Sr. Manager/Director of Innovation (Beverage) (US - Remote)

Tradin Organic Agriculture•Aptos, CA

5d•Remote

About The Position

Tradin Organic is a global leader in organic ingredients, offering a full service portfolio based on unique sourcing, sustainability initiatives, and processing & distribution capabilities. As part of Amsterdam Commodities N.V. (Acomo), Tradin Organic has over 20 years of experience working with major US retailers to create on-trend private label products using its global supply chain. The company is on a mission to drive the consumption of organic products by creating these private label products for leading US retailers. This role is for a Senior Manager/Director of Innovation to join the US team, working remotely within the US. The position is responsible for leading beverage innovation and commercialization from concept through launch, focusing on owning the product pipeline, partnering with external formulation partners, and delivering profitable private label products for key retailers in the US, Mexico, and Canada. The role requires leveraging consumer insights and data, market knowledge, and strong project management expertise (Asana preferred). This is a critical role for the company's growth strategy, requiring close collaboration with internal leadership, sales, operations, quality, and supply chain teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Business, Engineering, or related field.
Sr. Manager: 5 – 8+ years in CPG innovation, product development, commercialization, or technical program management.
Director: 8 – 10+ years leadership in CPG innovation – leading teams and product portfolios.
Strong experience building and managing product P&Ls and cost models.
Experience working with external formulators, co-manufacturers, or development partners.
Proven track record of launching beverage products from concept through commercialization.
Experience managing innovation pipelines using project management tools (Asana or similar platforms).
Strong understanding of ingredient costs, supply chain, and manufacturing constraints.
Excellent cross-functional leadership and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Food Science degree is a plus, not required.
Beverage or CPG industry experience.
Private label / customer-driven product development.
Experience in mid-sized or high-growth companies.
Exposure to consumer insights and data-driven product strategy.
Experience in working in customer product development portals.

Responsibilities

Partner with Retail leadership and Sales to identify opportunities, customer needs, and white space.
Leverage consumer insights, market data, and trends to evolve product strategy.
Own and manage product-level P&Ls, including cost targets, margin expectations, and pricing guardrails based on current market pricing.
Ensure all innovation aligns with financial, operational, and customer requirements.
Own a 3-year innovation roadmap and a longer-range (5-7 year) opportunity view.
Build and scale the innovation function over time.
Partner with third-party formulators and development partners.
Own development and management of product P&Ls, leveraging cross-functional inputs from Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance.
Define product and packaging specification requirements in partnership with Operations, ensuring alignment with manufacturing capabilities and cost targets.
Evaluate formulations against cost, quality, scalability, and sensory targets.
Own and optimize the innovation portfolio and stage-gate process, leveraging project management tools (Asana or similar platforms).
Build detailed project plans, timelines, and dependencies across internal and external teams.
Drive cross-functional alignment and accountability to deliver innovative objectives and visibility across all stakeholders, utilizing stage gate.
Lead continuous improvement of stage-gate process to enhance speed, visibility, and execution.
Drive the end-to-end development of innovation projects from concept to commercialization and full-scale production.
Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to ensure manufacturability and cost targets are achieved.
Lead cross functionally with Ops team to manage co-manufacturers and external partners through launch.
Proactively manage risks related to scale-up, cost, and supply to ensure successful commercialization.
Act as the central hub connecting Leadership, Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and external development partners.
Lead customer-facing innovation initiatives, with focus on private label and custom product development - focus on beverage.
Translate customer and commercial needs into executable development plans and timelines.