R&D Director, Product Development, Juices

1665 Servicios Integrados de Administracion y Alta Gerencia, S. de R.L. de C.V.; Ciudad de México; On-site; MXN 2,000,000 - 4,000,000; Full time

Job summary

The Coca-Cola Company LATAM Innovation Center in Mexico City seeks an R&D Director, Product Development, Juices, to lead and develop a high-performing team and set the strategy for juice product development across Latin America. You will translate concepts into commercially viable products with strong technical rigor and cross-functional collaboration.

You’ll adapt global roadmaps to local needs, prioritize initiatives for sustained growth, and drive a robust innovation pipeline while aligning

Qualifications

• 10+ years in FMCG/beverage product innovation, with senior leadership experience.
• Proven track record turning insights into market-leading products.
• Fluent in English; regional languages a plus.
• Ability to translate strategy into clear team priorities and executable plans.
• Strong cross-cultural leadership and stakeholder influence.
• Willingness to travel regionally up to 10–15%.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of product developers, setting the strategy for product development in the Juice category for Latin America.
• Oversee a portfolio of high-impact beverage innovations, ensuring concepts translate into commercially viable products.
• Adapt global technical roadmaps into locally resonant products with regulatory alignment.
• Prioritize initiatives and manage resources to deliver on plans.
• Promote collaboration across cross-functional teams and external partners to fuel a 3–5 year pipeline.

Skills

Cross-cultural leadership

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder influence

Commercial acumen

Team building

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Food Science or related

Job description

Job Description Summary: R&D Director, Product Development, Juices Location: Mexico City Our LATAM Innovation Center sits at the heart of The Coca-Cola Company’s next chapter of growth. We are committed to transforming and evolving our organization and ambitions — bringing our people closer to the consumer, continuously raising the bar, and embracing digitalization to enable sustainable growth. We are looking for a transformational leader to build, inspire, and empower high-performing teams that fuel the innovation pipeline with bold ideas and turn them into real-world impact. This role is not about maintaining the status quo; it is about setting direction, unlocking opportunity, and driving valuable breakthrough innovation at scale. You will lead diverse teams with deep product development expertise to deliver a strong and balanced portfolio of meaningful innovation — accelerating growth and shaping the future of the organization.

Job Purpose Summary

As R&D Director, Product Development, Juices, you will lead and develop a team of talented product developers, setting the strategy for product development in the Juice Category for Latin America and prioritizing resources to deliver key initiatives to accelerate bottom- and top-line growth. You will oversee a portfolio of high‑impact beverage innovations, ensuring concepts are translated into commercially viable products through strong technical rigor and cross‑functional collaboration. You will also build and drive a robust 3–5‑year innovation pipeline in close partnership with Global Category Leads and OU Innovation Hubs. This role balances strategic leadership with technical stewardship, coaching leaders, building team capability, and shaping critical decisions across formulation, quality, regulatory, and manufacturing readiness.

Adapt global technical roadmaps into products, packaging, and processes with local resonance and regulatory alignment. Align on the prioritized initiatives (new product launch, superiority, tax and regulation, productivity) for the category with OU Innovation Hub, OU TISC and Global category Leads. Prioritize and manage resources to deliver committed plans. Develop products for consumer test with the best ingredients and process to enable superiority, scalability, and profitability.

What You’ll Do

• Champion a culture of creativity, speed, and excellence in product development. Ensure Stage Gate process compliance.
• Anticipate and mitigate risks — from formulation stability to regulatory compliance — before they affect launch.
• Transfer critical technical knowledge to plants and market teams to deliver flawless, first-time-right execution. Drive project post-review and translate learning to an action plan for continuous improvement. Partner with Ou Hub and Category Leads to fuel the 3-5 years pipeline Introduce digital efficiencies that enhance speed, reduce complexity, and elevate quality.
• Develop next-gen technical talent, embedding data fluency, design thinking, and collaborative innovation.
• Promote diversity, inclusion, and an entrepreneurial mindset within the innovation center.

What You’ll Need

• Bachelor’s/Master’s in Food Science, Chemistry, Nutrition, Chemical Engineering, or similar.
• 10+ years delivering successful product innovation in FMCG/beverage/food, including senior leadership experience.
• Proven track record of turning insights into market-leading products.
• Strategic thinker with strong cross-cultural leadership, stakeholder influence, and commercial acumen.
• Ability to Translate strategy into clear team priorities and executable plans.
• Stay on top of technical, consumer and competitive trends and insights.
• Encourage creativity within the team and removes barriers to idea generation.
• Build 'out-side in' capability in the team.
• Ensure the team applies the right expertise to deliver strong outcomes.
• Guides the team through complex problem-solving and trade-off decisions.
• Lead, motivate, and develop a team to deliver consistent results.
• High level X- functional leadership.
• Make people and business decisions impacting team performance and business delivery (High impact and multi-year).
• Fluent in English; regional languages a plus.
• Regional travel up to 10–15%.

Location(s): Mexico City/Cities: Ciudad de Mexico Travel Required: 00% - 25% Relocation Provided: No

Job Posting End Date: November 16, 2026

Our Purpose and Growth Culture

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company is a global community of passionate employees who are refreshing the world and making a difference every day. Innovation has been at the heart of our story since 1886. It goes beyond new flavors and brands. Learn more about our system and how we’re making an impact. As a global organization, we seek opportunities to embrace and champion progress. Our careers span across functions and are globally connected to give you an unmatched career experience. We’re glad you’ve chosen to explore your next career opportunity with The Coca-Cola Company. Learn more about our hiring process and pick up tips on how to showcase your experience and skills so you can stand out and thrive. The Coca‑Cola global business system is composed of The Coca‑Cola Company (TCCC), its subsidiaries and 225 bottling partners around the world. Search jobs throughout our system.