Director of Product Innovation

ABOUT US:

Insomnia Cookies was founded in a college dorm room by then-student, Seth Berkowitz. Fast forward 20 years and so... many....cookies... later, our innovative bakery + delivery concept has become a cult brand known for its rabid following of cookie lovers who crave Insomnia’s warm, delicious delivery all day and late into the night. With an expanding footprint of over 300 stores globally, an experiential, “sweet-easy” concept as the brand’s flagship in Philadelphia, Pa.

(where Insomnia Cookies is headquartered), and a rapidly-growing nationwide shipping and gifting portfolio... Insomnia Cookies is revolutionizing the cookie game by truly "Imagining What’s Possible"!

Insomnia Cookies is searching for a Director of Product Innovation to define what's next for one of the most iconic brands in food. This role will set the strategic vision - and do the hands-on work behind our entire innovation pipeline, from warm cookies and desserts to beverages, new platforms, and future categories that extend the brand beyond what we bake today.

This is a builder's role, not a caretaker's. You'll roll up your sleeves to design and stand up the stage-gate process that takes ideas from napkin sketch to national launch, bringing rigor, speed, and cross-functional alignment to every step of the journey. You'll build the operating system that governs how innovation happens across the company.

You’ll own the innovation pipeline end to end, spanning baked goods, beverages, ice cream, and the next generation of products, partnerships, and experiences that delight our fans. You’ll also lead the product-adjacent work that makes innovation possible, from packaging and equipment to operational readiness. Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, you’ll build the process, run the process, and partner closely across Marketing, Culinary, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and Development to ensure great ideas become great launches — on time, on brand, and built to scale.

• Own the innovation pipeline. Be the single point of accountability for how ideas move from concept to launch across core product innovation, beverages, brand-building partnerships, and the product-adjacent work that supports them, including new equipment and packaging.
• Build the stage-gate process from scratch. Design and stand up a formal stage-gate process with clear go/no-go criteria, owners, and timelines at every stage. This is not about refining an existing process; it is about building the first one and getting every function, including Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance, to use it and live by it.
• Build innovation through partnerships. Identify and develop unique, culturally relevant partnerships that can unlock new products, flavors, formats, audiences, and occasions. Work closely with Marketing and external partners to turn collaborations into differentiated, brand-building innovation that creates excitement, drives trial, and strengthens Insomnia’s place in culture.
• Extend that discipline to product-adjacent work. Apply the same stage-gate rigor to new equipment evaluations, packaging redesigns, partnership-driven launches, and other initiatives required to bring products to market successfully.
• Set the product innovation strategy and vision. Build the multi-year innovation roadmap across cookies, ice cream, beverages, adjacent categories, partnerships, and new formats, including limited editions, LTOs, and potential new occasions and channels. Ensure the roadmap is aligned with the brand strategy and the company’s growth targets.
• Lead hands-on execution. This is a builder role, not an oversight role. You will be in the kitchen, in the data, working directly with partners, and in the room where decisions get made, not simply setting direction from a distance.
• Own the P&L and budget. Manage the product innovation budget, from R&D investment and ingredient sourcing to partnership economics and launch costs, with clear accountability for the ROI and commercial performance of new products.
• Drive cross-functional partnership. Work directly with Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and external…