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Innovation Lead Jobs (NOW HIRING)

PepsiCo

Food Innovation Lead

Bessemer City, NC · On-site

$14 - $19/hr

Overview We are looking for a Food Innovation Lead to join our Food Ventures Business Unit, a newly created E2E platform designed to accelerate PepsiCo's expansion into the Meals category. Food ...

PepsiCo

Food Innovation Lead

Bessemer City, NC · On-site

$14 - $19/hr

Overview We are looking for a Food Innovation Lead to join our Food Ventures Business Unit, a newly created E2E platform designed to accelerate PepsiCo's expansion into the Meals category. Food ...

Crescendo

AI Innovation Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$150K - $170K/yr

The Role We're hiring multiple AI Innovation Leads to help embed practical, process-level AI across Crescendo. These roles are hands-on builders and operators who turn AI capability into real ...

Omada Health

Commercial Enablement Innovation Lead

$28 - $36.50/hr

The Commercial Enablement Innovation Lead is a newly created role on the Commercial Effectiveness team with a clear mandate: rebuild and own Omada's Business Case as an AI-native, scalable solution ...

Crescendo.ai

AI Innovation Lead

San Francisco, CA · On-site

The Role We're hiring multiple AI Innovation Leads to help embed practical, process‑level AI across Crescendo. These roles are hands‑on builders and operators who turn AI capability into real ...

Claritev

AI Innovation Lead (remote)

Manhattan, NY · Remote

We are seeking an AI Innovation Lead to help shape and accelerate Claritev AI transformation. This role sits at the intersection of product management, business strategy, applied AI, and enterprise ...

Claritev

AI Innovation Lead (remote)

Manhattan, NY · Remote

We are seeking an AI Innovation Lead to help shape and accelerate Claritev AI transformation. This role sits at the intersection of product management, business strategy, applied AI, and enterprise ...

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Innovation Lead information

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How much do innovation lead jobs pay per hour?

As of Jun 17, 2026, the average hourly pay for innovation lead in the United States is $25.73, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $15.38 and $24.04 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Innovation Lead vs Product Manager?

AspectInnovation Lead

Required CredentialsTypically a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or related fields; certifications in innovation or project management are common.

Work EnvironmentWorks cross-functionally within organizations, focusing on developing new ideas, strategies, and initiatives.

Employer & Industry UsageUsed across industries like tech, manufacturing, and consulting to drive growth and competitive advantage.

The Innovation Lead and Product Manager roles often overlap in strategic planning and cross-functional collaboration. However, the Innovation Lead primarily focuses on generating and implementing new ideas and initiatives, while the Product Manager concentrates on managing specific products throughout their lifecycle. Both roles require strong communication skills and a background in business or related fields, but their core objectives differ—innovation versus product delivery.

What cities are hiring for Innovation Lead jobs? Cities with the most Innovation Lead job openings:
What states have the most Innovation Lead jobs? States with the most job openings for Innovation Lead jobs include:
Infographic showing various Innovation Lead job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 84% Full Time, 11% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $53,524 per year, or $25.7 per hour.
Food Innovation Lead

Food Innovation Lead

PepsiCo

Bessemer City, NC • On-site

$14 - $19/hr

Full-time

Posted 9 days ago

PepsiCo rating

7.5

Company rating: 7.5 out of 10

Based on 843 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

127th of 383 rated food and drinks producers

Job description

Overview

We are looking for a Food Innovation Lead to join our Food Ventures Business Unit, a newly created E2E platform designed to accelerate PepsiCo's expansion into the Meals category.

Food Ventures plays a critical role in delivering culinary-led, consumer-first solutions, translating global strategies into scalable concepts that win in the market.

Reporting to the Market Food Ventures Lead for Spain, this role will be instrumental in driving the culinary innovation agenda at market level, ensuring strong alignment between global priorities and local consumer, customer and cultural needs.

This position can be based in Barcelona or Madrid and will play a key role in bringing innovation to life within the AFH (Away From Home) space and beyond, partnering across cross-functional teams and external ecosystems to ensure operational readiness, cultural relevance and commercial impact.

We are looking for a strategic and entrepreneurial profile, with a passion for food, strong understanding of culinary trends, and proven ability to translate ideas into scalable, market-ready solutions

Responsibilities

Drive Market Innovation Pipeline Execution

  • Define and lead the market culinary innovation strategy, ensuring strong alignment with global priorities while addressing local consumer, customer and cultural needs.
  • Own and manage the end-to-end innovation pipeline for the market, delivering speed to market, agility and executional excellence.
  • Tailor, pilot and validate concepts in-market, ensuring consumer relevance and cultural fit before scaling.
  • Partner with food entrepreneurs, chefs and local creators to co-create and execute scalable, repeatable culinary solutions rooted in local food culture.
  • Collaborate with local teams, agencies and external partners to deliver high-impact activations, events and promotional initiatives.
  • Work closely with New Business Director and Key Account Managers to support customer retention, growth and new business acquisition through differentiated culinary propositions.

Shape the Future Innovation Pipeline

  • Identify and track emerging trends, ingredients, competitive dynamics and culinary movements, translating insights into opportunities for both local and global platforms.
  • Act as a thought leader and strategic partner to cross-functional teams including R&D, Marketing, Commercial and Supply Chain.
  • Bring external inspiration, food-tech innovation and culinary expertise into the pipeline to continuously elevate propositions.
  • Ensure innovation ideas are translated into commercially viable, scalable solutions across channels (Retail, AFH, DTC).
  • Contribute to building a high-impact local culinary ecosystem, fostering strong partnerships with suppliers, startups, and culinary institutions.
  • Partner closely with the Market Food Ventures Lead and Global Innovation teams to successfully land and scale relevant concepts in market.
  • Share insights, learnings and best practices to influence global strategy, innovation pipelines and portfolio decisions.
  • Represent the Anchor Market in global forums, shaping upstream innovation and strengthening market voice.

External Engagement & Brand Elevation

  • Actively participate in industry events, food innovation forums and culinary platforms to elevate PepsiCo's presence, build networks and fuel the future business pipeline.
Qualifications
    • 10+ years of experience in culinary innovation, product development, food marketing or related fields within FMCG or food industry.
    • Strong understanding of local food culture, consumer behavior and market trends.
    • Proven ability to translate culinary inspiration into scalable, commercially successful solutions.
    • Experience operating in cross-functional, matrix organizations, with strong stakeholder management skills.
    • Entrepreneurial mindset, with passion for food, innovation and brand building.
    • Excellent communication, collaboration and influencing skills, with the ability to engage across levels and functions.
Employment Type: FULL_TIME

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About PepsiCo

Sourced by ZipRecruiter

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated $86 billion in net revenue in 2022, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Industry

Food and drink manufacturing

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Purchase, NY, US

Year founded

1965

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