Product Development Manager – Makeup

About The Role

Tropic is on an exciting journey to expand its award‑winning beauty portfolio into makeup. With our first launches underway and an ambitious pipeline of innovation ahead, we’re looking for an experienced Product Development Manager – Makeup to take ownership of the end‑to‑end product development process and ensure projects are delivered successfully from concept through to launch.

This is a highly collaborative role that combines product development, project management and cross‑functional leadership. You’ll work closely with our Founder, Product Innovation, R&D, Operations, Marketing and our lab to keep multiple development projects moving, balancing creativity with commercial priorities, timelines and quality.

As the central point of coordination for our makeup development pipeline, you’ll ensure products are delivered on time, within budget and to the exceptionally high standards Tropic is known for. You’ll also support the development process and help to bring innovative, high‑performing products to market.

As the category continues to grow, you’ll play an important role in shaping ways of working, strengthening supplier partnerships and contributing to the long‑term success of Tropic’s makeup portfolio.

• Manage the end‑to‑end development of multiple makeup products, from concept approval through to commercial launch.
• Create and maintain detailed project plans in Asana, ensuring milestones, actions, risks and dependencies are accurately tracked while coordinating cross‑functional teams across Product Innovation, R&D, Packaging, Operations, Supply Chain and Marketing.
• Own the critical path for all makeup development projects, ensuring risks, dependencies and decisions are identified early and managed proactively to deliver successful launches.
• Lead the development of primary and secondary packaging, working closely with the Design team, suppliers and manufacturers. Manage tooling, component sourcing, artwork approvals and packaging specifications, while building strong supplier relationships to ensure commercially viable, brand‑aligned and launch‑ready solutions.
• Negotiate pricing, minimum order quantities (MOQs) and commercial terms with packaging suppliers to achieve the best balance of innovation, quality and value.
• Oversee formulation development, product testing and evaluations to ensure products meet Tropic’s high standards for quality, performance and customer experience.
• Champion innovation across formulations, textures, shades, packaging and ingredients while keeping up to date with market trends and competitor activity.
• Partner with R&D to ensure products meet UK and international cosmetic compliance requirements.
• Support testing programmes, claims substantiation and launch readiness activities.
• Prepare and communicate project updates, timelines, budgets and recommendations to key stakeholders and senior leaders.
• Continuously review and improve product development processes, implementing best practices to build a scalable, efficient and commercially successful makeup development function.

We’re looking for someone who thrives in a fast‑paced product development environment and enjoys bringing complex projects together through excellent organisation, collaboration and attention to detail.

• At least 5 years' experience in makeup product development or cosmetic product management.
• Proven experience managing the end‑to‑end development and launch of makeup products.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and competing priorities.
• Experience using project management software (ideally Asana) to manage projects, timelines and cross‑functional workflows.
• Experience leading packaging development, including tooling, supplier management, artwork approvals and commercial negotiations.
• Experience working with formulation laboratories, manufacturers and packaging suppliers.
• Excellent organisational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships across multiple teams.
• Strong commercial…