Innovation and New Product Development Manager

Birdman is Mexico's leading plant-based foods and supplements company, building delicious, functional, and nutritionally exceptional products that help people and the planet thrive. With rapid sustained growth and international expansion ahead, we are strengthening our Innovation function to build world-class technical capabilities in product development, ingredient innovation, and scale-up. Come build a better future for food, health and sustainability with us Innovation & New Product Development Manager , you will lead Birdman's innovation pipeline from opportunity identification through launch and post-launch improvement, ensuring we develop end-to-end NPD process stage-gate methodology , ensuring strong prioritization, tight project management, timely execution, and compliant launches. R&D and Technical Lab , helping raise the bar of our product development discipline, technical rigor, and sensory standards. Beyond consumer-facing product innovation, this role also drives innovation in the technical foundations behind our products. That includes developing differentiated ingredient advantages internally and in partnership with suppliers, improving raw materials and functionality, identifying technical and process improvements that enable world-class manufacturing, and helping build and protect Birdman's innovation assets through brand development and IP management. in food, supplements, nutrition, or related categories, with a proven track record leading innovation and New Product Development. They bring the scientific depth and technical judgment to guide formulation, ingredient functionality, technical feasibility, scale-up, stability, and product validation, while also being highly organized and capable of managing multiple complex projects with rigor and discipline. They are both a builder and an operator: able to identify attractive opportunities, translate them into a strong innovation pipeline, and lead them through development with speed, rigor, and high standards. They also have the credibility to help Marketing and Sales understand why a product wins, and the technical leadership to help Birdman build differentiated advantages through products, ingredients, brands, formulations, and process innovation. Lead Birdman's end-to-end New Product Development process from opportunity identification through launch and post-launch reiteration. Build, prioritize, and manage the innovation pipeline based on market opportunity, strategic fit, competitive landscape, and financial potential. Lead product development projects through stage-gate with strong governance, timeline control, prioritization, and cross-functional execution. Ensure new products meet Birdman standards across product quality, sensory experience, technical robustness, profitability, competitiveness, and market relevance. Own product regulatory compliance within the innovation process, ensuring formulations, ingredients, claims, labeling, and launch requirements are developed in line with applicable regulations and internal standards, in close partnership with Regulatory and Quality. Lead the R&D and Technical Lab, strengthening team capability, development discipline, and quality of execution. Provide technical leadership across formulation, ingredient functionality, feasibility, analytical support, sensory science, scale-up, tech transfer, stability, and validation. Drive innovation not only in consumer-facing products, but also in ingredients, raw materials, and manufacturing-enabling process improvements. Partner with suppliers to improve raw materials, co-develop differentiated ingredient advantages, and strengthen product functionality, consistency, organoleptics, and cost performance. Lead the internal development of Partner with Marketing, Sales, and Brand on concept development, commercialization support, education, and brand-building innovation. Support the protection and stewardship of Birdman's innovation assets, including registered brands, proprietary formulations, and related documentation and IP processes. Define and lead stability, stress-testing, and shelf-life validation strategies to ensure products remain true to their intended experience through shelf life. Partner with Regulatory, Quality, Manufacturing, and Packaging to ensure compliant launches, strong technical transfer, and robust long-term product performance. Review post-launch performance and lead reiteration efforts to strengthen product, claims, positioning, economics, or technical robustness where needed. Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Biotechnology, Nutrition, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related scientific field. Master's degree preferred. 5+ years of experience in innovation, R&D, and/or product development within food, supplements, pharma, nutrition, or related industries. Strong understanding of regulatory requirements in food and/or supplements, with the ability to lead compliant product development across