Director of Vape Product & Category DevelopmentJob post summary Start Pay: $125,000 per year
Job Type: Salary/Exempt
Location: Bradenton
*This position requires up to 25% domestic travel
Job Description:POSITION OVERVIEW:The Director of Vape Product & Category Development will serve as Goldflower's subject-matter expert and strategic leader for vape products. This role will build and advance our vape program across product development, oil and formulation strategy, hardware innovation, consumer experience, competitive intelligence, and category growth.
This is an opportunity to build something from the ground up within one of the company's fastest-growing product categories. You will have the opportunity to shape products, processes, partnerships, and strategy while working closely with leaders across the organization.
During the first year, you will establish Goldflower's vape hardware testing and qualification program, develop technical product and hardware specifications, strengthen manufacturer and engineering relationships, establish a competitive intelligence program, build a 12-18 month innovation pipeline, and advance the next generation of Goldflower vape products.
The ideal candidate combines deep cannabis vape experience with strong product judgment, technical knowledge, commercial awareness, and the ability to collaborate across a highly cross-functional organization.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:- Build and lead Goldflower's vape product development program, including product standards, testing protocols, manufacturer relationships, and an innovation pipeline.
- Lead development of products across Liquid Diamonds, Live Resin, HTE, Live Rosin, and future oil formats.
- Develop and evaluate vape hardware and establish performance standards for cartridges, AIO devices, ceramic heating systems, airflow, voltage/wattage, battery performance, and oil compatibility.
- Partner with Extraction, Product, Operations, and Quality teams to optimize oil formulations, terpene systems, flavor profiles, hardware compatibility, and overall consumer experience.
- Establish and manage a 12-18 month innovation roadmap balancing consumer demand, differentiation, technical feasibility, cost, scalability, and commercial opportunity.
- Build relationships with hardware manufacturers, OEM/ODM partners, engineering teams, terpene/flavor suppliers, and other technical partners.
- Develop ongoing competitive and consumer intelligence covering Florida and national cannabis markets, emerging hardware, formulations, flavors, consumer trends, and product formats.
- Use technical, consumer, quality, and financial data to identify opportunities to improve product performance, revenue, margin, velocity, and consumer adoption.
- Partner with QA and Operations to identify root causes of recurring vape performance issues and drive corrective actions and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with Product, Extraction, Supply Chain, Brand, Sales, Retail, Finance, and Operations to successfully bring products from concept through commercialization.
- Serve as Goldflower's internal expert on vape product development while progressively taking on broader category strategy and commercial responsibilities.
QUALIFICATIONS:Required:- 5+ years in product development, product innovation, category management, or a closely related field
- Experience taking products from concept->development->commercialization ->launch
- Experience working with external manufacturers/OEM/ODM suppliers
- Strong understanding of consumer products and product-market fit
- Ability to manage cross-functional product development
- Experience with product costing, margins, forecasting, or commercial performance
- Strong project/portfolio management
Preferred:- Cannabis experience
- Vape experience
- Cannabis extraction/formulation knowledge
- Live Resin / Live Rosin / HTE / Liquid Diamonds
- Specific cartridge/device knowledge
- Florida cannabis regulatory experience
- Existing cannabis industry contacts
- Experience launching multiple generations of cannabis vape products or hardware.
- Experience working across multiple regulated cannabis markets.
- Established relationships with hardware manufacturers, terpene/flavor houses, or other technical product-development partners.
- Experience building product-development processes, testing protocols, innovation pipelines, or new category capabilities.
- Demonstrated ability to identify emerging consumer, flavor, and product trends and translate them into differentiated products.
BENEFITS:- Growth opportunities
- Performance-based incentives
- Employee discounts
- Paid Holidays and Paid Time Off
- Health/Dental/Vision insurances
- Health Savings Plans and Teladoc Health
Work location: in-person
This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities and may be subject to change based on organizational needs. Additional tasks may be assigned as needed.
