Senior Manager, New Product Development

Job Description Summary:

As Senior Manager, Product Development, you will lead technical projects and product development initiatives for Coca-Cola’s portfolio in multiple categories. This is a hands-on innovation delivery role — blending technical mastery with digital tools, market insights, and strategic collaboration — to create consumer-led solutions that meet business priorities and excite local markets. You will connect regional needs with global technical expertise, tap the external ecosystem for breakthrough ideas, and adapt innovations to deliver regulatory-compliant, high-quality products at speed.

What You’ll Do for Us:

• Lead Technical Projects End-to-End – From concept and prototype to pilot and commercialization, ensuring flawless execution against timelines, quality standards, and regulatory requirements. Collaborate with regional cross functional teams, global teams for E2E innovation projects creation and execution.   

• Bring Ideas to Market Faster – Use consumer insights, digital modelling, and agile methods to accelerate product innovation.

• Leverage Global & External Networks – Access GDI technical specialists, ingredient innovators, and technology partners to drive competitive and disruptive solutions.

• Localize Global Strategies – Adapt global formulations and processes to suit local consumer tastes, manufacturing capabilities, and sourcing realities.

• Ensure Excellence & Compliance – Proactively manage risks, maintain product integrity, and adhere to food safety and regulatory requirements.

• Build Capability – Mentor junior developers to deepen expertise in technologies, and functional product design.

• Lead and Develop Direct Reports – Where applicable, serve as a people manager for direct reports, providing leadership, coaching, performance management, and career development. Set clear objectives, support skill development, and foster a high‑performing, engaged team environment.

• Stay Ahead of the Curve – Monitor market trends, emerging science, and new technologies to spot opportunities for the region.

What We are Looking For:

• Bachelor’s/ Master’s in Food Science, Dairy Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.

• 8–10 years of product development experience in beverage/food industry, with technical depth in dairy or functional drinks.

• Proven success in delivering innovation that balances consumer appeal, cost efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder engagement skills across diverse cultures.

• Digitally savvy, comfortable with tools for formulation modelling, data-driven decision making, and virtual prototyping.

• Fluent in English; regional languages a plus.

• Regional travel up to ~20%.

What can help you to be successful in the role?

Growth Behavior:

• Growth Mindset: Demonstrates Curiosity. Welcomes failure as a learning opportunity.

• Smart Risk: Makes bold decisions/recommendations.

• Commercially Focused: Understands the upstream and downstream implications of his/her work.

• Performance Driven & Accountable: Has high performance standards. Outperforms her/his peers.

• Fast/Agile: Removes barriers to move faster. Experiments and adapts. Thrives under pressure and fast pace.

• Empowered: Brings solutions instead of problems. Challenges the status quo. Has the courage to take an unpopular stance.

Leadership Behavior

• Act Like an Owner: Deliver results, creating value for our brands, our System, our customers and key stakeholders.

• Collaborate with the System, Customers and Key Stakeholders

• Develops Self and Others: Develop self and support others' development to achieve their full potential.

• Drive Innovation: Generate new or unique solutions and embrace new ideas that help sustain our business.

What We Can Do For You 

• Career growth and development: Leveraging our boundaryless network, we provide access to educational platforms and provide coaching, mentoring and feedback, as a part of our Leadership & Development process.

• Diverse and inclusive culture: You’ll be embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice to help others find theirs. We want to make our culture inevitable.

• International Experience: Become part of international projects and work along multicultural teams, through our global network.

Skills:

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Relocation Provided:

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Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.