Director, New Business Creation
Ninjakitchen
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
SharkNinja is seeking a Director of New Business Creation to lead the development of brand-new categories. You will shape the vision, drive business models, and coordinate with PD, ACE, consumer insights, and finance to move initiatives from concept to fundable opportunities.
The role requires 8–10 years in category creation or related strategic roles, strong leadership, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while delivering growth and value.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or engineering. MBA preferred.
- 8–10 years of experience in category creation, new business development, or related strategy/execution roles.
- Ability to develop business cases, run market research, and evaluate new opportunities.
Responsibilities
- Own new-category initiatives from vision to roadmap, coordinating across PD, ACE, consumer insights, finance, and external partners.
- Drive market sizing, DVF screening, and financial models to test revenue and margin potential.
- Develop product concepts and build the final business case for executive review.
- Identify and lead external partnerships to accelerate category entry.
Skills
Education
Job description
SharkNinjais a global product design and technology company, with a diversified portfolio of 5-star rated lifestyle solutions that positivelyimpactpeople’s lives in homes around the world. Powered by two trusted, global brands, Shark and Ninja, the company has a proventrack recordof bringing disruptive innovation to market and developing one consumer product after another has allowedSharkNinjato enter multiple product categories, driving significant growth and market share gains. Headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts with more than4,100associates, the company’s products are sold at key retailers, online and offline, and through distributors around the world.
At SharkNinja, we’re building an AI-native culture. We’re not waiting for the future; we’re creating it. Our people are expected to experiment boldly, adopt new tools, and continuously raise what’s possible to create meaningful impact for our consumers. If you believe the best way to do your job hasn’t been invented yet, you’ll fit right in.
SharkNinja | ProductIncubation | Reports to: SVP, Product Incubation
This is a future-oriented role thatrequires skills increatingbrand-new categories forSharkNinja,operatingat the fuzzy front end of theinnovationdevelopment process. No single role today carries the full cross-functional capability needed to take a category from a blank sheet to a fundable, roadmap-ready opportunity– thisrole fills that gap. It combinescapabilitiesinproduct development, technical program management,andconsumer insights, and financein oneleaderwho canidentify, evaluate, recommend, and develop categoriesSharkNinjadoes not compete in today.
The role serves four purposes:
- Leadership.Set the vision for a new category and drive the decisions that move it forward.
- Business model development.Shape raw market trends and ideas into sustainable, high-growth, high-margin businessesand products, backed by financial and quantitative analysis.
- New product development.Identify, define, and develop the product concepts that establishSharkNinja'sentry into the category.
- Partnership development.Find and lead the external product and technology partnerships that acceleratecategoryentry.
- Own selected new-category initiatives end-to-end at the front end: business and product vision,product definition, andportfolio strategy.
- Act as the connectiveenableracross PD, ACE, consumer insight, finance, and external partners.
- Drivetimelydecisions so early initiativesmake rapid progressand do not stall.
- Run market and consumer researchtosize categories, assesstrends, and synthesize insights.
- Map the competitive landscape and define whereSharkNinjacan win.
- Build the financial models that test revenue and margin potential and go-to-market scenarios.
- Present a balanced view of risk and opportunity, with the few metrics that matter most.
- Ideate product concepts forSharkNinja'sentry into the category.
- Screen opportunitiesonDesirability, Viability, and Feasibility (DVF).
- Work with ACE to start development and inject concepts onto theSharkNinjaproduct roadmap.
- Build the final business case and present it to executive leadership for agodecision.
- Initiate and build relationships with externalcategoryand technology experts.
- Identifynew partner opportunities that support category and product strategy.
- Connect internal teams and external partners to share information and move faster.
- Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or engineering. MBA preferred.
- 8 to 10 years of experience, including category creation, new business development, or a combined strategy and execution role.
- Exemplary leadership: inspire, motivate, guide, and driveindividualsfrom broad functional backgrounds to deliver significant business results.
- Exercises high judgment in early-stage, ambiguous work.
- Passion for creating game-changing products that solve major consumer problems.
- Strong business evaluation, analysis, and problem-solving to assess and develop new opportunities.
- Excellent critical thinking and thought leadership.
- Manage multiple initiatives at once, each at a different stage of development and acrossvery differentconsumer categories.
- Develop and manage productive relationships with external partners and SMEs to find opportunities and create complementary products.
- Strong teamorientation, with the ability to coach and mentor regardless of reporting relationships.
- Self-starter who works with minimal direction and keeps information flowing openly.
- Communicate complex ideas simply and present persuasively to executive leadership.
- Influenceacross the organizationat all levels, including outside your span of control or authority.
- Guideand steer engineering and design direction.
- Creative, adaptive, and comfortableoperating ina highambiguityenvironment
- Balances business acumen with technical capability; thinks strategically, acts tactically.
The annual salary range for this position is displayed below. Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.
- medical insurance
- dental insurance
- vision insurance
- flexible spending accounts
- health savings accounts (HSA) with company contribution
- 401(k) retirement plan with matching
- employee stock purchase program
- life insurance
- AD&D
- short-term disability insurance
- long-term disability insurance
- generous paid time off
- company holidays
- parental leave
- identity theft protection
- pet insurance
- pre-paid legal insurance
- back-up child and eldercare days
- product discounts
- referral bonus program
- and more
$200,000 — $240,000 USD
At SharkNinja, we don’t just raise the bar—we push past it every single day. Our Outrageously Extraordinary mindset drives us to tackle the impossible, push boundaries, and deliver results that others only dream of. If you thrive on breaking out of your swim lane, you’ll be right at home.
We offer competitive health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, employee stock purchase options, wellness programs, SharkNinja product discounts, and more. We empower your personal and professional growth with high impact Learning Programs featuring bold voices redefining what’s possible. When you join, you’re not just part of a company—you’re part of an outrageously extraordinary community. To gether, we won’t just launch products—we’ll disrupt entire markets.
At SharkNinja, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vital to our global success. Valuing each unique voice and blending all of our diverse skills strengthens SharkNinja’s innovation every day. We support ALL associates in bringing their authentic selves to work, making an impact, and having the opportunity for career acceleration. With help from our leadership, associates, and our community, we aim to have equity be a key component of the SharkNinja DNA.
Learn more about us:
Life At SharkNinja
Outrageously Extraordinary
- For candidates based in all regions, please refer to this Candidate Privacy Notice.
- For candidates based in China, please refer to this Candidate Privacy Notice.
- For candidates based in Vietnam, please refer to this Candidate Privacy Notice.
We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other class protected by legislation, and local law. SharkNinja will consider reasonable accommodations consistent with legislation, and local law. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact SharkNinja People & Culture at accommodations@sharkninja.com
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