Innovation Operations Manager

The role

The Innovation Operations Manager leads the exploration and evaluation of new product and business opportunities. This person researches technical and commercial feasibility and manages the operations to bring products to the commercialization stage.

What you will do

• Identify, research, and investigate new innovation ideas and concepts
• Work with formulators and R&D teams to understand innovation concepts
• Design and execute structured feasibility analyses
• Identify, vet, and manage relationships with external partners
• Synthesize findings into business cases and recommendations
• Own project plans, timelines, budgets, and milestones
• Serve as the single point of entry for the innovation intake queue
• Establish and enforce a phased evaluation process
• Develop COGS build-ups, pricing, and margin models
• Assess patent landscape, regulatory status, and claims substantiation

Required qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of demonstrated success as a project manager
• Experience in the dietary supplement, nutraceutical, food & beverage, CPG, or pharmaceutical industries
• Extensive experience with R&D/formulation processes, manufacturing technical capabilities, and regulatory frameworks (e.g., FDA/DSHEA/cGMP)
• Strong background in ingredients and their technical use in dietary supplements
• Hands-on experience with novel delivery formats such as liposomal or encapsulation technologies, softgels, gummies or jellies, sprays, sachets, or functional beverages
• Superb organizational skills
• Strong communication skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Fluency in project management systems/tools (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, Smartsheet, MS Project, Jira, or similar)
• Comfort operating in ambiguity
• A track record of finishing, including at least one novel product or process taken from concept through commercial launch
• The judgment and backbone to recommend no

Nice to have

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (business, science, engineering, or related)
• PMP or equivalent certification
• Experience commercializing an ingredient or raw material B2B
• Experience working outside of ingestibles such as consumer hardware, devices, or wellness equipment
• Experience operating a formal stage-gate or phase-gate innovation process

About the company

BiOptimizers develops science-backed supplements and wellness tools to help people move from baseline health to peak biological performance. They are a remote-first company with a globally distributed team.