Director, Technical Regulatory & Ingredient Science

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 155,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. seeks a Director of Technical Regulatory & Ingredient Science to lead global ingredient qualification, regulatory compliance, and technical documentation across its brands.

You will guide supplier documentation, assess chemistry, and partner with R&D, Product Development and Legal to ensure compliant, high-performance formulations. Ideal candidates hold an MSc in Chemistry with 10+ years in cosmetics regulatory roles, and have deep knowledge of EU/Asia regulations, IFRA, and

Qualifications

• MSc in Chemistry or closely related science.
• 10+ years in technical regulatory, ingredient science, or raw material compliance in cosmetics/personal care.
• Deep expertise in cosmetic/skin ingredient chemistry and global regulations.
• Direct experience with suppliers and contract manufacturers, esp. EU/Asia.
• Proven track record in raw material qualification and supplier documentation management.

Responsibilities

• Oversee global regulatory compliance for ingredients across brands and markets.
• Review and approve raw material documentation from manufacturers and suppliers.
• Lead cross-functional teams with Regulatory, R&D, Product Dev, and Legal on ingredient strategy.
• Assess ingredient science to support claims substantiation and testing requirements.

Skills

Ingredient chemistry

Regulatory expertise

Supplier management

Cross-functional leadership

Communication

Education

MSc in Chemistry

Job description

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. stands with every eye, lip, face, paw and fin. Our deep commitment to clean, cruelty-free beauty at an incredible value has fueled the success of our flagship brand e.l.f. Cosmetics since 2004 and driven our portfolio expansion. Today, our multi-brand portfolio includes e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, Well People – clean beauty powered by plants, Naturium – high-performance, biocompatible, clinically-effective and accessible skin care, and our newest brand, rhode skin – developed by Hailey Rhode Bieber, a line of curated skincare essentials, formulated for a variety of skin types and needs with high performance ingredients, it’s a daily routine that nourishes your skin barrier over time.

In our Fiscal year 26, we had net sales of $1.6 Billion and our business performance has been nothing short of extraordinary with 30 consecutive quarters of net sales growth. We are the #2 mass cosmetics brand in the US and are the fastest growing mass cosmetics brand among the top 5. Our total compensation philosophy offers every full-time new hire competitive pay and benefits, bonus eligibility (200% of target over the last seven fiscal years), equity, flexible time off, year-round half-day Fridays, and a work-from-home environment. We believe the combination of our unique culture, total compensation, workplace flexibility and care for the team is unmatched across not just beauty but any industry.

Visit our Career Page to learn more about our team: https://www.elfbeauty.com/work-with-us

Position Summary

As Director, Technical Regulatory & Ingredient Science, you will be the organization's foremost authority on raw material qualification, ingredient-level compliance and technical documentation across e.l.f. brands and global markets. This is a new, high-impact role created to address a clear and growing need as we expand our business globally, supporting the increase in volume and complexity of ingredient questions, documentation requirements and cross-functional technical challenges.

The Director must possess deep technical expertise in ingredient and raw material chemistry; including polymer/surfactant chemistry, mineral/pigment chemistry and botanical/natural extract chemistry. You will drive independent ingredient assessment at a molecular level, determining classification and regulatory status, as well as exercising scientific judgment in qualifying materials and interpreting supplier documentation/data.

Responsibilities

Global Regulatory Compliance

• Determine and maintain ingredient-level compliance globally, including new and novel ingredient technology.
• Translate evolving global regulations into actionable guidance for R&D, Innovation and Product Development.
• Lead ingredient-level Canada CEPA/Section 71 Surveys, CARB surveys, US/UK REACH compliance and monitor for new regulations, particularly during global expansion.
• Monitor VOC compliance, ensuring formulations meet applicable VOC limits and that ingredient-level VOC data is available and documented for regulatory submissions and inquiries.
• Oversee IFRA compliance for fragranced products, ensuring fragrance ingredients and concentrations conform to current IFRA Standards and that suppliers provide IFRA certificates and supporting documentation.
• Guide EWG and Sorette certification, evaluating ingredient profiles, flagging restricted ingredients and ensuring the team maintains supporting documentation.
• Serve as the technical point of contact to troubleshoot and resolve documentation gaps, regulatory queries and compliance challenges that arise during registration dossier preparation and submission.

Supplier & Manufacturer Documentation

• Partner directly with contract manufacturers and raw material suppliers to secure, review and approve raw material and ingredient documentation.
• Establish and enforce documentation standards and timelines with manufacturers and suppliers to mitigate risk.
• Ensure the team uses internal IT tools to organize and track raw material documents across the portfolio. Leverage IT tools to run metrics.
• Drive workflows and opportunities to manage changes to raw material/ingredients to maintain compliance against global standards.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work cross-functionally with Regulatory, R&D, Innovation, Product Development and Legal to provide raw material and ingredient expertise that keeps pace with global demand.
• Embed ingredient expertise into every stage of the product lifecycle.
• Identify ingredient-related challenges early and provide technical solutions that keep projects on track and in compliance.
• Educate and advise internal stakeholders on ingredient science topics, emerging regulations and compliance considerations.

Ingredient Science & Technical Assessment

• Assess the chemical properties and structure-function relationships of ingredients across categories to advise on efficacy, performance and required ingredient testing for specifications, certifications of analysis etc.
• Support the substantiation of formula safety profiles; with particular focus on ingredient-related claims and marketing claims with technical documentation and scientific rationale.
• Ensure ingredient-level data is available and organized to respond to retailer, regulator and consumer inquiries.

Requirements

• MSc in Chemistry or a closely related scientific discipline.
• 10+ years in a technical regulatory, ingredient science, or raw material compliance role within the Cosmetics or Personal Care industry.
• Deep expertise in cosmetic and skincare ingredient chemistry; global cosmetic ingredient regulations.
• Direct experience working with third-party suppliers and contract manufacturers, particularly in the EU and Asia.
• Proven track record of raw material qualification, supplier documentation management and ingredient-level compliance at scale.
• Strong understanding of how to support innovative ingredient and formula advancements.
• Ability to translate complex technical and regulatory information into clear guidance for non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with proven ability to influence and align cross-functional partners.
• Experience supporting a multi-brand portfolio across color cosmetics, haircare, skincare, medical devices, tools and merchandise.
• Experience scaling a raw material documentation database.
• Knowledge of claim substantiation frameworks and experience supporting marketing and regulatory claims.

The base salary range for this role is listed above. Total compensation includes base salary, annual company-based performance bonus, and equity. Under e.l.f.’s annual bonus program, employees are eligible to earn up to 200% of their target bonus when company performance exceeds defined goals. In addition, e.l.f. provides a variety of other benefits to employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a retirement savings plan, gender neutral parental leave, and unlimited paid time off. The amount of total compensation (including base salary) offered will be based on a wide range of factors, including geographic location, experience, specific skills, and qualifications. Compensation components are subject to change at the company’s discretion.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed in this position. It also reflects the general details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job identified, and shall not be considered, as detailed description of all the work required inherent in the job. It is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities, and it is subject to changes and exceptions at the supervisors’ discretion.

e.l.f. Beauty respects your privacy. Please see our Job Applicant Privacy Notice www.elfbeauty.com/us-job-applicant-privacy-notice for how your personal information is used and shared.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

$155,000 - $185,000 a year