Director - Innovation - Technology and Partnerships (Marketing)
About The Position
Freshpet is evolving from a fresh pet food company into a broader pet health, lifestyle, and longevity platform. To accelerate this transformation, we are building new capabilities beyond food—spanning technology, data, digital services, and strategic partnerships. The Director of Innovation – Technology & Partnerships will lead the identification, development, and activation of these new capabilities. This role is focused on platform thinking, external partnerships, and technology-enabled growth, working alongside—but distinct from—core pet food innovation. This leader will help Freshpet explore what’s next: personalization engines, digital tools, AI-enabled insights, diagnostics, behavior and health monitoring, services, and ecosystem partnerships that deepen consumer relationships and expand our total addressable market.
Requirements
- 8–12+ years of experience in innovation, technology strategy, digital product, partnerships, or new business development.
- Proven experience working with external partners, startups, or technology vendors.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity and building from concept to pilot to scale.
- Strong business acumen—able to evaluate economics, risks, and scalability.
- Experience collaborating with digital, IT, legal, finance, and operations teams.
- Clear communicator who can translate technical concepts into business impact.
- Curiosity about emerging trends in AI, personalization, health tech, and digital ecosystems.
- Passion for improving pet health and consumer experience through innovation.
Responsibilities
- Identify and develop technology platforms that enhance Freshpet’s ability to deliver personalized, connected, and data-driven experiences.
- Explore applications of AI, advanced analytics, digital tools, and connected data to support personalization, decision-making, and consumer engagement.
- Translate emerging technologies into practical pilots, proofs of concept, and scalable capabilities.
- Lead the discovery, evaluation, and activation of external partnerships across: pet health and wellness technology diagnostics and monitoring data and AI platforms digital services and subscriptions insurance, care, and lifestyle adjacencies
- Assess build / partner / buy options and develop clear business cases.
- Manage early-stage partnerships, pilots, and joint initiatives through testing and scale-readiness.
- Own a portfolio of Horizon 2+ technology and partnership initiatives, from concept through validation.
- Define success metrics, learning agendas, and decision gates for each initiative.
- Work cross-functionally with Digital, IT, Insights, Marketing, Operations, Legal, and Finance to move ideas forward.
- Ground technology and partnership opportunities in real consumer problems—especially around convenience, confidence, health, and longevity.
- Ensure solutions are intuitive, valuable, and aligned with Freshpet’s brand promise.
- Partner with Insights teams to test desirability, usability, and willingness to pay.
- Help the organization understand and adopt new capabilities by simplifying complexity.
- Support the SVP in communicating innovation progress, implications, and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Act as a bridge between external innovators and internal teams.
Benefits
- medical
- dental
- vision insurance
- basic and optional life insurance
- short- and long-term disability protection
- flexible spending accounts
- 401(k) plan with company match
- paid parental leave
- pet insurance
- tuition assistance
- a generous PTO plan and so much more!
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
1,001-5,000 employees
