Innovation Manager Europe

Nippon Sanso Europe; Madrid; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses & incentives

Flexible schedule

Hybrid work model

Home office policy

29 days off + holidays

Sustainability focus

Job summary

Nippon Sanso Europe seeks an Innovation Manager to strengthen the European pipeline by identifying and accelerating new technologies, business models and partnerships. You will act as a central connector across European business units, R&D teams and external ecosystems to create measurable business value.

Based in Madrid, the role reports to the Innovation Program Director and requires regular travel across Europe. Fluency in English is mandatory with additional languages a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, chemistry, industrial technology, business administration, innovation management or related field.
• 8+ years in innovation management, R&D, or corporate venturing with cross‑regional exposure.
• Fluent English; other European languages are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead Front End Innovation activities across Europe by evaluating early-stage ideas and market trends.
• Establish a structured scouting process for technologies, startups, and academia.
• Screen external opportunities using clear strategic and financial criteria.
• Collaborate with R&D, business units, sales, marketing, and operations to validate opportunities.

Skills

Innovation mindset

Strategic scouting

Analytical judgment

Business acumen

Technical curiosity

Stakeholder management

Project shaping

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/chemistry/industrial tech

MBA or advanced degree a plus

Job description

Nippon Sanso is one of the leading companies in the industrial and medical gases business in Europe. Serving over 150,000 customers and 350,000 patients across 14 countries, we offer a comprehensive range of gas-based solutions tailored to sectors including healthcare, food, electronics, manufacturing, chemicals, electronics, and energy among many others.

The Innovation Manager Europe will be based in our headquarters in Madrid, reporting to Innovation Program Director, and is responsible for strengthening the European innovation and Development pipeline by identifying, evaluating, and accelerating new technologies, business models, partnerships, and application opportunities that create measurable business value. The role acts as a central connector between European business units, R&D teams, global innovation and R&D functions, customers, universities, research institutes, start‑ups, accelerators, incubators, and external technology ecosystems.

Key responsibilities

• Lead Front End Innovation activities across Europe by collecting, structuring, and evaluating early-stage ideas, unmet customer needs, technology trends, and emerging business opportunities.
• Establish and maintain a structured scouting process for technologies, start‑ups, universities, research institutes, industrial partners, and innovation ecosystems relevant to European strategic focus areas.
• Monitor start‑up landscapes and emerging ventures in priority domains such as sustainability, industrial transformation, electronics, healthcare, food and beverage, water, aquaculture, automation, digitalization, and advanced manufacturing.
• Build relationships with accelerators, incubators, venture networks, technology hubs, public funding bodies, and innovation platforms to identify collaboration opportunities and strengthen the external innovation pipeline.
• Screen and assess external opportunities using clear criteria such as strategic fit, market potential, technology maturity, scalability, intellectual property position, partnership potential, investment need, and expected business impact.
• Translate promising ideas into clear opportunity briefs, pre‑studies, feasibility proposals, business hypotheses, and pilot project recommendations.
• Collaborate with R&D, business units, segment experts, sales, marketing, operations, engineering, sustainability, digitalization, and government affairs to validate opportunities and define the right path forward.
• Support the European innovation and development roadmap by identifying gaps, white spaces, technology trends, and potential partnerships aligned with medium‑term strategic priorities.
• Coordinate innovation workshops, ideation sessions, start‑up challenge formats, technology scouting campaigns, and cross‑functional evaluation meetings.
• Maintain an innovation funnel and reporting dashboard covering scouted opportunities, start‑up contacts, ecosystem interactions, active evaluations, pre‑studies, and recommended next steps.
• Support the design and continuous improvement of innovation governance, including stage-gate criteria, prioritization logic, decision templates, and handover processes to project owners.
• Contribute to technology replication and adoption by identifying solutions from other regions, partners, or markets that can be adapted and scaled in Europe.
• Represent the European innovation function in selected external events, conferences, accelerator demo days, start‑up meetings, university engagements, and internal innovation forums.

Background

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, chemistry, industrial technology, business administration, innovation management, entrepreneurship, or a related field; an advanced degree or MBA is a plus.
• At least 8 years' experience in innovation management, business development, R&D, strategy, technology scouting, corporate venturing, start‑up collaboration, or industrial partnerships.
• Previous experience in an international, matrix‑based organization with exposure to cross‑functional and cross‑regional collaboration.
• Good understanding of industrial markets, technology-driven business models, and customer‑centric solution development; experience in industrial gases, chemicals, energy, electronics, healthcare, food and beverage, water, or manufacturing would be a plus.
• Experience with accelerator or incubator ecosystems, start‑up evaluation, partnership models, and open innovation approaches is highly desirable.
• Fluent English is required; additional European languages are an advantage.

Required Skills:

• Innovation mindset: Ability to think beyond existing products and technologies, with a strong focus on customer value, business impact, adoption, and scalable solutions.
• Strategic scouting capability: Strong ability to identify relevant trends, technologies, start‑ups, research groups, and ecosystem players and assess their strategic relevance.
• Analytical judgment: Ability to evaluate opportunities using structured criteria, synthesize complex information, and prepare clear recommendations for management decisions.
• Business acumen: Understanding of market attractiveness, value propositions, business models, investment logic, and commercialization pathways.
• Technical curiosity: Ability to engage with technical experts, understand emerging technologies at a sufficient level, and translate technical potential into business opportunities.
• Stakeholder management: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to connect business units, R&D teams, regional experts, customers, external partners, and senior stakeholders.
• Project shaping: Capability to structure ambiguous ideas into opportunity briefs, pre‑study proposals, pilot scopes, milestones, risks, and expected outcomes.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to prepare concise management summaries, presentations, and decision papers.

Others:

Regular travel across Europe is required (25%)

Why join Nippon Sanso?

At Nippon Sanso, we're a reliable partner for key industries, combining global expertise with a local touch to make a real difference. Guided by our commitment to sustainability, we drive innovation through cutting‑edge technology and a strong R&D network. Here, you'll have the autonomy to own your career, with the chance to work on projects that impact communities and shape a carbon‑neutral future.

Discover a place where you'll play a key role in solutions that power major industries and make a difference in everyday life. At Nippon Sanso, our technologies support countless essential processes - often behind the scenes - that keep food fresh, enhance electronic chip production, purify water, and provide critical respiratory treatments. With a solid, diversified presence across Europe, we're a reliable and stable company dedicated to constant innovation and to creating a healthier, more sustainable future.

What we offer

• Remuneration and Benefits : We offer a range of bonuses, long‑term incentives, competitive salaries, which we review each year to remain competitive in the market. In addition, we have a wide range of benefits as a company, you can choose what suits you best: childcare, transport card, pension plan, sports package, health insurance, etc.
• Worklife balance : We have 29 days off a year! Plus, the 24th and 31st of December.
• Flexible schedule : You'll have the freedom to adjust your work hours to accommodate your personal needs and responsibilities.
• Home Office Policy : With our hybrid work plan, you can enjoy working from the comfort of your home.
• Diversity and inclusion : Be part of an inclusive, diverse culture, where everyone's contribution is respected. A place where individual talent is recognised and nurtured.
• Sustainability : We enable a carbon neutral world. Nippon Gases spearheads the efforts to achieving zero CO2 emissions by helping industries in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
• Safety first : We create a safe environment where our employees can thrive. In the past two decades, we have been honored 17 times as the safest company in Europe by the Industrial Gases Association (EIGA).