About the position
As a Senior Associate Brand Manager - Product & Innovation for UPSIDE Foods, you will play a crucial role in driving the development of a breakthrough new category: cultivated meat. Driving creation of delicious products from concept to launch for a world-changing company requires a creative and analytical thinker with a passion for food innovation and the ability to work collaboratively across various departments. You'll lead a cross-functional team of colleagues from R&D, Food R&D, consumer insights, sales, finance, and supply chain, and manage the end-to-end commercialization process to bring our novel products to market. This position is best suited for someone who has a strong bias for action, ownership mentality, ability to deal with ambiguity, and strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills across both food and science (so fluency with biology is a bonus). This person must be comfortable working both horizontally and vertically across an organization to keep multiple projects and priorities moving forward to achieve deadlines.
Responsibilities
- Lead the ideation, development and execution of new products
- Analyze market trends, data, and competitive intelligence to identify trends and opportunities
- Develop product concepts, prototypes, and formulations in collaboration with R&D, Food R&D, and chef advisors
- Partner with Brand and Consumer Insights counterparts to identify the knowledge gaps, define and initiate the learning plan to optimize the 6Ps of led initiatives
- Manage the product commercialization process and lead cross-functional teams (including R&D, Marketing, FR&D, Supply chain, Sales & Finance) ensuring timely, on budget and successful project completion
- Contribute to the organization's innovation strategy and 3Y pipeline by identifying trends, consumer whitespace, and innovation territories that are aligned with our go-to-market strategy and points of difference
- Partner with the Brand & Sales team to develop compelling product launch plans, product positioning, packaging, and promotional strategies and customer & sales presentations
Requirements
- Bachelor's Degree (or advanced degree) in Business, Marketing, Biology, or related field
- 3+ years of experience, with experience launching a food product (prior experience in new product innovation, or CPG preferred)
- Strong project management skills with ability to successfully handle multiple projects simultaneously and deliver on timelines (Experience in cross-functional team management preferred)
- Ability to bridge the realities of our cell biology with optimal food product experience
- Outstanding verbal, written and interpersonal communications skills
- Creative thinker with strong analytical skills
- Operates with a sense of urgency
- Strong leadership and results driven
- Passion for mission-driven food innovation
- Growth mindset and consumer-oriented
Benefits
- Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
- 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
- Pet insurance for your furry family members!
- Unlimited PTO
- Employee Engagement Council
- Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities
