Innovation & Emerging Technologies Director

Saudi Telecom Company; Saudi Arabia; On-site; SAR 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading telecommunications company in Saudi Arabia is seeking a Manager of Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI). The role involves defining and leading the RDI strategy, overseeing technology labs, and building partnerships to drive innovation. The ideal candidate will have 8-12 years of experience in related fields and possess strong leadership skills with a deep understanding of emerging technologies. This position offers a critical role in shaping technological advancements and fostering a culture of innovation within the organization.

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of progressive experience in RDI, innovation management, research management, or related technical leadership roles.
• Experience leading innovation or R&D functions in complex organizations.
• Strong exposure to startup culture and ecosystem.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the organization’s RDI and emerging technology strategy.
• Scout, assess, and prioritize disruptive and high-impact technologies.
• Oversee technology labs’ end-to-end operations.
• Drive open innovation models and partnerships to accelerate innovation.
• Promote the adoption of knowledge repositories and expert networks.

Skills

Strong leadership skills with ability to influence C-level executives

Sound knowledge of the telecom industry, related to Technologies and vendors

Strong knowledge for Emerging Technologies and innovation

Strong Decision making and problem solving skills

Strong Abilities for Corporate Communications

Strong cross-functional collaboration and relationship management ability

Strong Group Planning and Organizing Skills

Education

Bachelor Degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Masters Degree

Masters Degree in Computer Science or Information Technology

Tools

Certification in Advanced Program/Project Management (PMP/Prince 2) or equivalent

Job description

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The role is responsible for defining, leading, and executing the organization’s Research, Development,and Innovation (RDI) strategy, with a focus on emerging technologies and future-ready capabilities. The position drives innovation pipelines, manages technology experimentation environments, drive in-house developed solutions, and builds partnerships across the global ecosystem. It also leads enterprise-wide technology knowledge management initiatives, ensuring that critical insights, learnings, and technical intelligence are captured, shared, and embedded into collective organizational culture.

Job Responsibility

• Define and lead the organization’s RDI and emerging technology strategy, ensuring alignment with long-term technology goals and digital transformation priorities.
• Scout, assess, and prioritize disruptive and high-impact technologies, coordinating across units to identify strategic opportunities.
• Oversee technology labs’ end-to-end operations, including ideation, prototyping, PoC development, testing, and solution validation.
• Drive open innovation models, enabling co-development frameworks, joint ventures, startup collaborations, and agile pilot programs.
• Build and manage partnerships with startups, academia, global research networks, and technology vendors to accelerate innovation.
• Establish and govern enterprise-wide knowledge management frameworks for capturing, curating, and disseminating technical insights.
• Promote the adoption of structured knowledge repositories, expert networks, and reusable learnings to enhance organizational intelligence.
• Lead cross-functional teams in executing innovation programs, ensuring transparency, governance, and measurable business impact.
• Champion a culture of experimentation, continuous learning, and safe-to-fail environments across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with technology-related regulations, including data governance, cybersecurity, IP rights, and ethical standards.
• Advise senior executives on emerging technology trends, investment opportunities, and strategic RDI directions.
• Apply strong problem-solving skills to resolve complex technical and strategic challenges.
• Maintain a solid technical understanding of emerging technologies, development practices, and innovation methodologies.

Years of Experience

8–12+ years of progressive experience in RDI, innovation management, research management, emerging technologies, or related technical leadership roles.

Nature of Experience

• Leading innovation, R&D, or emerging technology functions in complex, fast-paced organizations.
• scaling).
• Driving multi-stakeholder engagements with startups, academia, vendors, and research institutions.
• Implementing knowledge management systems, technology governance models, and cross-enterprise collaboration frameworks.
• Leading cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams in high-uncertainty environments.
• Supervising research initiatives and dynamic environments of fail fast and rapid prototyping.
• Working within digital transformation, technology strategy, or advanced engineering contexts.
• Exposure to regulations, compliance, governance, communications, maintenance and assistance.
• Entrepreneurial experience and exposure to the startup culture and ecosystem locally and globally.

Job Band

Managerial

Skills

• Strong leadership skills with ability to influence C-level executives
• Sound knowledge of the telecom industry, related to Technologies and vendors
• Strong knowledge for Emerging Technologies and innovation
• Strong Decision making and problem solving skills
• Strong Abilities for Corporate Communications
• Strong cross-functional collaboration and relationship management abilityStrong Group Planning and Organizing Skills

Education

• Bachelor Degree in Computer Science or Engineering
• Masters Degree

Additional Education

• Masters Degree in Computer Science or Information Technology

Certifications

• Certification in Advanced Program/Project Management (PMP/Prince 2) or equivalent