Vice President of Applied Research & Creative Engineering (ARC)

IO Global

79d

About The Position

You will provide senior enterprise-wide leadership to ensure that research investment is converted into tangible business impact and scalable solutions. Operating as a regulating and commissioning hub for innovation, you will set the vision, strategy, and operating model for ARC to triage requests, commission prototypes and technical analyses, and recommend build-versus-outsource approaches that best serve IOG’s ventures and product teams. By integrating insights from competitive intelligence, foundational research, and architectural design, the VP ensures that prototyping and solution validation are carried out with clear objectives and measurable outcomes, delivering decision-ready outputs that reduce risk and accelerate time-to-market. Accountable for building and continuously improving a repeatable, scalable operating model that can flex with organisational growth and the increasing volume of venture requests, while embedding rigorous scientific and engineering methodology, transparent governance, and measurable KPIs. Through strategic direction, cross-functional leadership, and strong executive communication, you will ensure that new technologies and creative engineering concepts move efficiently from exploration to practical application, bridging research, engineering, and commercial product development to drive IOG’s long-term innovation agenda.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive experience in applied research, product incubation, or innovation management, including significant senior leadership experience at VP or equivalent level.
• Demonstrated success in commissioning and managing rapid-prototyping initiatives that move research concepts to market impact.
• Strong background in computer science, engineering, or a related technical discipline; a PhD or Master’s is typical and strongly preferred but not a strict requirement.
• Proven ability to design and scale operating models that balance innovation throughput with quality and governance.
• Track record of partnering across research, engineering, and product organisations to deliver validated prototypes and actionable strategic recommendations.
• Proficiency in applying AI/ML to accelerate applied research and prototyping, and in identifying opportunities where AI can create leverage for new ventures and products.
• Proven ability to manage budgets and resources effectively in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Strategic and systems thinking – anticipates technology trends and integrates them into innovation and product strategies.
• Innovation leadership – guides rapid prototyping and solution validation, ensuring measurable outcomes within defined innovation cycles.
• Research-to-market integration – translates foundational research and technical intelligence into business-ready prototypes and insights.
• Governance and operational excellence – designs and runs a regulated commissioning model with transparent intake, prioritisation, and resource allocation.
• Analytical and synthesis capability – evaluates diverse technical inputs and market signals to provide clear build-versus-outsource recommendations.
• Executive communication and influence – conveys complex technical and strategic recommendations to senior stakeholders in a concise, actionable way.
• Organisational leadership – builds and scales a high-performing, cross-disciplinary team and instils a culture of disciplined experimentation and accountability.
• Cross-functional collaboration – works seamlessly with research, product, engineering, and venture teams to embed knowledge and accelerate market impact.
• Data-driven decision making – defines and tracks KPIs for innovation cycle performance, adoption of ARC outputs, and portfolio impact.
• Adaptability and resilience – operates effectively in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment, adjusting priorities and resourcing as demand from ventures scales.

Responsibilities

• Set and evolve ARC’s vision, service model, and operating framework to integrate foundational research into product and venture development.
• Define governance structures to commission, regulate, and prioritise prototyping requests, ensuring transparent intake, queue management, and resource allocation.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators for cycle throughput, quality of outcomes, and adoption of ARC outputs by downstream product teams.
• Operate as a balancing and regulating hub that triages new technical and research-driven requests from across IOG’s ventures and product groups.
• Provide expected recommendations on build-versus-outsource decisions, considering internal capability, innovation risk, and time-to-market.
• Commission prototypes, technical analyses, or exploratory research as needed to validate proposals and inform business decisions.
• Deliver validated prototypes, competitive analyses, and documented insights back to the requesting product or venture teams to enable informed strategic choices.
• Drive a structured ~90-day innovation cycle for each commissioned request to achieve measurable progress, validate feasibility, and reduce risk.
• Maintain cadence and operational discipline while allowing flexibility for high-priority or breakthrough opportunities.
• Continually improve cycle efficiency and impact using data-driven reviews and lessons learned.
• Incorporate AI-powered simulation, modelling, and code-generation tools to accelerate prototype development and technical feasibility assessments.
• Embed research experts within product and engineering teams during prototyping to ensure knowledge transfer and seamless handover.
• Ensure insights and technical learnings remain within the product or venture teams to strengthen long-term innovation capacity.
• Build a repeatable, scalable operating model, including tooling, dashboards, resource planning, and reporting to support growing and varied demands from ventures and product teams.
• Ensure the function can flex and scale without compromising speed or quality as the organisation and its venture portfolio expand.
• Partner closely with Research, Technical Intelligence, Product, Engineering, and Venture leadership to align ARC’s priorities with strategic objectives and market opportunities.
• Communicate complex technical findings, feasibility assessments, and commissioning recommendations clearly to senior stakeholders and decision-making forums.
• Recruit, mentor, and lead a multi-disciplinary team of applied researchers, prototyping engineers, and innovation managers.
• Foster a culture of creativity, rapid experimentation, and disciplined delivery.

Benefits

• Remote work
• Laptop reimbursement
• New starter package to buy hardware essentials (headphones, monitor, etc)
• Learning & Development opportunities
• Competitive PTO

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Master's degree
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees