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Senior Innovation Scientist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Discovery Life Sciences

Senior Scientist

Malden, MA · On-site

$95K - $130K/yr

The Senior Scientist will lead the development, optimization, and application of qualitative LC ... Drive innovation in analytical methodologies to improve efficiency, quality, and scientific ...

Discovery Life Sciences

Senior Scientist

Malden, MA · On-site

$95K - $130K/yr

The Senior Scientist will lead the development, optimization, and application of qualitative LC ... Drive innovation in analytical methodologies to improve efficiency, quality, and scientific ...

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Senior Innovation Scientist information

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$66.5K

$110.5K

$164.5K

How much do senior innovation scientist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 18, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior innovation scientist in the United States is $110,545.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $91,500.00 and $125,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior innovation scientist?

A Senior Innovation Scientist is a highly experienced professional who leads research and development activities to create new products, technologies, or processes within an organization. They identify opportunities for innovation, design experiments, analyze data, and guide teams through the development process. Their role often involves collaborating with cross-functional teams, staying current with industry trends, and ensuring that new solutions align with the company’s strategic goals. Senior Innovation Scientists also mentor junior scientists and help shape the innovation strategy of their organization.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior innovation scientist?

To thrive as a Senior Innovation Scientist, you need an advanced degree in a relevant scientific field, extensive research experience, and strong analytical skills. Familiarity with laboratory information management systems (LIMS), data analysis software, and intellectual property processes is often required. Creativity, strategic thinking, and effective communication are vital soft skills for driving innovation and collaborating across multidisciplinary teams. These skills and qualities are crucial for successfully developing novel solutions, advancing R&D initiatives, and maintaining a competitive edge in rapidly evolving industries.

What are some typical challenges faced by a senior innovation scientist when bringing new ideas from concept to implementation?

Senior Innovation Scientists often encounter challenges such as aligning innovative concepts with business goals, securing stakeholder buy-in, and navigating resource constraints. Collaborating across multidisciplinary teams is essential to translate scientific breakthroughs into viable products or processes while managing timelines and regulatory requirements. Adaptability and strong communication skills are crucial for overcoming roadblocks and ensuring that innovation projects progress successfully from the lab to real-world application.

What is the difference between Senior Innovation Scientist vs Innovation Scientist?

AspectSenior Innovation ScientistInnovation Scientist
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Science/Engineering, PhD often preferred, with experience in innovation projectsBachelor's or Master's in Science/Engineering, entry to mid-level experience
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, R&D departments, cross-functional teamsResearch teams, product development, innovation labs
Employer & Industry UsageTech, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and R&D-focused companiesSimilar industries, often as entry or mid-level roles in innovation teams

In summary, a Senior Innovation Scientist typically has more experience, leadership responsibilities, and advanced expertise compared to an Innovation Scientist. Both roles work within R&D environments, but the senior position often involves guiding projects and mentoring junior staff.

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Cities with the most Senior Innovation Scientist job openings:

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Senior Innovation Scientist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Innovation Scientist job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 84% Full Time, 13% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 90% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $110,545 per year, or $53.1 per hour.

Senior Director, Industry Strategy (Innovation) - East Coast Remote

Zappi

Boston, MA • On-site, Remote

Full-time

Medical, Life, Retirement, PTO

This job post has expired 1 day ago. Applications are no longer accepted.

Job description

CPG or QSR Innovation Expert-in-Residence
Zappi is looking for a senior product innovation, consumer insights, and innovation development expert with deep experience in CPG or QSR to help strengthen our authority, differentiation, and commercial success in the product innovation space.
This person will serve as both:
  • A trusted expert, educator, and industry advocate externally
  • A strategic, cross-functional SME and connective layer internally
The role is designed for someone who has helped major brands identify opportunities, develop stronger concepts, reduce risk, and translate consumer insight into stronger product decisions. They should be credible with senior Insights, Innovation, R&D, Marketing, Brand, Commercial, and Strategy leaders, and able to connect methodological rigor with a modern, scalable approach to innovation research.
The ideal candidate will bring deep credibility in either CPG or QSR. Experience across both is a plus, not a requirement.
What you'll doServe as an industry expert
  • Bring deep expertise in CPG or QSR innovation ecosystems.
  • Act as a senior subject matter expert on concept testing, innovation development, optimization, pricing, pack testing, validation, and commercialization workflows.
  • Understand how large enterprise innovation organizations operate, including process, politics, decision-making, and organizational pressures.
  • Stay ahead of emerging trends in AI, synthetic respondents, agile innovation, and connected learning systems.
  • Function as a trusted internal advisor across the organization.
Help drive cross-functional GTM readiness
  • Work closely with Sales, Customer, Product, Product Marketing, Marketing, and Research Science teams on strategic narratives and customer engagements.
  • Help Product Marketing build messaging, frameworks, demos, POVs, enablement, competitive guidance, and customer-facing materials when expertise-level knowledge is needed.
  • Support enterprise opportunities as a strategic expert and advisor, speaking directly to customers and prospects when senior innovation expertise is needed.
  • Improve how Zappi articulates innovation systems versus point solutions.
  • Own the competitive intelligence program for product innovation, translating market, competitor, customer, and industry shifts into internal guidance and external-facing content.
Build external credibility
  • Develop a visible external voice in the innovation and insights space.
  • Create thought leadership on AI and synthetic research, modern innovation systems, iterative concept development, connected learning, and balancing speed, rigor, and risk.
  • Speak at conferences, webinars, customer events, and industry forums.
  • Engage with analysts, strategic customers, and industry communities.
  • Co-create customer education materials and programs with Customer Marketing.
Influence product and strategy
  • Translate customer realities into actionable product and GTM recommendations.
  • Partner closely with Product, Research Science, and Commercialization teams.
  • Align with Product Marketing, Product, and the VP of New Product Commercialization to pressure test emerging AI and synthetic offerings from both methodological and commercial perspectives.
  • Serve as a second voice outside of Product to help ensure product direction aligns with real-world customer workflows and unmet needs.
  • Zappi has a stronger, clearer, and more differentiated point of view in AI-enabled innovation and modern innovation systems.
  • GTM teams are more confident and effective in innovation conversations, with stronger discovery, sharper positioning, and better objection handling.
  • Zappi's innovation offerings are easier for Sales and Account teams to position as a strategic growth opportunity, not simply a set of point solutions or individual tests.
  • Enterprise buyers increasingly view Zappi as a strategic innovation partner, not simply a testing platform.
  • Product and GTM strategy are more closely aligned to customer realities, innovation workflows, competitive dynamics, and emerging market needs.
  • Zappi builds greater external authority through thought leadership, customer education, industry participation, and expert-led innovation narratives.
  • 10+ years of experience in CPG or QSR innovation, consumer insights, innovation consulting, research strategy, product development, or commercialization.
  • Deep expertise in innovation development and consumer research methodologies, including concept testing, validation, optimization, and commercialization workflows.
  • Experience working with enterprise innovation organizations and senior stakeholders across Insights, Innovation, R&D, Marketing, Brand, Commercial, or Strategy teams.
  • Strong understanding of how CPG or QSR teams make innovation decisions, manage risk, and bring new products to market.
  • Ability to translate complex innovation methodologies into clear commercial narratives, sales guidance, executive-level storytelling, and customer-facing POVs.
  • Experience supporting strategic sales, enterprise customer conversations, thought leadership, or consultative growth motions.
  • Exceptional communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, with comfort representing a company externally as a senior industry expert.
You may come from:
  • Consumer insights leadership
  • CPG or QSR client-side innovation teams
  • Innovation consulting or strategic advisory roles
  • Research strategy, product development, commercialization, or senior roles within research, insights, or innovation technology providers
  • Three company-paid mental health days of rest per year (these are pre-scheduled, so the entire company can take the same days off regularly to reset)
  • Generous PTO policy - Minimum of 20 days of paid time off per year, plus national holidays. Leave over 30 days requires manager and People team approval.
  • Private medical healthcare cover
  • Group risk, life & disability contributions
  • Flexible working arrangements, including remote (unless otherwise specified)
  • Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others
  • Wellbeing benefits such as free yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors
  • Enhanced parental leave policies 
  • Free lunch in the office Tuesday-Thursday
  • Tax efficient pension contributions via salary sacrifice scheme 
  • Salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme
  • Salary sacrifice nursery scheme 
  • Tailored personal development through training allowances, coaching, mentorship and career frameworks
Why join us? 

We've been recognized as one of the hottest martech companies in 2022 by Business Insider and named Best Place to Work by Quirk's Media for our engaging and inclusive workplace culture. We're committed to both people and the planet. 

Our belief in inclusion means we're building an organisation of diverse individuals and helping brands eliminate cultural presumptions in their research. Read our Diversity Manifesto here. 

We are a values and behaviours driven business and believe that Trust, Truth, Ownership, Ambition and Humility describe Zappi employees on our best day. This is how we strive to show up for our customers, for each other and for our communities. 

Earning B Corp certification assures us we're on the right track and have structures in place to become the business we want to be.

Our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment means being honest with ourselves and transparent with you-about everything from carbon emissions to tree-planting initiatives. We achieved our goal of becoming Net Zero in 2021! 

Zappi Company Culture Highlights
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Women 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Work-Life Balance 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Compensation 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO for Women 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Diversity 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Culture 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Happiness 2022
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Leadership Teams 2023
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2023
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Engineering Teams 2023
  • Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Outlook 2023
  • Winner of Newsweek's Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK 2022 & 2023
  • Recognised by Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators 2023
  • Winner of Best Marketing Insights Platform in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2023 & 2024
Equal Opportunity
Zappi is an equal opportunity employer; our diversity is a major strength. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. 

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce fosters innovation, creativity, and success. Our hiring decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, and abilities, ensuring fairness and equity throughout our recruitment process. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Join our team and contribute to an inclusive environment where everyone's unique perspectives and talents are valued and respected.

Apply