Brand R&D Lead - Topical Pain

Salary Range:

All Compensation will be determined commensurate with demonstrated experience.

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You’ve built experience, now use it where bold ideas meet real impact. At Opella, we’re challenging how self-care works for millions of people and need leaders and experts ready to shape what’s next. As a NA Brand R&D Lead - Topical Pain, you’ll bring your skill, your curiosity and your drive to make health simpler, smarter and more human.

About the job:

• Lead initiatives that advance our brands and strengthen our reputation worldwide.
• Mentor and uplift emerging talent while pushing your own growth and influence.
• Put purpose into practice — embedding sustainability, access and social impact into every decision.
• Model the challenger mindset: question complexity, act with integrity and make things radically simple.
• Help shape a culture that’s ambitious, collaborative and serious about recognition and belonging.
• Lead the end-to-end R&D strategy, innovation pipeline, and execution for North America Topical Pain brands by translating science and technology into consumer-focused products, partnering with Marketing, Sales, Regulatory, and Medical to drive business growth and successful product launches.
• Develop and execute a long-term innovation and portfolio strategy (1–5 years), leveraging consumer insights, scientific expertise, external partnerships, and patent strategies to deliver differentiated products, ensure on-time project execution, support regulatory and sustainability objectives, and strengthen the brand's competitive position.
  

Main responsibilities:

• Lead the R&D innovation pipeline for assigned brands, delivering new products and innovations that achieve growth and sales objectives while ensuring consistent execution and sharing best practices across the portfolio.
• Drive short-, medium-, and long-term R&D projects, including new formulations, product claims, clinical studies, packaging innovations, and sustainability initiatives, while accelerating decision-making and project delivery.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Sales, Consumer Science, and Project Management to develop larger, consumer-driven innovation programs and ensure projects are completed on time and in full.
• Develop and execute patent strategies while leveraging external technology partnerships and scientific expertise to create differentiated products and strengthen the innovation pipeline.
• Collaborate with Brand Leadership, Development, Packaging, Finance, and other cross-functional teams to build strong business cases, manage project risks, and deliver high-impact innovation.
• Prioritize and lead base business protection initiatives to maintain product quality, regulatory compliance, and supply continuity while balancing business risks.
• Provide inspiring leadership by fostering collaboration, encouraging bold decision-making, and driving accountability to deliver innovative solutions and long-term business growth.
  

About you:

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline required; Master's or Ph.D. preferred, with 5+ years of R&D experience leading innovation pipelines and delivering successful product development for consumer health brands.
• Proven experience developing OTC and NDA products, supporting FDA submissions, and managing multiple brands across various regulatory pathways while driving innovation and business growth.
• Strong ability to translate consumer insights into brand strategies, communicate complex scientific concepts to technical and business stakeholders, and identify opportunities for portfolio growth.
• Demonstrated leadership in coaching cross-functional technical teams, allocating resources, managing budgets, assessing project risks, and leading innovation programs from concept through commercial launch.
• Experience building and leveraging external partnerships with suppliers, research organizations, and key opinion leaders while identifying emerging industry trends, novel ingredients, formulation technologies, and sustainable solutions.
• Proven ability to manage a broad innovation portfolio, including business development opportunities, new product development, clinical programs, product claims, and commercialization activities in partnership with Project Management.
• Fluent in written and spoken English, with strong collaboration and influencing skills across R&D, Regulatory, Marketing, Commercial, and executive leadership teams.

 This is more than the next step in your career, it’s a chance to lead change and help reinvent self-care for the world. If you’re ready to challenge, inspire and deliver impact that matters, we’re ready for you. We are challengers. We are Opella.

Opella values diversity in all its forms and is committed to fostering a workplace where everyone can belong and excel. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

About Us:

Opella is the self-care challenger with the purest and third-largest portfolio in the Over The Counter (OTC) & Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS) market globally.  

Our mission is to bring health in people’s hands by making self-care as simple as it should be. For half a billion consumers worldwide – and counting.

At the core of this mission is our 100 loved brands, our 11,000-strong global team, our 13 best-in-class manufacturing sites and 4 specialized science and innovation development centers. Headquartered in France, Opella is the proud maker of many of the world’s most loved brands, including Allegra, Buscopan, Doliprane, Dulcolax, Enterogermina, Essentiale and Mucosolvan.

As a globally certified B Corp company, we are active players in the journey towards healthier people and planet. Find out more about our mission at www.opella.com.