Senior Manager, Functional Ingredient Research - Application and Ingredient Delivery

The Coca-Cola Company•Atlanta, GA

8d•$131,000 - $153,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Research to Experimentation (RtE) function in TI&SC delivers scalable and impactful innovations in the areas of ingredients and packaging that grow, sustain, and protect our business. The Flavor and Ingredients Research & Application (FIRA) team is part of RtE and creates a compelling consumer holistic experience through flavors & ingredients. Our Functional ingredient Research, Application and Ingredient Delivery team is researching, developing, and validating the edge creation functional ingredient solutions for beverage application in order to address consumer wellness and functional benefit need. The Senior Manager, Functional Ingredient Research & Application, will play a critical role in transforming and applying the validated functional ingredient innovations into differentiated beverage experiences across a broad range of beverage categories. This individual will help assess functional ingredients for beverage application, adapt and optimize ingredient solutions for diverse beverage matrices, ensuring outstanding sensory experience, technical robustness, economical relevance, and scalable implementation by integrating the expertise from different SMEs and functions into the beverage matrix. By anticipating and overcoming formulation, processing, stability, and consumer acceptance challenges, this role will help accelerate the integration of next-generation ingredient technologies into the company's innovation pipeline. The role provides a unique opportunity to bridge scientifically validated solution with beverage functional chassis and formula design, converting advances in ingredient science into meaningful consumer benefits and category-applicable innovations. We are seeking a highly accomplished product developer who is excited to expand their expertise in functional ingredients, wellness-focused innovation, and emerging beverage technologies. The ideal candidate will bring a strong record of product development across multiple beverage categories within The Coca-Cola Company, coupled with intellectual curiosity for the science behind ingredient functionality and consumer-relevant benefits. Success in this role requires strong collaboration and influence across a diverse network of technical and business partners. The individual will work closely with cross-functional teams across Research to Experimentation (RtE), including Flavor & Ingredients Research Application (FIRA), Analytical Sciences, and Packaging, as well as colleagues in Global Development & Innovation (GDI), Scientific & Regulatory Affairs (SRA), Strategy & Insights Services (SIS), and Technical Consumer Data Research (TCDR). Through these partnerships, the Senior Manager will help shape and accelerate future functional technical platforms and deliver innovative solutions that address evolving consumer wellness needs around the world.

Requirements

Master degree in Food Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biological, Nutrition or related field is required.
7+ years food & beverage industry experience.
5+ years strong product development experience in TCCC
Experience collaborating within global teams and working across multiple geographies.
Enterprise and strategic mindset
Demonstrated ability to connect across organization lines, regardless of reporting relationships.
Project Management: Knowledge of project management principles and the ability to apply the principles, tools, and techniques to develop/plan, manage or execute projects or work plans to ensure successful completion (e.g., on time, within budget).
Ability to travel globally up to 25% of time.
Strategic thinking and implementation
Functional Skills Required in Technical Competency and Credibility
Business Acumen, Strong Leadership, Management, and Influencing Skills
Effective English communication skill

Nice To Haves

Product Development, Agile, Beverage Industry, Communication, Consumer Research, Food Technology, Ideation, Influencing, Project management, Leadership, Leading by Influence, Product Commercialization, Product Development Lifecycle, Relationship Management.

Responsibilities

Lead the integration of emerging functional ingredient technologies into beverage systems across multiple categories.
Adapt ingredient technologies to different beverage matrices while maintaining intended functionality, sensory quality, stability, and consumer acceptance.
Develop platform approaches that enable efficient adoption of ingredient technologies across the category and global portfolio.
Anticipate and resolve formulation, processing, and stability challenges associated with incorporating functional ingredients/solutions into category specific matrix.
Establish technical guidelines and best practices for ingredient usage, compatibility, performance, and processing requirements.
Drive development of the playbook of robust ingredient solution and formulation design suggestion that balance functionality, taste, quality, manufacturability, and cost effectiveness, which can facilitate GDI further leverage for category and specific market formula design and optimization.
Partner with GDI category teams and TCDR to identify opportunities where functional ingredients can create differentiated consumer experiences and benefit platforms.
Generate beverage prototypes that demonstrate the potential of emerging ingredient technologies to enable edge creation innovation proposition and consumer experience.
Accelerate the transfer of technical learnings and solutions across categories to maximize innovation impact.
Evaluate the technical feasibility, functionality, sensory impact, stability, and scalability of new functional ingredients and ingredient technologies.
Collaborate with ingredient suppliers, research partners, and startups to identify emerging technologies relevant to future beverage innovation.
Build technical understanding of ingredient mechanisms, limitations, and opportunities for application across beverage categories.
Partner with Functional Ingredient Research teams to translate scientific discoveries into practical beverage solutions.
Work closely with Scientific & Regulatory Affairs to ensure ingredient applications align with regulatory requirements and substantiation strategies.
Support the development of testing protocols, experimental designs, and validation approaches to understand ingredient performance in beverage systems.
Drive collaboration across Research to Experimentation (RtE), including FIRA, Analytical Sciences, and Packaging teams to deliver integrated innovation solutions.
Partner closely with Global Development & Innovation (GDI), Scientific & Regulatory Affairs (SRA), Strategy & Insights Services (SIS), and Technical Consumer & Design Research (TCDR) to align technical development with consumer, business, and regulatory requirements.
Influence technical decisions and innovation priorities across global and operating unit stakeholders.