Innovation Lab Lead

dentsu; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 136,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, dental insurance

Life insurance

Short-term and long-term disability

401k

Flexible paid time off

At least 15 paid holidays per year

Paid sick leave

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Merkle seeks an Innovation Lab Lead to drive rapid ideation and proof-of-concept sessions for Adobe Horizon initiatives. You will design and facilitate multi-day labs, map client goals to Adobe ecosystem capabilities, and craft compelling business cases to advance Horizon build engagements.

You will collaborate with Adobe Technical Presales and Merkle strategy teams to translate insights into scalable playbooks, bringing executive-level communications and measurable ROI to complex,

Qualifications

• Experience designing and facilitating executive-level workshops.
• Proven ability to guide senior technical and business stakeholders through discovery and ideation.
• Deep knowledge of at least three Adobe Experience Cloud solutions.
• Experience in pre-sales, customer innovation, or solution engineering.

Responsibilities

• Design and facilitate customer innovation labs.
• Surface high-value use cases and validate product-market fit.
• Map customer objectives to Adobe ecosystem solutions and custom AI capabilities.
• Develop lab playbooks, evaluation frameworks, and executive communications.
• Coordinate with strategy and delivery teams to present business cases and roadmaps.

Skills

Workshop design

Executive presence

Adobe Experience Cloud knowledge

Pre-sales experience

Business acumen

AI initiatives

Ambiguity management

Stakeholder management

Presentation skills

Communication skills

Tools

GenStudio

Firefly

CX Enterprise CoWorker

Job description

## Innovation Lab LeadApply: USA - Remote - Colorado: Full time: Posted 3 Days Ago: R1132352**Job Description:**Role Summary The Innovation Lab Lead drives rapid, high-impact ideation and proof-of-concept sessions with Adobe's prospective enterprise customers under the Horizon pre-sales program. Operating at the nexus of strategy, technology, and customer activation, this role designs and facilitates week-long innovation labs that translate business challenges into validated AI and agentic capability demonstrations. The Lab Lead combines strong facilitation skills with deep Adobe solution knowledge to unlock new sales pipeline opportunities and co-author the technical business cases that move deals forward. Key Responsibilities The responsibilities below reflect core accountability for this role across customer engagements and team operations. * Design and facilitate customer innovation labs. This includes leading early-stage discovery workshops that distill customer pain points into scoped, prototype-able scenarios aligned to Horizon's evaluation and committed build phases.* Candidates should have the ability to surface high-value use cases and validate product-market fit for emerging Adobe AI and agentic capabilities.* Collaborate closely with Adobe Technical Presales and the Lead Architect to map customer business objectives to Adobe Ecosystem Solutions (such as GenStudio, Firefly, and CX Enterprise CoWorker) and to custom AI-driven capabilities that we ideate, design, develop, and deploy.* Manage pre-commitment evaluation planning, ensuring customer insights translate into clear scope, success criteria, and resource plans for downstream delivery.* Partner with Merkle strategy and delivery teams to position lab findings as business cases and roadmaps that justify Horizon build engagements.* Develop and refine repeatable lab methodologies, playbooks, and evaluation frameworks that scale across multiple customer contexts with the Adobe Horizon (AI Pilot) program team.* Maintain clear, executive-level communications with customers and Adobe stakeholders on innovation progress, learning, and next steps. Required Qualifications * Previous experience and proven ability to demonstrate workshop design and facilitation experience, with ability to guide senior technical and business stakeholders through discovery and ideation.* Extensive experience engaging executive stakeholders with strong executive presence, including building and designing executive-level workshops, solutions, and reporting/KPIs across marketing, technology, business, brand, and finance functions.* Deep working knowledge of at least three Adobe Experience Cloud solutions, to help bridge ideation of AI solutions into core Adobe SKUs and capabilities.* Prior experience in pre-sales, customer innovation, or solution engineering roles with ability to rapidly scope complex, ambiguous challenges.* Strong business acumen with ability to translate customer objectives into quantifiable value cases and technology recommendations.* Proven experience initiating and implementing AI initiatives within organizations.* Comfort with ambiguity and rapid iteration; ability to synthesize learning across multiple engagements and adapt approaches based on customer feedback.* Track record of managing multi-stakeholder, time-bound engagements with competing priorities and tight delivery windows.* Excellent presentation and communication skills, with ability to articulate technical concepts to non-technical audiences.* Preferred: experience within Financial Services, Healthcare, or Pharmaceutical organizations, which represent the largest share of the current portfolio.* Experience with change management and operational efficiency is a plus.* Track record of delivering trackable ROI on initiatives led. What Success Looks Like * Innovation labs consistently surface high-conviction use cases and convert prospective customers into pre-commitment evaluation or build engagements.* Lab findings are synthesized into clear business cases and technical roadmaps that inform customer investment decisions.* Customers experience structured, high-impact thinking that positions Merkle and Adobe as trusted, forward-looking partners.* Lab playbooks and evaluation frameworks are refined and scaled across additional customer contexts. The annual base salary range for this position is $136,000-$200,000. Placement within the salary range is based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and other factors permitted by law. Additionally, this position is eligible for discretionary incentive compensation. Benefits available with this position include: • Medical, vision, and dental insurance, • Life insurance, • Short-term and long-term disability insurance, • 401k, • Flexible paid time off, • At least 15 paid holidays per year, • Paid sick and safe leave, and • Paid parental leave. Dentsu also complies with applicable state and local laws regarding employee leave benefits, including, but not limited to providing time off pursuant to the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, in accordance with its plans and policies. For more information regarding dentsu benefits, please visit www.dentsubenefitsplus.com. To begin the application process, please click on the “Apply” button at the top of this job posting. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, and qualified candidates will be contacted for next steps. *At dentsu, we believe great work happens when we’re connected. Our way of working combines flexibility with in-person collaboration to spark ideas and strengthen our teams. Employees who live within a commutable distance of one of our hub offices, currently located in Chicago, metro Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York City, are required and expected to work from the office three days per week (two days per week for employees based in Los Angeles). Dentsu may designate other Hub offices at any time. Those who live outside a commutable range may be designated as remote, depending on the role and business needs. Regardless of your work location, we expect our employees to be flexible to meet the needs of our Company and clients, which may include attendance in an office.* *#LI-Remote**#LI-AB2***Location:**USA - Remote - Colorado**Brand:**Merkle**Time Type:**Full time**Contract Type:**PermanentDentsu is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We do this without regard to race, color, national origin, sex , sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religious practices and observances, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.