Associate Manager, Blue Sky & Product Development, Fragrance

Associate Manager, Blue Sky & Product Development, Fragrance

New York

The next gen beauty company, Maesa is transforming the industry by incubating and growing meaningful, innovative brands and making prestige beauty accessible. Maesa believes beauty ignites inspiration, creativity, imagination, and connection, sparking new ideas and possibilities, and meeting unmet consumer needs. Through best-in-class design, formulation, brand creation and marketing capabilities, Maesa delivers new, better and different products with an unsurpassed speed to market. Maesa works with a variety of retailers to create and launch brands across beauty and wellness categories. The current portfolio includes Kristin Ess, Hairitage by Mindy McKnight, Fine'ry, Being Frenshe, and Niches & Nooks among other brands.

About the Role

We are looking for a passionate fragrance innovator with experience in the beauty industry to join our Blue Sky & Product Development team. This role will support the development of new products from ideation through launch for one of the largest brands in our fragrance portfolio. It's an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about fragrance innovation and eager to help bring new concepts to life.

The ideal candidate is trend-savvy, highly organized, and passionate about beauty products. They combine creativity with strong analytical skills and enjoy translating consumer insights into compelling product concepts. This role partners closely with cross-functional teams including Sales, Packaging, Design, R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, and the Go-to-Market Brand team to help deliver innovative products that meet both consumer and retailer needs.

The role is based in NYC, and you will be expected in the office a minimum of three days per week in accordance with company policy.

Responsibilities

Retailer Support

• Partner with the Sales team to support retailer needs throughout the product development process.
• Assist in preparing presentations and materials for customer meetings.
• Coordinate product mockups, fragrance submissions, and formula samples for retailer presentations.

Innovation & Product Development

• Support the development and execution of the fragrance innovation pipeline, ensuring alignment with brand objectives.
• Manage assigned projects throughout the product development lifecycle from concept through launch.
• Analyze market trends and consumer insights to identify innovation opportunities.
• Assist in developing product concepts, positioning, and messaging.
• Evaluate fragrance submissions and participate in olfactive reviews.
• Present product concepts and development updates to cross-functional partners.
• Partner closely with Design to ensure packaging and product aesthetics align with the brand vision.
• Coordinate artwork development with production teams, including copy, legal review, color matching, and finishes.
• Help keep projects on schedule by partnering with cross-functional teams and tracking key milestones.

Market & Consumer Insights

• Monitor fragrance category trends, competitive activity, and emerging consumer preferences.
• Gather and organize product documentation to support commercialization efforts.
• Partner with fragrance houses and suppliers to explore new technologies, ingredients, and innovation opportunities.
• Maintain accurate product information across internal systems and documentation.
• Leverage available market data (IRI, Nielsen, Circana, etc.) to support product recommendations and business decisions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build strong partnerships across Marketing, Sales, Packaging, Design, R&D, Regulatory, Supply Chain, Operations, and Project Management to support successful product launches.
• Communicate project status, timelines, and key deliverables with internal stakeholders.
• Contribute to a collaborative, fast-paced environment while managing multiple priorities.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Product Development, or a related field.
• 2-4 years of experience in product development, fragrance development, or the beauty industry.
• Passion for fragrance, beauty, and consumer products.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Analytical mindset with experience using consumer and market data to support decision-making (IRI, Nielsen, Circana, etc.).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presentation development.
• Creative thinker with curiosity for emerging trends and product innovation.
• Ability to translate consumer and customer insights into product recommendations.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams.
• Comfortable managing multiple projects in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
• Self-starter with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguity.
• Social media and trend aware, with a pulse on the evolving beauty and fragrance landscape.
• Flexible, proactive, and eager to learn and grow.
• Passion for all things fragrance!

The expected compensation range for this position is $75,000-85,000. Maesa also offers a variety of benefits to eligible employees. Employees can choose to enroll in health insurance coverage, wellness programs, life and disability insurance, and retirement savings plans. Through generous paid time off, a hybrid office setup, and paid leave options, Maesa encourages wellness and balance among employees.

At Maesa, we live by our values of collaboration, curiosity, game-changing, creativity, and discipline. We believe our people and partners are a creative force that catalyzes the possibilities in beauty to break through traditional limits and discover the "new" without restriction. We prioritize creating and fostering a welcoming environment for employees, partners, ideas, approaches, and endeavors all through a spirit of warmth and inclusivity. As set forth in Maesa's Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.