Product Innovation Manager

IMI Process Automation; Rotterdam; Hybrid; EUR 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

IMI plc is seeking a Product Innovation Manager to drive early-stage innovation across the Growth Hub, turning opportunities into validated business concepts. Reporting to the Growth Hub Director, you will lead Phase 0-2 sprints and facilitate cross-functional teams across engineering, supply chain, and commercial functions.

This role thrives in ambiguity, involves hands-on testing in workshops and design sprints, and requires travel to IMI sites.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Innovation, Design, Technology, or a related field.
• 4–8 years of experience in innovation consulting, venture building, growth strategy, business transformation, startups, or innovation-focused corporate roles.
• Proven experience leading innovation sprints, customer discovery, MVP validation, and cross-functional workshops.
• Experience in B2B environments is preferred; exposure to industrial, automation, manufacturing, or technology sectors is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Lead innovation sprints from opportunity discovery to customer and market validation.
• Apply Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and experimentation methodologies to test ideas and develop MVPs.
• Drive evidence-based Go / Pivot / Stop decisions and present recommendations to leadership.
• Facilitate workshops, hackathons, design sprints, and co-creation sessions across the business.
• Personally lead multiple sprints per year from discovery to Go/Pivot/Stop decision.
• Promote a practical test-and-learn culture throughout the organization.
• Build strong relationships across sectors, functions, and regions.
• Connect teams with relevant internal and external experts to accelerate innovation.
• Act as a Growth Hub ambassador through showcases, pitch events, and leadership forums.

Skills

Design Thinking

Lean Startup

Agile methods

Customer discovery

Rapid experiments

Facilitation

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decisions

AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

AI tools

Rapid prototyping

Job description

IMI plc
We are a global specialist engineering company that creates breakthrough solutions. We are curious and like to solve problems, partnering with our customers to solve the demands of today and prepare for the challenges of tomorrow. We embrace innovation and care about outcomes that are good for business, everyday life and making a better world - creating lasting impact for everyone.

We design, build and service highly engineered products in fluid and motion control applications. We focus on five market sectors: Industrial Automation, Process Automation, Climate Control, Life Science and Fluid Control, and Transport.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Product Innovation Manager to drive early-stage innovation across the Growth Hub, turning opportunities into validated business concepts.

Reporting to the Growth Hub Director, you will lead Phase 0-2 innovation sprints, helping teams identify opportunities, challenge assumptions, test ideas, and build evidence-based business cases. Once opportunities are validated and ready for scaling, ownership transfers to the relevant sector teams.

This is a highly visible, hands-on role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, enjoys bringing people together, and can quickly move ideas from concept to validation. You will act as a facilitator, coach, challenger, and connector, helping teams make smarter and faster innovation decisions.

You won't be managing innovation from a distance. You'll be in the room where ideas are tested, challenged, validated, and transformed into future businesses.

Location: Flexible/Remote with regular travel to IMI sites

Key Responsibilities

• Lead innovation sprints from opportunity discovery to customer and market validation.
• Apply Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and experimentation methodologies to test ideas and develop MVPs.
• Drive evidence-based Go / Pivot / Stop decisions and present recommendations to leadership.
• Facilitate workshops, hackathons, design sprints, and co-creation sessions across the business.
• Personally lead multiple sprints per year from discovery to Go/Pivot/Stop decision.
• Promote a practical test-and-learn culture throughout the organization.
• Build strong relationships across sectors, functions, and regions.
• Connect teams with relevant internal and external experts to accelerate innovation.
• Act as a Growth Hub ambassador through showcases, pitch events, and leadership forums.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Innovation, Design, Technology, or a related field.
• Additional certifications or qualifications in innovation, entrepreneurship, strategy, or design thinking are a plus
• 4-8 years of experience in innovation consulting, venture building, growth strategy, business transformation, startups, or innovation-focused corporate roles.
• Proven experience leading innovation sprints, customer discovery, MVP validation, and cross-functional workshops.
• Experience in B2B environments is preferred; exposure to industrial, automation, manufacturing, or technology sectors is an advantage.

Critical Competencies for Success

• Strong practitioner of Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Agile, customer discovery, and rapid experimentation.
• Excellent facilitator who can guide diverse teams and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Confident challenger who uses data and evidence to test assumptions and drive decisions.
• Strong relationship builder with the ability to connect people, expertise, and opportunities across the organization.
• Fluent with AI tools and rapid prototyping solutions.

Why Join IMI?

This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of innovation within Process Automation. You will work with senior leaders, experts, and innovators across the organization to identify new growth opportunities, build innovation capability, and turn promising ideas into future businesses.
IMI is an inclusive employer; diversity is very important to us, and we want to receive applications from people from all backgrounds