Innovation Associate Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Placement Type:
Temporary
Salary:
$40-44.44 Hourly
Start Date:
Sep 7, 2026
***This is a sourcing profile for future hiring needs. We're building a talent pool of qualified Product Innovation Associates for our client.
Partner with Aquent to join a leading company at the forefront of consumer product innovation. This organization is dedicated to bringing exciting new products to market, enhancing customer experiences through thoughtful design and strategic development.
Are you a visionary who thrives on transforming ideas into tangible products? We are seeking a dynamic individual to drive the future of product development. In this pivotal role, you will be instrumental in shaping the next generation of offerings, directly influencing what customers see and experience. Your expertise will bring innovative concepts to life, from initial spark to successful launch, making a significant impact on product portfolios and market presence. You will act as a critical cross-functional connector, ensuring product concepts move with speed, accuracy, and consumer-obsessed execution across all stages of development.
As a key contributor, you will support the end-to-end development of categories and curated product programs, bringing strategy, newness, and innovation to life. You will translate insights and trends into actionable briefs, drive timelines, track deliverables, and ensure every item lands on-time, on-trend, and on-margin. This role offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with diverse teams, from design and sourcing to marketing and supply chain, playing a central role in delivering successful products that resonate with consumers.
**Key Responsibilities:**
* Manage the full lifecycle of assigned categories and programs, from concept alignment and design handoff through costing, sampling, testing, packaging, and production readiness.
* Maintain development trackers, timelines, and milestone calendars to ensure products move with speed and discipline, facilitating quick decisions and escalating roadblocks proactively.
* Partner with sourcing to support costing rounds, vendor communication, sample reviews, and feasibility assessments.
* Apply a trend-forward lens to product creation by gathering competitive insights, cultural signals, and category trends.
* Support the development of assortment strategies and line architecture, ensuring a steady pipeline of newness and innovation.
* Translate trend, consumer, and category opportunities into clear briefs and design/packaging inputs.
* Serve as the connective tissue across merchandising, sourcing, product design, packaging, supply chain, quality assurance, and brand marketing.
* Facilitate alignment meetings, track decisions, and ensure partners have what they need to move programs forward.
* Support packaging teams with claims, copy, size/variant lists, and packaging inputs required for brief creation.
* Partner with supply chain to ensure timelines, minimum order quantity considerations, and delivery execution are achievable.
* Collaborate with brand marketing to bring newness to life across digital, social, and store environments.
* Maintain accurate product data, documentation, and item attributes.
* Support testing and compliance processes by coordinating test submissions and tracking results.
* Prepare product samples and information for key meetings (line reviews, leadership updates, milestone gates, etc.).
* Own smaller process improvements that support speed, quality, and cross-functional clarity.
**Qualifications:**
* 3-5 years experience in Product Development, Product Design, Trend/Fashion Research, Merchandising, or a related consumer product field.
* Demonstrated interest in product design and consumer trends.
* Comfortable with visual tools for presentations and concept development.
* Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
* Clear and effective communicator, able to partner seamlessly across creative and operational teams.
* Trend-curious, culturally aware, and genuinely excited by product innovation.
* Highly organized, detail-driven, and committed to operational excellence.
* Collaborative, proactive, and skilled at influencing cross-functional partners.
* Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.
* Strong communicator who can simplify complexity and drive alignment.
**Preferred Qualifications:**
* Experience in retail, private label, home, lifestyle, or consumer packaged goods (CPG).
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**About Skill:**
Skill connects the best professional, IT, engineering, financial and administrative talent with the world's biggest brands. Our eligible talent get access to benefits such as health benefit contributions, retirement plans with match and flexible spending accounts.
Skill is an equal-opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other legally protected characteristics. We're about creating an inclusive environment-one where different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued, and everyone can contribute, grow their careers, and thrive.