VP, Innovation at Curaleaf in Stamford, CT

At Curaleaf, we’re redefining the cannabis industry with a strong commitment to quality, expertise, and innovation. As a leading global cannabis provider, our brands—including Curaleaf, Select, and Grassroots—offer premium products and services in both medical and adult-use markets. Join us at Curaleaf to be part of a high-growth, purpose-driven company that champions corporate social responsibility through our Rooted in Good initiative, supporting community outreach and positive change. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, drive innovation, and help shape the future of cannabis. Title: Vice President, Innovation Location: Stamford, CT Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt About the Role: Curaleaf is looking for a Vice President of Innovation to define, lead, and scale the company’s end-to-end innovation agenda across its house of brands and major product categories, including flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, and emerging cannabis formats. The VP of Innovation will be responsible for the renovation pipeline from consumer insight through commercialization, ensuring that new products are differentiated, brand-led, technically feasible, margin-accretive, regulatory-compliant, and executable across Curaleaf’s multi-state operating model. This leader must bring the rigor of best-in-class CPG innovation while understanding the unique complexity of cannabis: state-by-state regulations, operational variability, supply constraints, product quality variation, evolving consumer behavior, and a category that is still early in the development of true national brands. What You’ll Do: Define and lead Curaleaf’s enterprise innovation strategy across brands, categories, formats, and markets, ensuring alignment with long-term brand strategy, category growth priorities, consumer opportunities, and commercial goals. Build and manage a prioritized innovation and renovation pipeline across flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, and emerging categories, balancing near-term revenue opportunities with longer-term platform, technology, and brand-building innovation. Ensure the pipeline is sufficient in terms of revenue potential, margin impact, scalability, timing, and strategic importance to deliver Curaleaf’s short-term and long-term growth objectives. Create a clear framework for how Curaleaf evaluates innovation opportunities, including consumer desirability, brand fit, technical feasibility, regulatory feasibility, operational complexity, commercial viability, margin impact, and portfolio role. Partner with Brand, Commercial, Finance, and Operations to ensure innovation choices strengthen the portfolio rather than create unnecessary complexity, cannibalization, or fragmentation. Prepare and deliver regular updates to the Executive Leadership Team on innovation pipeline health, priority initiatives, key decisions, risks, launch readiness, and post-launch performance. Partner with R&D to manage relationships with external partners across ingredients, hardware, packaging, equipment, product technology, formulation, sensory, manufacturing support, and enabling innovation capabilities. What You’ll Bring: 12+ years of experience in innovation, product development, product strategy, R&D, commercialization, brand-led innovation, or portfolio strategy within CPG, cannabis, food and beverage, wellness, beauty, alcohol, nicotine alternatives, or adjacent consumer industries. Strong understanding of CPG innovation best practices, including stage-gate processes, concept development, consumer validation, business case development, commercialization planning, and post-launch performance measurement. Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience evaluating revenue potential, margin impact, pricing, cost of goods, incrementality, and portfolio tradeoffs. Experience working closely with R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Regulatory, Finance, Sales, Brand Marketing, and external partners. Cannabis experience is a plus, but not required. Curiosity, adaptability, consumer orientation, and the ability to learn the category quickly are essential. Ability to lead through influence in a complex, matrixed organization. Experience in regulated, operationally complex, or multi-market environments strongly preferred. What Success Looks Like Success in this role means Curaleaf has a disciplined, consumer-led innovation engine that consistently delivers stronger products, sharper brand differentiation, faster speed to market, better commercialization discipline, and measurable business impact. The VP of Innovation will help Curaleaf move from opportunistic product development to a more strategic CPG-style innovation model: fewer random launches, stronger consumer reasons for being, clearer brand roles, better cross-functional execution, stronger margin discipline, and a higher hit rate in market. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This position directly supervises the work activities of others and is accountable for the management of others, through a subordinate supervisor, concerning selection, recommending termination, performance appraisal, and professional development. Connecticut Hiring Range $199,000—$225,000 USD What We Offer: Career Growth Opportunities Competitive Pay and Benefits Generous PTO and Parental Leave 401(K) Retirement Plan Life/ Disability Insurance Community Involvement Referral Bonuses and Product Discounts Benefits vary by state, role type, and eligibility. Follow us on Social Media: Instagram: @curaleaf.usa Twitter: @Curaleaf_Inc LinkedIn: Curaleaf LinkedIn Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (TSX: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) ("Curaleaf") is a leading international provider of consumer products in cannabis with a mission to enhance lives by cultivating, sharing, and celebrating the power of the plant. As a high-growth cannabis company known for quality, expertise and reliability, the Company, and its brands, including Curaleaf, Select, Grassroots, Find, and Anthem provide industry-leading service, product selection and accessibility across the medical and adult-use markets. Curaleaf International is powered by a strong presence in all stages of the supply chain. Its unique distribution network throughout Europe, Canada and Australasia brings together pioneering science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction and production. Home | Curaleaf | Cannabis with Confidence Our Vision: To be the world's leading cannabis company by consistently delivering superior products and services and driving the global acceptance of cannabis. Our Values: Lead and Inspire. Commit to Win. ONE Curaleaf. Driven to Deliver Excellence. Curaleaf is an equal opportunity employer. Curaleaf recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation. Individuals adversely impacted by the war on drugs are encouraged to apply. Current Curaleaf employees should apply for open positions through our Internal Job Board, which can be accessed via the link on The Leaf. ***Please note that U.S. immigration rules and regulations are governed by federal law; not state law.  Although Curaleaf operates in states that have legalized and decriminalized marijuana, it is still considered a controlled substance under federal regulations and thus illegal under federal law. For this reason, unless and until federal law changes, Curaleaf is prohibited from offering sponsorship for any non-immigrant or immigrant visas. ***Please also note that while candidates who are Lawful Permanent Residents (such as those with Green Cards) are eligible for employment with, and are hired by Curaleaf, working for a company engaged in a business that grows and sells a product that is illegal under federal law might compromise the candidate’s immigration status. Before a Lawful Permanent Resident accepts an offer of employment, Curaleaf recommends that the candidate seek the advice of an immigration lawyer.