Senior Manager, Product Development - Juices

The Coca-Cola Company; Ciudad Valles; On-site; MXN 1,600,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

The Coca-Cola Company in LATAM seeks a Senior Manager, Product Development to lead the juice category’s development and renovation agenda. This role requires connecting consumer understanding, category strategy, and R&D depth to deliver scalable, high‑quality juice solutions across the region.

The ideal candidate will bring expertise in fruit juice systems, strong leadership, and the ability to navigate a highly interconnected network to drive trade-offs and timely delivery of portfolio

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Food Technology or related field required.
• Master’s degree or PhD preferred.
• 8+ years of product development experience in the beverage industry, with preference in juice drink categories.
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional product development projects from concept to launch.
• Strong knowledge of non-carbonated beverage processing, including blending, pasteurization, aseptic processing, filling, scale-up.

Responsibilities

• Lead the product development and execution for Juice Category initiatives across LATAM, from concept to commercialization.
• Translate consumer insights and market data into technically feasible, commercially relevant products.
• Drive holistic R&D spanning formulation, processing, regulatory, quality, sensory, packaging and scale-up.
• Partner with Marketing, Regulatory, Quality, Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain for fast alignment.
• Build credibility with senior leadership through data-based recommendations and enterprise decisions.
• Coach and develop product developers and technical talent across the Juice network.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Enterprise mindset

Stakeholder alignment

Courageous decisions

Leadership presence

Cross-functional leadership

Communication skills

Matrix influence

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Engineering / Biochemical Engineering / Food Technology

Master’s degree or PhD (preferred)

Job description

Senior Manager, Product Development – Juice Category LATAM

At Coca-Cola, every employee is a leader. In the Juice Category across LATAM, that means shaping product strategy with a strong enterprise mindset, translating consumer and business needs into winning technical solutions, and leading cross-functional teams through complexity with clarity and courage.

We are looking for a Senior Manager, Product Development to lead the development and renovation agenda for the Juice Category in LATAM. This role goes beyond strong technical product development expertise. It requires a leader who can connect consumer understanding, category strategy, R&D depth, operational reality, and stakeholder alignment to deliver scalable, high-quality, and commercially successful juice, nectar, and juice drink solutions.

The ideal candidate brings expertise in fruit juice systems and/or beverage development, along with the leadership maturity to make difficult trade-offs, influence across the network, and move initiatives forward in a highly interconnected environment.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the product development and execution for Juice Category initiatives across LATAM, from early concept shaping through commercialization.
• Translate consumer understanding, business, and market insights into product solutions that are technically feasible, commercially relevant, and regionally scalable.
• Drive a holistic R&D approach, integrating formulation, processing, regulatory, quality, sensory, packaging, scale‑up, cost, and supply considerations from the start.
• Partner across Marketing, Regulatory, Quality, Procurement, Operations, Supply Chain, Commercialization, and bottling partners to build alignment and accelerate decision‑making.
• Make clear recommendations on key trade-offs involving speed, quality, cost, complexity, scalability, and consumer experience.
• Lead development and renovation of juice, nectar, and juice drink portfolios, including reduced‑sugar, functional, and value‑optimized platforms.
• Understand beverage systems, food processing, ingredient functionality, sensory performance, shelf life, and manufacturing feasibility.
• Guide teams through pilot trials, plant trials, and commercialization, ensuring strong technical rigor and execution discipline.
• Build credibility with senior stakeholders through clear technical storytelling, data‑based recommendations, and enterprise‑oriented decision‑making.
• Strengthen category capability by coaching and developing product developers and technical talent across the Juice network.
• Act as a leader who can challenge constructively, make courageous choices, and keep teams focused on what matters most for the business.

Leadership Skills Required For This Position

• Strategic thinking – Connects individual projects to broader category, business, and LATAM growth priorities.
• Apply Enterprise Mindset – Makes decisions based on what is best for the enterprise, not only for one function, market, or short‑term project need.
• Stakeholder alignment – Builds trust and alignment across technical and business functions, especially in a complex matrixed environment with multiple priorities.
• Courageous decision‑making – influence across network, making difficult calls, surfaces trade‑offs clearly, and takes accountability when priorities conflict or ambiguity is high.
• Leadership presence – Communicates with clarity, brings structure to complexity, and creates confidence with senior leaders, peers, and cross‑functional partners.

What Will Make You Successful

• You think beyond your immediate project and make decisions with the enterprise, category, and market mindset.
• You connect consumer needs with technical development choices.
• You move fluidly between strategy and execution, from portfolio priorities to formula and plant realities.
• You create alignment across functions, especially when priorities conflict.
• You are comfortable making decisions in ambiguity and taking accountability for difficult calls.
• You bring both technical depth and leadership presence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Food Technology or related field required; Master’s degree or PhD preferred
• 8+ years of product development experience in the beverage industry, with preference in juice drink categories.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross‑functional product development projects from concept to launch.
• Desired expertise in fruit ingredients, sweeteners, additives used in juice systems.
• Strong knowledge of non‑carbonated beverage processing, including blending, pasteurization, aseptic processing, filling, and scale‑up.
• Experience navigating regional complexity including different markets, plants, bottlers, and regulatory environments.
• Strong understanding of sensory, quality, and consumer relevance in fruit‑based beverage development.
• Ability to influence across a matrix and align technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complexity into clear recommendations for senior leadership.

Why Join Us

• Shape the future of the Juice Category in LATAM through meaningful innovation and renovation.
• Work on high‑impact, cross‑market initiatives with strong enterprise visibility.
• Join a collaborative environment where science, consumer understanding, and business thinking come together.
• Grow as a leader in one of Coca‑Cola’s most dynamic and complex product spaces.