Job Description

Journey with us! Combine your career goals and sense of adventure by joining our exciting team of employees. Royal Caribbean Group is pleased to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, and excellent career development opportunities, each offering unique ways to explore the world.

We are proud to be the vacation-industry leader with global brands — including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises — the most innovative fleet and private destinations, and the best people. Together, we are dedicated to turning the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations for our guests.

The Royal Caribbean Group’s New Build Team has an exciting career opportunity for a full time Principal, Corporate Strategy.

The position is onsite and based in Miami, FL.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the location where this position is based. The position is not eligible for immigration or work-visa sponsorship now or in the future.

At Royal Caribbean Group (RCG), we care about your health, financial security, and overall well-being. That’s why we provide a comprehensive and competitive benefits package designed to support what matters most to you across every area of life: physical, intellectual, emotional, and social. Here’s an overview of the benefits available to you, including but not limited to:

• Cruise and Travel Privileges
• Health and Wellness Benefits
• 401(k) + Employer Contribution (US Only)
• Company-Paid Life and Disability Insurance
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Comprehensive Time Off Package
• Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Training & Professional Development
• Tuition & Professional Certification Reimbursement (US Only)

Specific benefits may vary by location and position. See more details about our benefits here.

What does the New Build Team do?

The New Build Team at Royal Caribbean Group leads the planning, design, and delivery of new ships from concept to launch. Partnering with shipyards and internal stakeholders, the team oversees engineering, hotel operations, safety, and innovation to ensure vessels meet brand standards, regulatory requirements, and guest experience expectations, bringing next-generation ships to life while supporting long-term growth and fleet innovation.

How you can make an impact:

We are seeking a strategic, forward-thinking leader to join our Newbuild organization as Principal, Corporate Strategy. This high-impact role is instrumental in shaping the earliest phases of ship development, well before contracts are signed, by driving strategic alignment between brand vision, operational feasibility, and long-term business goals. As Principal, you will lead cross-functional collaboration with brand teams, technical experts, and shipyard partners to define ship concepts, assess feasibility, and guide decision-making.

You’ll be responsible for developing the project business cases together with the corporate and brand strategy teams, driving the design concept development, and ensuring that the project operational and business processes are well established and functioning. This role focuses on establishing our new programs and projects as a business to ensure that we can successfully manage the scale and complexity of ship building, including but not limited to building the project organization, defining the project charter and ways of working, enabling design and investment decisions, and driving progress towards critical milestones and quality gates.

In addition to early-stage development, the Principal will lead a high-performing team focused on addressing the most critical and strategic challenges within a Newbuild project. You will oversee the daily operation of a newbuilding project, as the general manager, ensuring all business functions are progressing and in sync, including project strategy, costing and financial, program management, and commercial negotiations. Within each project you will manage multiple high-impact initiatives, ranging from strategic and executive reviews to continuous process improvements, while mentoring and developing direct reports.

In this role, you will act as the conduit for collaboration between all department disciplines and represent the front lines of the project to the brand and corporate leadership. Success in this role requires a strong communicator and strategic thinker who thrives in ambiguity, brings structure to complex challenges, and builds trusted relationships across the organization.

What your day-to-day will look like:

• Serve as the leader of the Miami-based operations for the new program under development.
• Lead a cross-functional team of leaders across a matrix organization, both directly and indirectly reporting to you.
• Develop project governance and project charters to launch a new program with clear roles, responsibilities, and operational practices.
• Monitor project health, including the success of key project processes in design, technical development, financial management, and risk management.
• Develop updates and presentations to executive leadership and the C-suite, both written and oral, on a regular basis, capturing project status, enabling key decisions, and managing risks.
• Oversee the financial process and budget framework for projects.
• Lead the risk management process across all project disciplines.
• Serve as the link to the corporation, including Brand and Group executive leadership.
• Guide the commercial development process, including business case alignment and contract negotiations with the shipyard.
• Develop project strategies and initiatives.
• Develop relationships across the corporation with executive stakeholders and brand customers, including regular communication with VPs, SVPs, and EVPs.
• Provide mentorship and daily leadership to a dedicated project core team.

How to achieve success:

• MBA or equivalent advanced business degree from a top-tier institution required.
• Minimum of 10-15 years of experience in strategy, ideally within a leading consulting firm or corporate strategy function.
• Experience in the cruise or broader vacation industry is preferred.
• Strong financial acumen, with expertise in quantitative analysis, ROI modeling, and familiarity with tools such as Hyperion Studio, Essbase, SAS, or R.
• Experience with M&A or equity analysis is a plus.
• Proven ability to apply structured problem-solving frameworks and develop actionable solutions.
• Demonstrated success in delivering executive-level presentations and translating insights into execution.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Track record of high performance, as evidenced by reviews, recognition, and results.
• Exceptional strategic thinking and analytical capabilities, with the ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, with confidence in engaging senior stakeholders.
• Quick learner with the ability to connect diverse information sources to business strategy.
• Deep understanding of value creation in the cruise industry and familiarity with key corporate data.
• High integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.

Agency and Third-Party Submissions: Please note this is a direct search by the Company, and applications through agencies and other third parties will not be accepted, nor will fees be paid for unsolicited resumes. Any unsolicited resumes will be considered the Company's property.

We know there's a lot to consider. As you go through the application process, our recruiters will be glad to provide guidance, and more relevant details to answer any additional questions. Thank you again for your interest in Royal Caribbean Group. We hope to see you onboard soon!

It is the policy of the Company to ensure equal employment and promotion opportunity to qualified candidates without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and related medical conditions), age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sexuality, gender identity or expression, marital status, citizenship or immigration status, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Royal Caribbean Group and each of its subsidiaries prohibit and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to support candidates with disabilities during our hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at hraccess@rccl.com. This email is for disability-related accommodation requests only.