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Curio Wellness · 4 days ago

Director of Innovation Product & Portfolio

Towson, MD, US

Full-time

Onsite

Director/Executive

$160K/yr - $175K/yr

Curio Wellness is committed to transforming the conversation around cannabis and ensuring high-quality products. The Director of Innovation Product & Portfolio will oversee the full Product Innovation portfolio, ensuring timely and budget-conscious delivery of new and improved products while balancing scientific and market-driven opportunities.

Health CareHospitalWellness

Responsibilities

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

Qualification

Portfolio managementProduct developmentProject managementExecutive communicationProcess optimizationTeam leadershipRegulated product experienceScientific research translationStage-gate governance

Required

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

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

Ability to lift up to 50 pounds

Ability to stand, walk, and bend for extended periods

Comfortable working in a secure, regulated environment

Must be 21 years old

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

Preferred

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)