Innovation Manager

We are seeking an experienced, strategic, and user-centered Innovation Manager to join our team and lead efforts to identify, validate, and scale new products, services, and business models. The successful candidate will partner across research, product, design, engineering, and business functions to drive discovery, rapid experimentation, and structured delivery of high-impact innovations that align with company strategy and customer needs.

Key Responsibilities - Innovation Strategy & Delivery

• Develop and articulate an innovation strategy and portfolio that aligns with organizational priorities, market opportunities, and customer insights.

• Run cross-functional discovery programs to uncover customer problems, validate value propositions, and define hypothesis-driven experiments.

• Design and oversee rapid prototyping, user testing, pilot programs, and experimentation frameworks to de-risk ideas and accelerate learnings.

• Translate validated concepts into product or service roadmaps, collaborating with product managers, designers, engineers, and operations to enable scalable delivery.

• Establish metrics and success criteria for innovation initiatives (e.g., activation, adoption, retention, revenue impact, time to learn) and track outcomes to inform prioritization.

• Build and maintain stakeholder alignment through clear communication, executive summaries, business cases, and regular updates on experiment results and next steps.

• Facilitate workshops and ideation sessions, coach teams in discovery and experimentation techniques, and promote a culture of learning and customer empathy.

• Manage relationships with external partners, startups, and vendors; evaluate collaboration opportunities, pilot proposals, and integration approaches.

• Advocate for inclusive design, accessibility, privacy, and security considerations throughout innovation activities to ensure compliance and broad user benefit.

Required Qualifications - Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Design, Engineering, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 5+ years of experience leading innovation, product discovery, or incubation efforts in a cross-functional environment, with a track record of moving ideas from insight to scalable outcomes.

• Strong experience with hypothesis-driven discovery, user research, qualitative and quantitative validation methods, and experimentation design.

• Demonstrated ability to define strategic priorities, create business cases, and influence senior stakeholders to secure resources and alignment.

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills; comfortable synthesizing complex information into concise recommendations and presentations.

• Practical familiarity with modern digital technologies, APIs, cloud platforms, and product development practices enabling collaboration with technical teams.

• Experience using analytics, A/B testing, qualitative research, and customer feedback to make data-informed decisions and iterate quickly.

• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, mentor others in discovery practices, and operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced settings.

Preferred Qualifications - Domain & Tools

• Experience with lean startup, design thinking, jobs-to-be-done, or other discovery frameworks and tools.

• Familiarity with cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP), integration patterns, modern analytics stacks, and CI/CD practices.

• Prior work with startups, corporate venture, or partner ecosystems to evaluate and scale external innovation opportunities.

• Knowledge of accessibility standards, information security, and privacy regulations relevant to product development.

• Certifications or advanced training in innovation, product discovery, UX research, or experimentation are a plus.

Work Environment & Compensation

• Full-time role within a collaborative, cross-functional team; onsite presence is expected with flexible scheduling options as appropriate.

• Competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience, including health coverage, retirement plan options, paid time off, and professional development support.

• Opportunities for training, certifications, and career progression in an inclusive and mission-driven organization.

• We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and foster a respectful work environment that supports work-life balance and employee well-being.