Innovation Operations Manager

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Identify, research, and explore innovative ideas and concepts for both technical and commercial feasibility.

• Collaborate with formulators and R&D teams to grasp scientific foundations, technical requirements, and limitations.

• Design and implement feasibility analyses that assess technical viability, manufacturability, cost, regulatory considerations, timelines, and commercial potential.

• Identify, evaluate, and manage external vendors, contract manufacturers, laboratories, consultants, and specialists.

• Prepare RFQs and oversee the quote and award process with contract manufacturers.

• Synthesize findings into business cases and recommendations for commercialization.

• Manage project plans, timelines, budgets, milestones, and communications with stakeholders across multiple initiatives.

• Present findings, risks, and recommendations to leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Oversee the innovation intake queue and maintain a prioritized, capacity-bound list of concepts.

• Establish and enforce a phased stage-gate evaluation process that includes budgets, kill criteria, and gate reviews.

• Construct models for COGS, MOQ, landed-cost, pricing, margin, break-even, and capital investment.

• Conduct due diligence on regulatory, IP, patent, freedom-to-operate, ingredient, labeling, and claims.

• Coordinate sampling, pilot and scale-up trials, stability and shelf-life testing, sensory evaluation, analytical method development, and draft specifications.

• Guide greenlit concepts through to their first successful commercial production and facilitate a formal handoff to product and operations teams.

• Maintain documentation and a knowledge base for all assessed concepts.

• Establish realistic timelines, costs, and resource needs while safeguarding core-team capacity.

⛳️ Requirements

• A minimum of 7 years of proven success in project management.

• Experience in the dietary supplement, nutraceutical, food & beverage, CPG, or pharmaceutical sectors.

• Extensive expertise in R&D/formulation processes, manufacturing technical capabilities, and regulatory frameworks like FDA/DSHEA/cGMP.

• Strong knowledge of ingredients and their technical applications in dietary supplements.

• Practical experience with innovative delivery formats such as liposomal or encapsulation technologies, softgels, gummies or jellies, sprays, sachets, or functional beverages.

• Excellent organizational abilities to manage multiple projects and priorities concurrently.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Robust analytical skills for conducting feasibility assessments, data evaluation, and formulating business cases.

• Proficiency in project management systems/tools such as Asana, Monday.com, Smartsheet, MS Project, Jira, or similar.

• Comfort in navigating ambiguity and providing clarity in early-stage, undefined projects.

• At least one novel or first-of-its-kind product, format, or process that you have personally taken from initial concept to commercial launch.

• Ability to present and defend unfavorable recommendations to senior stakeholders.

• Capability to independently create COGS build-ups, margin and break-even models, and straightforward business cases in Excel or Google Sheets.

• Proficiency in critically evaluating scientific literature, supplier technical packets, specifications, and certificates of analysis.

• Availability during US business hours; overlap with EST is necessary.

• Must be located in the US.

🏝️ Benefits

• Fully remote position.

• Flexible work arrangements across different time zones.

• Flexible working hours.

• Work within a globally distributed team.

• Shared collaboration window from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM EST rather than a mandatory work schedule.