critical issues; diagnose root causes and drive rapid resolution 

About You:  

• 12+ years of experience in Project/Program Management within CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods), specifically in Premium/Luxury categories. Haircare and/or Beauty experience preferred
• Deep understanding of the entire product lifecycle: R&D, Packaging Engineering, Global Supply Chain, and Omni-channel Marketing
• Relevant cross-functional experience across Supply Chain organizations, Product Development (including R&F formulation and packaging project management)
• Expert-level proficiency in Smartsheet/Asana 
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership without direct authority 

We'd love to have you apply, even if you don't feel you meet every single requirement. What's most important to us is finding authentic and accountable people who feel connected to our mission and values, not just candidates who check off all the boxes. We are looking for someone who will bring all their expertise, learn, and grow with us.

Our Total Rewards: 

The annual base pay for this position is $160,000 - $180,000 with eligibility for an annual bonus. The actual base pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, years of relevant experience, skill level, functional expertise, certificates or other professional licenses held and geographic location.

• Competitive compensation 
• Work/Life Balance: Flexible pai