Director, Packaging Development

Launched in 2015, SOL DE JANEIRO is an award-winning, fast-growing premium global lifestyle beauty brand inspired by the beauty rituals and attitude of the beaches of Rio. Our brand purpose is to spark endless self-celebration and joy through the power and warmth of the Brazilian spirit. This philosophy extends from our products to our corporate culture. We are leaders, permanently inquisitive, category obsessed, incredibly diverse, self-demanding, true team players, and we are all Brazilian in Spirit.

Headquartered in New York and launched as a digitally native brand, we have expanded globally with teams in Rio, Paris, London, and Germany. Our commitment to excellence has earned us prestigious honors, including TIME100's 2024 Most Influential Company, Fast Company's 2024 World's Most Innovative Companies and 2023 Brands that Matter, Allure's 2024 Readers' Choice Awards, and WWD's 2023 Beauty Inc Award in the Prestige category. These accolades highlight our dedication to being a leading brand in the beauty industry and an exceptional workplace.

This role will lead the packaging development team to support the hypergrowth and rapid global expansion of the brand. A dynamic, innovation-minded leader who loves the cross-functional nature and complexity of packaging development, thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys leading and developing a team, and excels in a passionate, collaborative culture would be successful in this role.

The position will report to the Executive Director, Packaging Design + Development.

Position Description:

The Director, Packaging Development will lead the end-to-end process of packaging creation for all product categories and channels. The Director will ensure the delivery of high-quality, innovative, differentiated packaging solutions that align with global brand and regulatory standards. This role also entails managing and growing teams, working closely with key internal stakeholders, engaging with external partners, and overseeing department operations.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Department Management:

• Manage the department’s budget, ensuring efficient resource allocation and cost-effective operations
• Create and maintain tooling budget in partnership with Procurement
• Develop and execute staffing plans to support the department’s goals and growth trajectory
• Lead performance management efforts, providing mentorship, guidance, and development opportunities to ensure team members meet technical and professional growth targets
• Assess, develop, and implement processes and procedures in the packaging department and cross-functionally to enhance the overall function of the team and the organization
• Identify opportunities to strategically outsource for agility, including utilizing vendor development capabilities, turnkey providers, and stock components
• Foster a collaborative and innovative working environment that promotes communication, problem-solving, and continuous improvement

Development Oversight and Leadership:

• Lead the end-to-end design, testing, and validation of new packaging systems to ensure packaging designs are robust and reliable throughout the product lifecycle
• Identify and implement cost-saving opportunities through material selection, packaging standardization, and continuous improvements in partnership with Procurement and Product Engineering
• Collaborate across functions and with external partners as part of the NPL process, including Product Development, Product Engineering, ESG, Packaging Design, Global Product Marketing, Global Regulatory Affairs, Project Management, Operations, Procurement, Quality, and others
• Support direct reports in problem solving and troubleshooting technical challenges
• Drive the packaging innovation agenda by exploring new materials, technologies, processes, partners, and being up to date on innovation, trends, and technological advances in packaging science
• Identify solutions to meet aggressive timelines, including turnkey and stock solutions, in additional to custom tooling
• Partnering with Quality, Operations, and Product Engineering, identify and validate new contract manufacturing partners to support and expand manufacturing capabilities
• In partnership with Procurement and Operations, support new component vendor identification and validation to ensure supply chain agility
• Other duties as assigned, according to the changing needs of the business. 

Key Leadership Competencies:

• Thinks Strategically: Takes a holistic view of the business, aligning operational decisions with overarching company objectives and long-term growth strategies. Analyzes industry