Research & Development Manager - Herbalist

Fitt Talent Partners is a specialized recruitment firm for top health and wellness companies.

We’re filling this role for a client, A fast-growing wellness startup developing herbal remedies for modern health challenges.

Job Description

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced R&D Manager with expertise as an herbalist to lead the development and innovation of our herbal product line. This role will focus on researching, formulating, and ensuring the quality and efficacy of products that align with our mission of providing natural and effective herbal remedies. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of herbal medicine, product development, and regulatory compliance in the dietary supplement or wellness industry.

This experienced individual will report directly to the Head of Operations & New Product Development and serve as the primary point of contact with current and new co-manufacturers. They will also work closely with the company Founder and the marketing team to develop product narratives. This is a highly visible and impactful role that requires strong analytical skills, excellent communication abilities, and a keen ability to think strategically and execute effectively.

Responsibilities

R&D and Product Formulation:

• Spearhead the research, formulation and development of products in line with business, brand objectives and market opportunities

• Utilize traditional herbal medicine principles and modern scientific methods to ensure standards of product efficacy, quality, safety, sustainability whilst meeting regulatory requirements

• Be at the forefront of industry trends, scientific research, and consumer preferences to identify and recommend new opportunities for product innovation or improvement on existing formulations

• Own the new product development process from creation to launch including but not limited to product roadmap, Go-To-Market lead times, sampling rounds and formulation approvals, and sourcing for vendors

• Point of contact and manage relationships with co-manufacturers; collaborate with co-manufacturers on the commercialization and technical specifications of formulations, sourcing of sustainable, high-quality ingredients, address production quality, consistency, and capacity issues to ensure product quality and supply stability

• Negotiate with existing and new co-manufacturers for price quotes and formulate and new/existing formulations to meet margin requirements

Regulatory Compliance:

• Ensure all products, packaging, labelling and claims comply with FDA, FTC, USDA, DSHEA, and other relevant regulatory standards and sign off on all labeling of products

• Ensure complete documentation on raw materials, formulations, process parameter, QC and 3rd party tests, and all labeling requirements

• Verification of cGMP certification, shelf life of new ingredients, ingredient substitution, and production standards of new and current co-manufacturers

• Maintain and apply for new product certifications in line with company initiatives (non-GMO, GFCO, organic, B-corp, etc.)

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Advise and work with the Marketing, Creative, and Digital teams to ensure all product claims satisfy Marketing needs and key benefits while balancing language to meet FDA minimums

• Act as subject matter expert in our products and advise/support the Customer Success team with incoming customer inquiries

• Review/write educational research-based content for our blog (and possibly other outlets) on health and herbalism topics

• Support content creation team on content creation and overall strategy

• Create recipes based on current trends for new and existing products

Ideal Candidate

• Bachelor or Master’s degree in Herbal Science/Medicine, Botany, Pharmacognosy, or a related certification in herbalism, nutrition, or other alternative health modalities

• Minimum 5 years experience in herbal product development and formulation in the dietary supplements or wellness industry

• Demonstrated expertise in herbal formulation and ingredient knowledge of traditional and modern herbal practices and processing technologies

• Strong knowledge of FDA and cGMP regulations in the dietary supplement space

• Strong leadership and project management abilities

• Excellent verbal and written skills, ability to work efficiently with all levels of the company and able to effectively present technical information to technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Excellent communication and negotiation skills with external partners including brand partners, co-manufacturers and vendor relations

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, timeline-focused team environment