Formulation Specialist

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1.Formulation Development

• Develop and refine formulations across categories ensuring they deliver on both skincare efficacy and makeup performance.
• Work with the founder to evaluate ingredient choices, active concentrations, textures, and sensorial experience.
• Coordinate with our formulation and manufacturing partners on development, iterations, and technical feedback.
• Ensure every formula meets performance, safety, and stability benchmarks before it goes anywhere near a customer.

2.New Product Development (NPD)

• Own the NPD pipeline from concept to commercial launch: ideation, lab trials, pilot batches, stability studies, and tech transfer to manufacturing.
• Work with the founder to prioritise which products to develop, in what order, and why based on market gaps, consumer insight, and feasibility.
• Manage timelines, vendor coordination, and sampling across the full development cycle.
• Research new ingredients, technologies, and global trends to keep IKSHYAs product pipeline ahead of the market.

3.Testing, Stability & Quality

• Design and oversee stability testing protocols accelerated and real-time for all products.
• Coordinate dermatological testing, safety assessments, and claims substantiation.
• Set up quality benchmarks and ensure consistency from lab batch to production batch.
• Own documentation: formulation records, batch records, CoAs, and regulatory submissions.

4.Regulatory & Compliance

• Ensure all products comply with Indian cosmetic regulations (BIS, CDSCO) and are export-ready where needed.
• Manage ingredient documentation, labelling compliance, and claims review.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Be the founders product partner challenge ideas, pressure-test assumptions, and bring a formulation lens to every product decision.
• Work with packaging and design teams to ensure formulation compatibility with packaging formats.
• Support the content team with product science that can be translated into consumer-facing storytelling.Role & responsibilities

Preferred candidate profile

Experience

• 4-5+ years in cosmetic or personal care formulation experience across color cosmetics, skincare, or hybrid products is ideal.
• End-to-end NPD experience: youve taken products from concept through lab trials, stability, and into commercial production.
• Familiarity with working alongside contract manufacturers or international formulation partners.
• Solid understanding of cosmetic ingredients, actives, delivery systems, and how they behave in real formulations not just on paper.
• Degree in Cosmetic Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field.

Mindset

• Product-obsessed. You care about how a lipstick feels on skin, not just whats in it.
• Opinionated but collaborative. You’ll push back on the founder when the formulation doesn’t make sense — and welcome pushback in return.
• Detail-oriented and process-driven. Stability protocols, batch records, regulatory docs — you don’t cut corners.
• Curious and self-updating. You follow global ingredient trends, new actives, and what indie and international brands are doing differently.
• Comfortable with the pace and ambiguity of a pre-launch startup.

Bonus Points

• Direct experience formulating hybrid (skincare + makeup) products.
• Experience working with international labs or manufacturers.
• Background in a D2C or indie beauty brand or contract manufacturing
• Understanding of how product science translates into marketing claims and consumer storytelling.

WHY THIS ROLE

The product is the brand. This role shapes what IKSHYA stands for.

• Co-build the product line of a first-of-its-kind makeup brand — from scratch, with real equity upside (ESOPs).
• Work directly with a founder who understands product deeply. No layers, no approvals committee.
• Shape a product moat (proprietary formulation, dermatologist-validated) that competitors can’t easily replicate.

Send your resume, a list of products you’ve taken from concept to launch, and a short note on what excites you about IKSHYA to mobeen@ikshya.in