Manager, Blue Sky & Product Development, Fragrance

About MAESA

Maesa is a next‑generation beauty company transforming the industry by incubating and growing meaningful, innovative brands and making prestige beauty accessible. By best‑in‑class design, formulation, brand creation and marketing, Maesa delivers new, better and different products at an unsurpassed speed to market. The portfolio includes Kristin Ess, Hairitage by Mindy McKnight, Fine'ry, Being Frenshe, and Niches & Nooks among other brands.

We are looking for a passionate fragrance innovator with proven experience in beauty to join our Blue Sky & Product Development team. This role helps build the strategy and development of new products from ideation to launch for the largest fragrance brand in our portfolio. It offers a unique opportunity to leave a mark in the industry by supporting product development for a key fragrance brand.

The candidate will work closely with cross‑functional teams including Sales, Packaging, Design, R&D, Supply Chain, Operations and the Go‑To‑Market brand team. The role is based in NYC, expected in the office 3 days per week.

• Partner with cross‑functional sales team to ensure customer service is utmost.
• Help build decks for customer/retailer meetings.
• Organize comps/product mockups and formula samples for all retailer meetings when required.

• Support creation, development & execution of innovation strategy and products for fragrance innovation, ensuring alignment with brand objectives.
• Manage all aspects of product development lifecycle from concept to counter.
• Utilize data‑driven insights to identify opportunities for product innovation and market differentiation.

• Olfactory knowledge and ability to evaluate fragrance submissions.
• Identify white space opportunity & translate into meaningful NPD concepts.
• Present product concepts & development stages to cross‑functional counterparts.
• Support creation of compelling product concepts, applying sharp copywriting skills to articulate unique selling propositions & brand narrative.
• Manage the cross‑functional team and processes, ensuring projects stay on‑time and hit GM targets.
• Collaborate closely with design to ensure aesthetics align with brand identity & resonate with consumers.
• Lead all artwork mechanical efforts with production teams including copy, legal needs, color matching, finishes, etc.

• Expert in fragrance category trends and market dynamics.
• Lead & present ongoing category trends, competitive intelligence and market analysis.
• Collect & organize necessary product documentation to support go‑to‑market needs.
• Partner with suppliers for innovation, trends, new technologies.
• Ensure internal documents have most updated & accurate product information.
• Leverage data analysis to inform product development decisions, ensuring each product aligns with market demands and preferences.

• Foster a collaborative environment by working closely with cross‑functional teams & key stakeholders, including marketing, project management, packaging, R&D, regulatory, sales, operations & buyers to ensure seamless execution of product launches.

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study (business, marketing, product development, etc.); MBA strongly preferred.
• 3‑5 years of experience in product and fragrance development or beauty industry (2‑3 years for Associate Manager level).
• Data savvy: proficiency in data‑driven decision‑making and utilizing data analytics tools (IRI, Nielsen…).
• Flexibility & resilience to work collaboratively in a dynamic, fast‑paced environment.
• Strong strategic, analytical, critical thinking, and problem‑solving skills.
• Exceptional project management and organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Creative thinker with a passion for driving innovation and staying ahead of market trends in the beauty industry.
• Able to convert product/customer feedback into insights that drive development of new products.
• Social media aware.
• Creative, innovative & organized.
• A team player & aspiring team leader.
• Curious & passionate about products & the consumer.
• A self‑starter with the ability…