Senior Manager, Innovation Product Development

About Liquid I.V.

This job description indicates in general the nature and levels of work, knowledge, skills, abilities and other essential functions expected of the role. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of employees under his/her supervision. Ability to competently perform all the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, demonstrated commitment to the company’s mission, and the ability to work productively as a member of a team or work group are basic requirements of all positions at Liquid I.V.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that not only embraces the diversity of our people but also reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work and the customers we serve. We know that the happiest and highest performing teams include people with diverse perspectives that encourage new ways of solving problems, so we strive to attract and develop talent from all backgrounds and create workplaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Liquid I.V. is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

About our Team:

We are a world-class team of innovators and passionate change-makers, looking to develop transformative hydration solutions and make a meaningful impact on the world around us.  

At Liquid I.V., we are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that not only embraces the diversity of our people but also reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work and the customers we serve.    

Our team members enjoy a flexible and inclusive working environment, a highly collaborative and innovation-forward culture, generous benefits and perks that empower employees to champion their wellbeing every day, as well as an infinite supply of Liquid I.V. for extraordinary hydration. 

About the role:

Liquid I.V. is looking for an inspiring, creative, and highly technical product development leader to help lead and execute delivery of our exciting new product innovation pipeline. Reporting to the Senior Director of Product Development and Sensory, this role will manage and have the support of two product development scientists. The Senior Manager, Innovation Product Development will be an integral member of the LIV R&D organization and will both support and lead cross-functional collaboration within all levels of the business. 

The ideal candidate will be obsessed with our customers and will hold the bar high in delivering innovative products with undeniable product superiority. They are well informed and plugged into industry trends and are a skilled taster with a mastery and obsession toward superior flavor creation. They must also be able to coach and inspire technical execution of programs to ensure we look around corners throughout the commercialization process. 

Functions and duties of this role include, but not limited to:

• Manage the entire innovation product development (PD) lifecycle with team from idea/concept creation with marketing, new raw material and manufacturing qualification, safety assessments, regulatory reviews, prototype development, specification development, technical transfers, scale-up support, and post-launch support.  

• Coach and develop an agile PD team – ensure they are well supported. Effectively mobilize resources to meet key business objectives and milestones. Manage and hold team accountable against OKR’s to ensure the team is meeting their performance goals.  

• Own and execute independent PD projects, in addition to managing your team.  

• Build and present strategic and tactical content/presentations to leadership, peers, and working teams. Coach team and independently create effective content that helps communicate & drive key business decisions. Ideal content should clearly story-tell situations and recommendations to leadership for effective alignments. 

• Help strengthen and foster relationships with co-development and manufacturing partners. Execute development agreements with Legal with eye on: IP protection, cost, and define SOW’s.  

• Assist in the development of project briefs for innovation concepts, research and define the products feasibility, and development technical guardrails and parameters to meet launch objectives and targets. 

• Monitor and maintain on-time delivery of critical project milestones and timelines within the innovation PD budget.  

• Own, track, and operationalize the Innovation PD budget.  

• Assist in the enterprise annual operating planning process, which includes, but not limited to inputs into PD operations budget, overhead resource planning, and organizational strategy to support the 3 year Innovation calendar. 

• Coach PD team to design and execute effective experiments. Implement R&D activities to ensure final product meets consumer expectations, product efficacy, shelf-life stability, scalability from benchtop, cost, sensory, and aesthetic requirements in accordance with the brand strategy and program goals. 

• Partner with marketing, scientific affairs, procurement, and external suppliers/partners to learn and identify new trends (i.e. flavors, ingredients, format, benefits, new product territories, etc). Partner with supply chain, quality, regulatory, science, and manufacturing teams to drive feasibility of said trends and ideas.  

• Lead team to identify and create best-in-class flavors, with goal to deliver on our superiority measures. 

• Partner with quality and regulatory to define and execute stability and analytical testing criteria required for all products.  

• Participate in artwork review and approval process for primary and secondary components, copy for marketing collateral and training materials for storytelling, marketing, and educational needs. 

• Deliver operationally effective and meaningful specifications for new products to ensure customer quality is met.  

• Identify and operationalize improvement opportunities to the innovation process for both R&D and company as a whole (in partnership with cross-functional leaders). 
• Travel as necessary to: represent team at industry conferences/tradeshows, supervise formula development, and support pilot/production runs at manufacturers as needed to meet project milestones. 

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:  

• Master’s degree in food science or related field required. 
• 8+ years of progressive growth experience working in CPG, but preferably in food and beverage industries. Start-up experience, a plus.
• Minimum 3+ years’ experience managing technical teams
• Both food and dietary supplement experience a must. 
• Proven experience leading and inspiring high-performing teams & individuals
• Consumer obsessed; to deliver the best sensory and efficacy benefits to customers. 
• Is an enthusiastic innovation leader, inspires new ideas, and is plugged into the industry to bring forth new opportunities.
• Deep technical expertise in areas such as powdered beverages, dietary supplements, food science, and flavor design/development
• Strong working knowledge of consumer research, health and nutrition, food manufacturing processes, quality assurance principles, PD systems and processes, ingredient supply market, and packaging science.
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to coach a team to define problems, create both scrappy & detailed experiments, collect and interpret data, draw valid conclusions, and propose solutions.
• Experience developing and managing R&D budgets, with experience in Annual Operating Plans.
• A polished and poised technical manager with strong influencer, oral & written presentation skills that can adapt presentation and communication to both technical and non-technical colleagues.
• Strong working knowledge of R&D program management.
• Strong ability to coach, grow talent, understanding of training and development programs, performance management, and building capabilities within the team for both short and long-term career growth. 
• Agile and adaptable to change and demonstrates ability to motivate team amidst aggressive business objectives and priority shifts. 

What We Give:

• 100% company-paid medical, dental and vision insurance for employees (PPO, HMO and Kaiser options).
• A 401k plan with company match, short and long-term disability coverage. 
• A generous PTO and sick policy that includes 13+ paid annual holidays. 
• Wellness classes (fitness, mental health, nutrition, finance, etc.). 
• An Employee Assistance Program, including membership for guided meditation for all employees. 
• Monthly tech and wellness reimbursement. 
• An infinite supply of Liquid I.V. for endless hydration!  

Work Environment:

• This role is HYBRID office environment (El Segundo). with flexibility for industry events.  Travel 10-30% of the time 

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

The compensation band for this position is $126,100 - $189,100 annually. The exact salary is determined by various factors including experience, skills, education, geographic location, internal company equity, and budget. The listed range is applicable only to the annual base salary and does not include additional perks, benefits, or applicable bonus eligibility comprising the total compensation package.

This job description indicates in general the nature and levels of work, knowledge, skills, abilities and other essential functions expected of the role. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required. It is not intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of employees under his/her supervision. Ability to competently perform all the essential duties of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation, demonstrated commitment to the company’s mission, and the ability to work productively as a member of a team or work group are basic requirements of all positions at Liquid I.V.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture of belonging that not only embraces the diversity of our people but also reflects the diversity of the communities in which we work and the customers we serve. We know that the happiest and highest performing teams include people with diverse perspectives that encourage new ways of solving problems, so we strive to attract and develop talent from all backgrounds and create workplaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Liquid I.V. is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

You can find the Unilever privacy note here