Senior Innovation Manager

There's Always a Seat at Our Bar

The Lagunitas Brewing Company began on a kitchen stove in Northern California in 1993 and has always looked to the future - whether supporting local communities by turning beer into money for the cause, or fueling stories, songs, and experiences with our IPA. Wherever you go: Beer Speaks, People Mumble.

What You'll Get

• Benefits - Awesome coverage for: Medical, Dental & Vision
• Time off - Approx 33 days off in your first year (combo of vacay, holidays and personal days)
• Retirement - up to 5% contribution on 401K plan
• BEER - and non-alcoholic Lagunitas beverages
• Schwag - 50% off food and merch
• Gym Membership - $50 monthly reimbursement for that beer belly (or at least to prevent it)
• Pet Insurance - keep your fur babies covered with pet insurance options
• Skills to Pay the Bills - professional development, 24/7 operation
• Opportunities - Expand your horizons in CA, Chicago . . . the world!
• It's Friday, Ya'll - Get Paid every other Friday, starting at:$124,794-$140,394

The Gist

The Innovation team at The Lagunitas Brewing Company is responsible for the development of all new initiatives for the company, including front-end development, incubating, and scaling new brands. If you love craft brews and are energized about coming up with new and differentiated product ideas for a fast moving brand like ours, then this is the role for you.

Reporting to the Director of Innovation, the Senior Innovation Manager will be critical to the future of Lagunitas, responsible for overseeing the concept development to design and commercialization of innovation projects that can deliver significant growth in beer and beyond.

What You'll Do

• Lead the development and commercialization of front-end initiatives, from formula and recipe development, to test market execution
  • Collaborate with cross functional teams across innovation, operations, supply chain, legal, regulatory, insights and external agencies to take ideas from concept stage to end product, ready for purchase
• Define the concept, positioning, portfolio differentiation, claims direction and pricing of new products with input from Brand, Legal, Brewing and Sales
• Responsible for delivery of liquid and packaging design briefs to both the Brewing and Designers
• Collaborate with Brewing Innovation & Ops to influence Innovation Lab liquid development and define process for evaluating in-market viability
• Engage with NPI Commercialization Project Manager to collaborate with cross-functional teams, managing communications within the organization, and managing project details (Stage Gate process, timelines, meeting agendas, notes, etc.)
• Perform category and competitive assessments through syndicated and secondary data sources with a focus on building strong rationale for the business case and customer selling story
• Responsible for the development of robust business cases inclusive of year-on-year volume forecasts and P&L breakdowns in partnership with Finance & Operations teams
• Input to development of selling materials to educate internal stakeholders and facilitate sales calls ensuring consumer insights are at the heart
• Responsible for setting success criteria KPIs and setting up performance tracking of each innovation launched to continuously advise on optimization opportunities and recommendations on scaling
• Assists Innovation Director with development of Innovation Strategy, translates this vision and strategy into clear execution plans
• Leads the go to market recommendation and uses consumer insights to inform the development of launch materials in collaboration with Brand & Customer Marketing Teams
• Manage Innovation team budget

What We're Lookin' For

• Requires a bachelor's degree
• A minimum of 8 years of experience focused on Marketing/Brand Management with innovation responsibilities
• Excellent collaboration & communication skills working with cross-functional teams
• Ability to manage competing priorities within a dynamic environment.
• Ability to craft and communicate a clear and compelling story - visually and verbally
• Experience with stage-gate processes, including engaging and aligning with Executive Leadership Experience with market research and consumer insights to inform optimization and decision-making
• Innovative thinker who can develop creative solutions, with flexibility to flourish in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
• Demonstrated track record of launching successful new products within CPG category and national retailers; adult beverage experience preferred
• Strong & confident user of syndicated data systems (Nielsen, IRI, Spectra) and Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint) strongly preferred.
• Passion for Lagunitas and the beer business

Key Relationships

• Reports to the Innovation Director
• Frequent interaction with the broader cross-functional team including Commercialization Project Manager, Brewing, Consumer Insights Manager, Category Development, Supply Planning, Brand, Customer Marketing and Sales

Physical Requirements

• Typical office environment (by Lagunitas standards)
• Hybrid work policy: Required to be in the Petaluma office at least 3x per week in order to foster collaboration and serve as a sulture carrier for the organization; Tuesday and Thursdays are mandatory in-office days with one flex day.
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds
• Travel approximately 20% per year

Come as You Are

At Lagunitas, we welcome people (and dogs) from all walks of life. Anyone, regardless of their race, creed, nation of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, veteran status, marital status, or age, has a home here. Love, progress, and acceptance will always have a seat at our bar.