Job Information
Unilever Senior Manager, Innovation New Product Development in EL SEGUNDO, California
About Liquid I.V.
At Liquid I.V., our purpose is to elevate the vitality of people and the planet. An ambitious goal? Yes! But by playing to win, holding the bar higher, championing wellbeing, and always thinking with a pioneering mindset we can go further together to leave a lasting mark.
Our products are stocked in over 80,000 retail doors, including the world’s leading specialty, big box, and online retailers such as Costco, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and many more. In just over 10 years, our growth has been exponential. And as part of Unilever, we’re continuing the expansion of Liquid I.V. into a global brand.
We’re also passionate about cultivating solutions for equitable clean water access, a healthier planet, and thriving communities. We contribute over 1% of our company revenue to our Impact Program through which we provide partnerships and grants to organizations that expand access to clean and abundant water locally and globally. By 2026, our goal is to help ensure access to clean water for 2 million people around the world.
About our Team:
We are a world-class team of innovators and passionate changemakers, 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 a 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, this role will manage and have the support of two product development scientists. The Senior Manager, Innovation New Product Development will be an integral member of the LIV R&D organization and will have 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 toward 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 from concept ideation with marketing, prototyping, specification development, scale-up support, and to in-market support.
Coach and develop PD talent – ensure they are well supported, and effectively mobilize resources to meet key business objectives. Manage and hold team accountable against OKR’s to ensure the team is meeting their performance goals.
Develop and lead an agile, high performing team to objectively deliver the ‘product superiority’ measures with innovation projects. In addition to managing PD scientists, you will also execute independent PD projects yourself in the lab, manufacturer, or with development partners.
Help strengthen and foster relationships with co-development partners who are critical in delivering PD programs.
Assist in the development of project briefs for innovation concepts, research and define the products’ feasibility and development parameters.
Monitor and maintain on-time delivery of critical project milestones within innovation PD budget.
Assist in the enterprise annual operating planning process by providing inputs into PD operations budgets and overhead resource planning
Coach PD team to design experiments to ensure final product meets consumer expectations, production efficacy, shelf-life stability, cost, sensory, and aesthetic requirements in accordance with the brand’s strategy and goals.
Partner with marketing and scientific teams to drive proactive innovation research to get ahead of new flavor, benefit, and form factor trends.
Help identify and create best-in-class flavors, including coordination and participation in product tastings to deliver superior profiles.
Define and oversee 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 always met.
Optimize the Innovation PD process with the goal to deliver smart agile execution, while ensuring team looks around technical corners to deliver excellence.
Travel as necessary to represent team at industry conferences, tradeshows, supervise formula development, pilot and/or production runs, work onsite at CM R&D facilities as needed to meet project approval milestones.
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.
Proven experience leading and inspiring high-performing teams & individuals.
Consumer obsessed with a track record of success building external partnerships to expand the capacity and capabilities of R&D organization.
Deep technical expertise in areas such as powdered beverages, nutritional supplements, flavor design and development, specification development, formulation management.
Strong working knowledge of food science, health and nutrition, food manufacturing processes, quality assurance principles, product development systems and processes, ingredient supply market, as well as scale up and product commercialization.
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 and proficiency in executing strong co-development agreements with external partners with scope in: IP protection, negotiations, cost structure, and SOW development.
Experience developing and managing R&D budgets.
A polished and poised technical manager with strong influencer, oral & written presentation skills.
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:
- Hybrid office environment with flexibility for industry events. Travel 20%-30% of the time.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
The expected salary range for this position is $130,000 - $155,000 annually. The exact salary is determined by various factors including experience, skills, education, geographic location, internal company equity, and budget.
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.