Director of Innovation Product & Portfolio

$160,000.00 - $175,000.00 

Contact Information: Casey Ryan - casey.ryan@curiowellness.com,  

At Curio Wellness we empower people to thrive by adapting plant nature to human nature. We are committed to transforming the conversation around cannabis, fostering a deeper understanding of its benefits, and ensuring that every product we offer meets the highest standards. 

Be bold. Be exceptional. Be well. 

The Director, Innovation Program & Portfolio leads the oversight and execution of Curio’s full Product Innovation portfolio—from early discovery through launch—ensuring new and improved products are delivered on time and on budget while building durable growth. This leader balances science-driven development (via Curio’s Scientific Board) with market-driven innovation opportunities, and strengthens operating rhythms (stage-gates, portfolio reviews, risk management, stakeholder communication) across the end-to-end product development lifecycle (concept → feasibility → formulation → packaging → scale-up → launch).

Product Innovation scope includes:

Products developed by Curio’s Scientific Board

New market-based products responding to opportunities, trends, and consumer preferences

Line extensions

Blue-sky / breakthrough projects

Process and packaging enhancements that improve quality and/or reduce cost

Onboarding new SKUs for licensed brand partners

Success criteria for products added to Curio’s portfolio:

Create material opportunities for revenue and market share growth

Maintain stable margins

Be applicable for licensing in other markets where Curio does not currently operate

Please note: This position involves working with plant material, which may include exposure to pollen, allergens, and other plant-related substances. We recommend that applicants with known plant allergies or sensitivities consult with a healthcare professional before applying for this position.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Maintain Curio Wellness’ product architecture and roadmap: translate strategy, Scientific Board pipeline, and market signals into a clear, multi-horizon portfolio plan and resourcing approach.
• Own Curio’s Product Innovation portfolio: build and maintain a balanced pipeline (near-, mid-, and long-term) across scientific-board products, market-based innovation, line extensions, and blue-sky concepts; align priorities to growth goals and capacity.
• Deliver innovation on time and on/under budget: drive project planning, resourcing, and execution discipline across all innovation workstreams; surface tradeoffs early and remove blockers to protect launch readiness.
• Establish operating rhythms: implement and run a clear stage-gate process, portfolio reviews, and risk management routines; ensure crisp decision-making, documentation, and proactive stakeholder updates.
• Lead end-to-end development: guide teams through feasibility, formulation, packaging engineering, scale-up, and launch handoff; ensure claims, quality, cost, and manufacturability are built in—not added late.
• Advance margin stability: partner with Finance/Operations/Supply Chain to set cost and margin guardrails early; drive packaging/process enhancements that reduce cost and/or improve quality without compromising consumer experience.
• Translate market signals into product briefs: establish a repeatable approach to trend and consumer insight gathering and convert insights into validated briefs, prototypes, and feasibility plans.
• Operationalize licensed partner SKUs: create a consistent onboarding pathway for out-of-house products—requirements intake, packaging/quality alignment, timelines, and cross-functional readiness—so partner SKUs launch smoothly and meet Curio standards.
• Lead and develop the Product Innovation team: set clear goals, coach managers and individual contributors, build capability, and ensure predictable execution while fostering rigor, creativity, and accountability.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Robust experience in project management, including critical path planning, resourcing, milestone governance, and budget control.
• Robust experience in portfolio management, including prioritization, sequencing, capacity planning, and investment tradeoffs.
• Proven track record leading and developing teams; clear performance management and coaching capability.
• Strong understanding of end-to-end product development (concept → feasibility → formulation → packaging → scale-up → launch).
• Strong executive communication: concise, proactive updates; clear escalation and decision framing.
• Demonstrated ability to launch products that contribute meaningfully to revenue and/or market share growth while maintaining margin discipline.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience translating scientific or technical research into commercially viable products (e.g., partnering with scientific advisory boards or external experts).
• Experience with process optimization that delivers measurable cost reduction or quality improvement.
• Experience managing innovation pipelines that include both internally developed and licensed/partner products.
• Experience building stage-gate governance and portfolio cadences from the ground up or significantly improving existing ones.
• Experience in regulated product categories and/or claims-driven products (where formulation, labeling, and compliance requirements materially affect development).

Leadership scope / team structure

Direct reports:

• Formula Scientist
• Science Manager
• Project Manager
• Packaging Engineer
• Formula Technician

Leadership expectations:

• Define team priorities, ways of working, and escalation paths (stage-gates, review cadences, risk logs).
• Develop technical and program management capability through coaching, feedback, and role clarity.
• Maintain clear accountability for timelines, cost, quality, and launch readiness across the team’s portfolio.

EDUCATION:

Bachelor’s Degree (BA, BS) major or four (4) years of equivalent job-related experience.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Ability to lift up to 50 pounds. 

Ability to stand, walk, and bend for extended periods. 

Comfortable working in a secure, regulated environment. 

Curio Wellness is an Equal Opportunity Employer Curio Wellness is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Must be 21 years old.

Maryland: As a condition of employment, all Curio Wellness employees must comply with the State of Maryland requirements which includes providing a copy of your fingerprints in the required format and consenting to an FBI Background Check.

Curio Wellness is an Equal Opportunity Employer Curio Wellness is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Must be 21 years old.

As a condition of employment, all Curio Wellness employees must comply with the State of Maryland requirements which include providing a copy of your fingerprints in the required format and consenting to an FBI Background Check.