Senior Manager, Product Development at ag1 · LumiJobs
senior
$115k–$135k
H1B: no
ag1 Senior Manager, Product Development leads formulation, innovation, and commercialization for new product platforms. This hands-on role drives innovation strategy and manages product development from concept through launch.
Responsibilities
AG1 is looking for a Senior Manager, Product Development to join our growing Product Development team in the Chicago market as the business continues to evolve and expand into new innovations and platforms. Reporting to the VP, Product Development, this role will serve as the development expert for owning formulation, innovation, and continuous improvement from concept through commercialization for new formats and platforms.
This person drives the innovation strategy, owns the frameworks that govern how the platform runs, and represents the platform independently in front of cross-functional and executive stakeholders. This is a hands-on, lab-close role for someone who wants to build a platform from the ground up.
Given the collaborative and hands-on nature of this role, the ideal candidate will be based in the Chicago area. The role offers a hybrid work arrangement, with the expectation of working onsite at the lab outside Chicago 2 days per week on average, or more frequently as business needs require.
Lead product development and innovation for new platforms end-to-end, from formulation through commercialization, owning the platform the way a P&L owner would own their business.
Own the Innovation Brief system for your platform — accountable for its accuracy, completeness, and evolution as a tool, not just its upkeep on individual projects.
Lead the desirability, viability, and feasibility evaluation process for new product concepts, shaping how ideas are assessed and prioritized across your platform's pipeline.
Own readiness at key phases and milestones within the company's broader Stagegate process.
Drive material and formulation modifications to improve product quality, stability, and cost, and to unlock new product opportunities.
Partner with flavor houses to develop and refine flavor systems specific to designated platforms, in coordination with internal shared flavor expertise.
Support relationships with contract manufacturers, ensuring formulations translate cleanly to production scale and that manufacturing partners are set up to execute against spec.
Own sensory and stability validation for all formulations on your platform, ensuring products meet quality and shelf-life standards before launch.
Drive development and continuous improvement of your platform's innovation processes (stage gate, Innovation Brief, DVF) — you own these systems, not just recommend enhancements to them.
Qualification
Based in the greater Chicago areaComfort operating in a hands-on
Required
7+ years of product development experience in the beverage or CPG industry, with substantial hands-on formulation experience.
Based in the greater Chicago area.
BA/BS in Food Science or a related field; Master’s degree a plus.
5+ years as a food scientist with Ready to Drink (RTD)/beverage processing experience.
Demonstrated experience operating as a strategic decision-maker, not just a technical expert — comfortable owning formula direction, prioritization calls, and resourcing trade-offs rather than escalating them upward.
A track record of representing a function independently in front of senior leadership or executive stakeholders.
Proven experience partnering with contract manufacturers and flavor houses to take products from concept to commercial scale.
Strong grounding in sensory evaluation and stability testing methodologies.
Experience building or owning innovation frameworks and processes (e.g., stage-gate systems, prioritization frameworks), rather than only executing within them.
Comfort operating in a hands-on, lab-based environment — this role is most effective sitting close to the lab given the iterative nature of development work.
Strong cross-functional leadership skills, with the credibility to operate as a peer among other functional directors.
A builder's mindset — this role is establishing a new platform capability, so comfort with ambiguity and a willingness to define processes where none exists today is essential.
