Senior Manager, Ingredient Resiliency & Beverage Application

Coca-Cola•Atlanta, GA

50d•$131,000 - $153,000

About The Position

Role Overview The Sr. Manager, Ingredient Resilience and application is a critical role with Flavor and Ingredient Research and Application (FIRA) team, responsible for strengthening the company’s ingredient resilience by ensuring a robust pipeline of viable alternative technologies for high priority, at risk ingredients, as well as develop relevant ingredient technologies for our core products. This role partners closely with SRA, SIS, GDI and other TI&SC functions and external partners to proactively identify ingredient risks and gaps in our understanding of ingredient technologies and deliver technically and commercially viable alternatives that protect innovation, growth, and continuity of supply. The role operates at the intersection of ingredient science, beverage applications, and supplier collaboration.

Requirements

MS or PhD in Food Science, Chemistry, material science, or related scientific discipline.
5+ years of industry experience in ingredient research, ingredient technology development, or other food and pharmaceutical industries.
Demonstrated experience working across different functions including R&D, SRA, procurement, and external partners.
Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, processing, and regulatory considerations.
Proven ability to influence without authority and lead complex, cross functional initiatives.
Digital fluency
Strategic thinking with strong scientific depth
Risk based decision making
External partnership leadership
Clear technical communication for senior stakeholders
Innovation under uncertainty

Nice To Haves

Experience with ingredient suppliers, external research organizations, and technology ecosystems is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Alternative Technology & Ingredient Pipeline Development Partner with SRA and cross functional teams (R&D, TI&SC, Procurement, Category, Quality) to identify, assess, and prioritize high risk and strategically critical ingredients across the portfolio.
Build and maintain a forward-looking pipeline of ingredient and technology alternatives for priority at risk ingredients, in partnership with both internal and external network.
Lead the technical evaluation and development of alternative ingredients and technologies, including: Lab synthesis and evaluation of alternative ingredients Ingredient substitutions or reformulations New processing or delivery technologies Biotechnology enabled or novel ingredient solutions
Ensure alternatives meet performance, regulatory, cost, and scalability requirements for beverage applications.
Ingredient Technology Developments Lead the technical evaluation and development of key ingredients used in our core products, strengthen our understanding of the ingredient's behavior in the beverage, and develop new applications if needed.
External Partner & Supplier Collaboration Partner with and lead the work with ingredient suppliers, technology providers, startups, universities, and research partners to develop and advance alternative solutions.
Drive collaborative programs, joint research agreements, and supplier enabled innovation efforts focused on alternative technologies
Provide technical leadership in supplier engagements to accelerate readiness and de‑risk scale‑up.
Cross Functional Integration & Enablement Align alternative ingredient strategies with category and product development teams to enable adoption into the portfolio when needed.
Partner with Procurement and GDI to ensure alternatives are commercially viable and compatible with sourcing strategies.
Support decision making on tradeoffs across cost, performance, timelines, and risk mitigation impact.