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Oakland, California, United States
Hybrid
We are hiring a Manager, Master Data & PLM to lead how we onboard new products and SKUs into our systems, govern business and master data, and support our Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes across our cosmetics / consumer products portfolio. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is equally comfortable in the weeds of data and systems and in front of cross-functional partners defining how work should get done.
You will own the end-to-end onboarding of new products, formulations, and items from a business and master data perspective — from intake and data modeling through go-live and steady-state governance. You will partner closely with R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory, and Commercial teams, and manage a small but high-impact team (1–2 direct reports today, with room to grow as our portfolio and launch velocity expand). You will be the person who turns ambiguity into process — defining standards, driving adoption, and making sure the right data lives in the right system at the right time.
Master Data & Application Onboarding
· Own the end-to-end onboarding of new products, formulas, packaging, and SKUs — managing the full process from intake through launch, ensuring items are set up accurately, on time, and to standard across our systems.
· Define and maintain master data standards, hierarchies, attributes, and naming conventions across materials, formulas, packaging, suppliers, and trade items.
· Partner with business stakeholders to translate requirements into clean, governed data structures in SAP/NetSuite and adjacent systems.
· Build and operationalize onboarding playbooks, checklists, and SLAs so that new item setup is fast, accurate, and repeatable.
· Identify and resolve data quality issues at the source; establish metrics and reporting to monitor data health.
PLM Ownership
· Lead the day-to-day operation and continuous improvement of our PLM platform (Centric and/or Specright), including spec management, formulation, packaging, and regulatory data flows.
· Drive PLM process design — from concept/ideation through commercialization — ensuring PLM is the single source of truth for product specifications.
· Manage integrations and data handoffs between PLM and SAP/ERP, ensuring data consistency across the product lifecycle.
· Act as the business owner for PLM configuration changes, enhancements, and user enablement in partnership with IT.
Leadership & Team Management
· Manage a team of 1–2 master data / PLM analysts; set goals, coach, and develop talent.
· Set the team's roadmap and priorities in alignment with business cycles (launch calendars, seasonality, ERP migrations).
· Build credibility as a player-coach — willing to execute directly when needed while building scalable process for the team to run.
Process & Ambiguity
· Thrive in undefined space: when a process doesn't exist, you create it. When it exists but is broken, you fix it.
· Drive cross-functional alignment across R&D, Supply Chain, Regulatory, Quality, Commercial, and IT to remove blockers and move work forward.
· Communicate clearly upward and outward — translating data and system complexity into decisions executives and partners can act on.
Required
· Proven experience in master data management and/or application onboarding in a cosmetics, CPG, or related consumer products environment.
· Hands-on experience with a PLM system — Centric and/or Specright strongly preferred.
· Working knowledge of ERP/master data systems (e.g., SAP or NetSuite) to support product setup and ongoing item maintenance — including creating and updating product records, BOMs, and related data across our systems.
· Advanced Excel skills.
· Demonstrated ability to drive process definition and standardization in a cross-functional setting.
· Comfort navigating ambiguity and leading through change, including periods of organizational or systems transition.
· Leadership experience or clear readiness to step into people management — mentoring, coaching, or formally managing others.
· Strong communication and stakeholder management skills; able to influence without authority.
Strongly Preferred
· Experience scaling a master data from early/immature state to a governed, auditable operation.
· Exposure to product commercialization lifecycles in cosmetics or regulated CPG (formulas, claims, regulatory specs).
· Familiarity with data governance frameworks and master data quality metrics.
· Experience partnering with IT on system implementations, enhancements, or integrations.
