Senior Manager - Sensory and Consumer Insights

Diageo India Pvt Ltd; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 6,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Rewards and Benefits package

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

Diageo India Bangalore seeks a Senior Manager, Sensory Science to drive sensory strategy, governance and consumer insights across innovation, renovation, quality and commercialization. The role leads expert sensory panels and translates insights into product direction for aroma, taste and mouthfeel.

You will partner with R&D, Marketing and Quality to ensure data-driven decisions and strong sensory evidence.

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Sensory Science or related field; 6–8 years in sensory roles.
• Experience in beverages, RTDs or FMCG preferred.
• Proven experience in building and governing expert sensory panels.

Responsibilities

• Define sensory strategy and governance across product stages.
• Recruit, train, calibrate and manage expert sensory panels.
• Translate sensory and consumer insights into product design direction for aroma, taste, mouthfeel.
• Integrate consumer insights and market trends into innovation pipelines.
• Support sensory quality governance and first batch approvals.
• Design evidence to support sensory claims.
• Drive digital sensory platforms and AI-enabled insights.

Skills

Sensory analysis

Panel leadership

Consumer insights

Quality governance

Data analytics

Digital platforms

Education

Master's or PhD in Sensory Science or related field

Tools

XLSTAT

JMP

R

SPSS

Compusense

RedJade

EyeQuestion

Job description

Senior manager - Sensory & Consumer Insights Job Description

About us:

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, Diageo is home to some of the world’s most iconic drinks. From Johnnie Walker and Guinness to Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Don Julio, we craft brands chosen for life’s moments — from everyday connections to landmark celebrations. Bring your talent, curiosity and ambition, and strive for your personal best alongside people who challenge, support and learn from each other. Together, as one outstanding team, we keep learning, improving and raising the bar for our brands, our business and each other. Join us and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

About the Function:

Supply Chain & Manufacturing is where our brands are made, moved and delivered to the world. With over half of our people working across more than 100 sites, this is a complex, large-scale operation that brings together production, logistics, engineering and supplier partnerships. It’s fast-paced and hands-on, with teams working together to ensure quality, efficiency and sustainability at every stage. From sourcing ingredients to getting products into customers’ hands, you’ll play a role in delivering the brands people know and love.

About the role:

Senior Manager, Sensory Science Diageo India Bangalore Research & Development

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Sensory strategy and governance: Define sensory strategy, protocols, standards and governance across innovation, renovation, quality and commercialization. Sensory study design: Design fit-for-purpose sensory studies for product development, benchmarking, quality, claims and consumer understanding.
• Panel leadership: Recruit, train, calibrate and manage expert sensory panels; establish panel performance monitoring and accreditation.
• Innovation support: Translate sensory and consumer insights into product design direction for aroma, taste, mouthfeel, balance, aftertaste and overall experience.
• Consumer and flavour intelligence: Integrate consumer insights, market trends, launched products, food-service inspirations and expert inputs into innovation pipelines.
• Quality and manufacturing support: Support sensory quality governance, first batch approvals, specifications, investigations and corrective actions across units.
• Claims substantiation: Design evidence to support sensory claims such as smoothness, refreshment, taste superiority, flavour notes and differentiation.
• Digital and analytics: Drive use of digital sensory platforms, dashboards, automated reporting and AI-enabled insight tools.

SENSORY EXPERTISE REQUIRED

• Descriptive Analysis / QDA, consensus profiling and product benchmarking. Discrimination testing: Triangle, Duo-Trio, Tetrad, Paired Comparison, A-not-A and similarity testing. JAR, Penalty Analysis, CATA/RATA, preference mapping and drivers of liking. Threshold studies: detection, recognition and JND; sensory shelf-life and product matching. Panel performance assessment, repeatability, reproducibility, agreement analysis and training design. Strong understanding of flavour chemistry, ingredient functionality, aroma-taste interactions and mouthfeel.

STATISTICAL AND DIGITAL CAPABILITY

• Strong working knowledge of ANOVA, Mixed Models, PCA, PLS, Cluster Analysis, DOE, Penalty Analysis and Preference Mapping. Ability to convert complex sensory and consumer data into clear business recommendations. Hands-on experience with tools such as XLSTAT, JMP, R, SPSS, Compusense, RedJade, EyeQuestion or equivalent platforms. Comfort with data visualization, dashboards, automated analysis and AI-enabled insights tools.

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Education: Master's or PhD in Sensory Science, Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Consumer Science, Statistics or related discipline. Experience: 6-8 years in Sensory Science, Product Development, Flavour Science or related R&D roles. Industry background: Beverages, alcohol, spirits, RTDs, flavours, food, FMCG or consumer products preferred. Panel experience: Proven experience in building, managing and governing expert sensory panels in innovation and quality contexts.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES :

Strategic and consumer-centric mindset with strong scientific rigour. Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders across R&D, Marketing, Quality, Supply, Regulatory and external partners. Strong communication, storytelling and ability to simplify data for leadership decisions. High ownership, accountability, result orientation and comfort working through ambiguity. Coaching mindset with the ability to build capability across R&D, Quality and manufacturing teams. Curiosity for flavours, consumers, culture, product trends and emerging technologies.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL INTERFACES

• Internal: R&D, Product Development, Innovation, Marketing, Quality, Supply, Regulatory, Legal, Procurement, Commercial and manufacturing units.
• External: Flavour houses, sensory and consumer research agencies, fermentation experts, ingredient suppliers, universities, start-ups, mixologists and brand ambassadors.

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Sensory insights influencing key innovation, renovation and quality decisions. Consumer-preferred and differentiated products delivered to market. Strong sensory panel capability and governance across R&D and manufacturing units. Faster, more confident product development and commercialization decisions. Robust sensory evidence for claims and product communication. Improved sensory consistency across manufacturing sites. Successful adoption of digital sensory systems, dashboards and analytics.

Working with us Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you, so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one. We recognise and value performance, offering our people a highly competitive Rewards and Benefits package including:

Our purpose is crafting iconic drinks chosen for life’s moments. And it’s our people, with their different experiences, perspectives and talents, who make that possible.

We value diversity in its broadest sense and want everyone to feel they can belong, contribute and strive for their personal best. You’ll work alongside people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives — challenging, supporting and learning from one another as one outstanding team.

Together, we’re constantly learning and improving, combining the strength of our people, capabilities and iconic brands to raise the bar, grow and win. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute, make an impact and play your part in making life’s moments mean a little more.

Ready to bring your best This could be your opportunity. If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.