R&D Product Manager – Formulation

Rituals aims to be a leading well-being brand in luxury and beauty, offering high-quality, affordable products with a positive impact on people and the planet. Our mission is to redefine luxury, support growth, and give back. We value our team as the heart of our brand, fostering a workplace built on passion, development, and collective well-being.

Help shape Rituals next generation of cosmetic formulations where product performance, compliance and sustainability and fragrance experience go hand in hand. This is a niche role for someone who enjoys developing formulas, validating fragrance performance, and working cross-functionally from concept to launch.

As an R&D Product Manager - Formulation, you translate innovation into compliant, scalable and high-performing formulations. You work closely with internal teams (Innovation, Sourcing, Quality and Regulatory Affairs) and with external partners and suppliers. You spot issues early, escalate when needed, and bring solution-focused input on ingredients and formulation choices.

You stay close to market trends, new technologies and sustainable ingredient innovations and you turn them into practical proposals that support Rituals’ NetZero journey and long-term product strategy (including supporting our EDP fragrance pillar towards 2030).

For 40 hours per week, you will:

• Support the development of new cosmetic formulations and product improvements, in close collaboration with suppliers and partners.
• Provide solution-driven input on ingredients, formulation design and performance, considering legal requirements, restricted lists/blacklists and EU regulations.
• Coordinate and drive formulation-related changes across categories (e.g., due to raw material availability, compliance or performance updates).
• Work closely with Regulatory Affairs to ensure global compliance of formulations.
• Support fragrance validation activities and contribute to fragrance-related updates and improvements.
• Track relevant developments in sustainability, NetZero and responsible sourcing, translating insights into smart proposals.
• Monitor fragrance trends, new technologies and sustainable solutions and translate them into opportunities for Rituals.
• Contribute to executional excellence throughout the NPD/PLCM process, ensuring timelines and quality standards are met.
• Act as a technical point of contact for formulation and ingredient questions, sharing knowledge clearly and consistently throughout the whole business, meaning being a touchpoint also for other departments.

JOIN OUR TEAM

You will join the R&D Product Innovation team, reporting to the Head of R&D Product Innovation. Together, we strengthen our innovation pipeline and raise the bar on compliance, sustainability and formulation performance with an ambition to establish a strong pillar around EDP fragrance by 2030.

You will work in a cross-functional environment with close links to Innovation, Sourcing, Quality and Regulatory Affairs, and with a broad external network of fillers, suppliers and industry partners.

Please note: this role is based at our Amsterdam CHO. You will work onsite 4 days per week (on average), because we believe in face-to-face connection and close collaboration.

You are structured, detail-oriented and pragmatic. you are passionate about going deep into formulation details and able to understand formulation concepts, while keeping projects moving in a fast-paced innovation environment. You communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

The key competencies we are looking for are:

• Solution-driven – you bring options and make decisions practical.
• Structured & detail-focused – you work accurately and spot inconsistencies quickly.
• Stakeholder management – you align internal teams and suppliers effectively.
• Innovation mindset – you stay curious about trends and translate them into usable ideas.

On top of this, you bring:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Cosmetic Science, Cosmetic Technology, Chemistry, Pharmacy (or similar).
• 7–8 years of experience in cosmetic R&D / formulation development, ideally including fragrance exposure (fine fragrance, personal care, home/air care or detergents).
• Strong understanding of galenic formulations and ingredient evaluation.
• Ability to read, understand and interpret INCI compositions.
• Experience working in New Product Development (NPD) and/or Product Life Cycle Management (PLCM) processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Experience in briefing and specifying requirements for developed products.
• Fragrance validation experience (preferred).
• Knowledge of fragrance regulations / IFRA (preferred).
• Interest or experience in sustainable and natural ingredients, and awareness of sustainability reporting topics such as CSRD (a plus).

YOUR PATH TO A NEW CAREER

Grow with us, R&D Product Manager – Fragrance & Formulation! The next steps are:

• Our recruiter Nadette will contact you within 10 working days
• First interview with the Hiring Manager and a team member
• An online assessment
• Second interview at our office with relevant senior stakeholders and prepare a business case
• An online interview with our Executive Director
• If successful, you will receive a proposal with the terms of employment