Innovation Strategy & Research Analyst

PCCA USA, PCCA Canada•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Innovation Strategy & Research Analyst will work closely with the Vice President of R&D to connect PCCA’s scientific and technical capabilities with market opportunities, customer needs, and commercialization strategy. This role will help identify and evaluate new opportunities, translate market and industry insights into actionable business recommendations, support development of business cases, evaluate potential partnerships and investments, and help guide R&D innovations from early concept through commercialization and post-launch learning. The position serves as a strategic connection point between R&D and key functions including Marketing, Sales, Business Development, Clinical, Regulatory, and other areas of the organization. The overall objective is to help PCCA identify the right opportunities earlier, make better investment decisions, and reduce the risk of developing technically strong innovations that do not translate into meaningful customer or commercial value.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Strategy, Innovation, Marketing, Life Sciences, Engineering, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
Approximately 7+ years of experience in strategy, innovation, commercialization, market research, consulting, product strategy, or related functions.
Experience evaluating new markets, technologies, products, business models, or strategic growth opportunities.
Strong experience translating complex research and information into actionable strategic recommendations.
Experience working across multiple functions and influencing teams without direct authority.
Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, early-stage opportunities.
Experience developing business cases, market assessments, competitive analyses, and strategic recommendations.

Nice To Haves

Healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, compounding, medical technology, or related industry experience is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Conduct primary and secondary research to identify emerging market trends, technologies, customer needs, competitive activity, regulatory changes, startups, and new business models.
Identify emerging opportunities and disruptions that may be relevant to PCCA.
Evaluate customer problems, unmet needs, current alternatives, and market gaps.
Translate complex market and technical information into clear business implications and recommendations for leadership.
Work with R&D leadership to translate market needs and customer problems into potential products, services, technologies, or new business opportunities.
Explore different strategic approaches including build, partner, license, acquire, or invest.
Support development and prioritization of innovation opportunities based on customer value, competitive advantage, technical feasibility, and business potential.
Facilitate cross-functional ideation and strategic discussions around new opportunities.
Develop and support business cases for new products, services, technologies, partnerships, and business models.
Assess market size, customer segments, competitive landscape, pricing considerations, development requirements, investment needs, timeline, risk, and expected return.
Partner with R&D and commercial teams to determine whether opportunities should advance, be modified, partnered, or discontinued.
Help ensure R&D development programs remain connected to the original customer and market need throughout development.
Support customer research, concept testing, prototype validation, and feedback gathering.
Translate customer and market feedback into recommendations for product refinement and commercialization.
Work cross-functionally to help define target customers, positioning, value proposition, pricing considerations, channel strategy, and launch priorities.
Support commercialization readiness while maintaining clear ownership between R&D, Marketing, Sales, Business Development, Regulatory, and other functions.
Evaluate potential technology partners, startups, licensing opportunities, and strategic collaborations.
Support due diligence and strategic assessment of potential investments or partnerships.
Help determine whether PCCA should internally develop a capability or access it through partnership, licensing, investment, or acquisition.
Support incubation of new business platforms originating from R&D, including development of business models and commercialization pathways.
Evaluate product adoption, customer feedback, competitive response, customer segments, repeat usage, and other market signals after launch.
Identify opportunities for improvement, expansion, repositioning, or future development.
Translate post-launch learning into recommendations for the R&D pipeline and future innovation priorities.
Serve as a strategic bridge between R&D and other key business functions.
Facilitate cross-functional discussions and workshops to align teams around opportunities, concepts, business cases, and commercialization strategies.
Help prevent market intelligence, customer insights, technical knowledge, and business opportunities from becoming disconnected across functions.
Develop tools, frameworks, and repeatable processes that improve opportunity evaluation, innovation prioritization, and commercialization.