Senior Manager, Innovation

Onnit Labs, Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits and insurance

401(k) with company match

Unlimited vacation

Paid holidays

Product credits and discounts

Job summary

Onnit Labs, Inc. seeks a senior innovator to lead the end-to-end product pipeline for supplements and functional nutrition. You’ll bridge R&D and Brand, champion scientific evidence, and guide launches from concept to market.

You don’t need to be a scientist, but you must align clinical evidence with a strong commercial case and collaborate with cross-functional teams across R&D, Operations, and Marketing.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in CPG innovation, NPD or R&D with products launched.
• Experience in supplements, functional or sports nutrition.
• Strong scientific literacy and ability to judge clinical studies.

Responsibilities

• Own the ingredient opportunity map and prioritize key ingredients.
• Track clinical research, branded ingredients, and new delivery tech.
• Expand formats and flavors; evaluate new form factors and targets.
• Lead evidence reviews on dose, delivery, safety, and study quality.
• Co-lead go-to-market with Brand on positioning and launch readiness.

Skills

CPG Innovation

Supplements

Scientific literacy

Regulatory knowledge

Launch experience

Leadership by influence

Business case

Nootropics (nice to have)

Education

Nutrition / Food science / Biology / Chemistry

Job description

Onnit is an Austin, Texas based health and wellness company that sells dietary supplements direct to consumers and through retail distribution. As a trusted and serious supplement brand, we provide high-quality products with clinically studied ingredients designed to unlock a deeper mind-body connection and enhance both mental and physical performance.Unlike other supplement brands,Onnitenables strength from within, empowering individuals tooperateattheir peak every day. Backed by medical professionals, industry experts, and a loyal community, we are staying true to our mission of total human optimization.

We are part of the Wellbeing Collective, an exciting Global Business Unit within Unilever built with a start-up mindset. Our mission, with our science-backed and disruptive portfolio, is to improve the health and well-being of millions of consumers and continue leading in the Health and Wellness space.

If you are interested in joining a culture that strives for Curiosity, Discipline, Approachability, Commitment, and Ownership Mindset then we invite you to join our mission to optimize human potential!

JOB SUMMARY

ONNIT is doubling its launch cadence in 2027 and expanding into new categories, and we need a dedicated owner for the pipeline. In this role, you'll lead our innovation pipeline end to end, from spotting promising ingredients to launching products customers love. You'll bridge R&D and Brand. You don't need to be a scientist, but you do need to be fluent in both the evidence behind an ingredient and the commercial case for a product.

• Reports to: Chief Marketing Officer, in close partnership with the Chief Operating Officer
• Team: Individual contributor leading cross-functional project teams
• Scope: Supplements and functional nutrition: new ingredients, formats, flavors, categories, and hero-product renovations
• Location: Remote (U.S.); NYC, LA, or Austin preferred. Travel up to 25%

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Discover what's next

• Own the ingredient opportunity map. Prioritize the ingredients most likely to shape Total Human optimization, starting with our core need states (cognition and focus, energy, sleep and stress, recovery) and extending to adjacent ones (gut health, hormonal health, longevity).
• Separate signal from hype. Track emerging clinical research, branded and patented ingredients, and new delivery technologies, and run ONNIT's trend radar with clear recommendations for leadership each quarter.

Define where we play next

• Expand our format and flavor range. Evaluate new form factors, from gummies, chews, and stick packs to ready-to-drink and functional foods, and set taste targets with R&D and flavor-house partners, ensuring daily products are ones people look forward to.
• Make the case for new categories. Recommend which categories ONNIT enters as part of our 2027 expansion, and in what order, informed by consumer evidence and regular competitive teardowns.

Build on credible evidence

• Lead evidence reviews. Assess dose, delivery, bioavailability, safety, and study quality, and hold the line on clinically meaningful doses with formulators and scientific advisors.
• Build compliance in from day one. Partner with Regulatory and Legal on regulatory pathway (including New Dietary Ingredient requirements), claims and substantiation, and third-party certifications like NSF Certified for Sport where they matter to our athletes.
• Turn science into a story people trust. Create a science brief for every launch covering approved claims, the evidence behind them, and a plain-language story.

Own the roadmap and drive concepts to launch

• Build a balanced roadmap. Turn brand strategy into a rolling 12–18-month roadmap that balances line extensions and hero-product renovations with bigger bets, supporting our goal to double launch cadence in 2027.
• Run a right-sized stage-gate. Quick-turn gates for extensions and renovations, a fuller path for new ingredients, formats, categories, and monthly pipeline reporting that recommends stopping projects early when the case doesn't hold.
• Lead cross-functional launch teams. Drive approved concepts to launch with R&D, Operations, Quality and Procurement, owning COGS, margin, and timeline targets and making sure formula, packaging, labeling, and supply are ready ahead of each channel's timeline, including retail sell-in windows.

Prove the case and co-lead go-to-market

• Stay with every launch past the handoff. Co-lead go-to-market with Brand on positioning, naming and the launch story; equip sales, retail partners, and athletes to talk about each product credibly, and track performance at 30, 60, and 90 days.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years in CPG innovation, NPD or R&D, with multiple products taken from concept to launch
• Experience in supplements, functional or sports nutrition, or a closely related category
• Strong scientific literacy. You can read a clinical study, judge its quality, and explain what it does and doesn't prove, including on safety (a degree in nutrition, food science, biology, chemistry, or a related field is a plus, not required)
• Working knowledge of how supplements are made and regulated, including formulation, cGMP, DSHEA, claims substantiation, and NDI requirements
• A track record of launching quickly while protecting quality, safety, and claims integrity
• Proven ability to lead through influence, aligning cross-functional partners and leadership around a clear recommendation
• Commercial judgment. You can build a business case and co-lead a launch, and you care whether a product sells, not just whether it's interesting

Nice to have: Experience in nootropics, performance, recovery, sleep, or longevity; launches across TTS, DTC, Amazon, and retail; ready-to-drink or functional food experience; a fast-moving or early-stage environment.

Onnit takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs. This position is bonus eligible and employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance, retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays. Any coverages for health insurance will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents.

USA Pay Range

$120,000 - $150,000 USD

• Full medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Basic Life Insurance
• Immediate 401(k) eligibility with company matching
• Unlimited vacation
• Paid holidays
• Fringe benefits include in-office meals, product credits and discounts, lifestyle spending account, family planning, online learning, fitness stipend, among many others

EOE race/color/religion/sex/sexual orientation/gender identity/national origin/disability/veteran status

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Onnit Labs, Inc.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.