Innovation Lead

Forum Energy Services, Inc.; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. is seeking an Innovation Lead to accelerate our internal innovation cycle.

As a mid-level individual contributor, you will guide cross-functional squads from initial concepts through MVPs, blending facilitation, data-driven strategy, and agile project management. You will design workshops, validate ideas with market research and user interviews, map prototyping, track the innovation funnel, and clear roadblocks with Legal, Finance, and Compliance.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in innovation consulting, product management, corporate strategy, or an agile project management role.
• Strong operational knowledge of Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile/Scrum frameworks.
• Exceptional emotional intelligence, workshop facilitation skills, and the ability to influence diverse teams without direct authority.
• Proficiency with collaborative digital whiteboards and project tracking software.

Responsibilities

• Facilitate Co-Creation: design and lead workshops, hackathons, and cross-department brainstorming sessions.
• Validate & De-Risk: conduct market research, competitor analysis, and user interviews.
• Coordinate Prototyping: map out and build MVPs for rapid testing.
• Manage the Innovation Pipeline: track projects through the innovation funnel with documentation and milestones.
• Influence Without Authority: work with Legal, Finance, and Compliance to clear roadblocks.

Skills

Design Thinking

Lean Startup

Agile/Scrum

Cross-functional Facilitation

Influence Without Authority

Tools

Collaborative digital whiteboards

Project tracking software

Job description

We are seeking a dynamic, highly collaborative Innovation Leadto facilitate and accelerate our internal innovation cycle. As a mid-level individual contributor, you will not manage a formal team, but you will act as the operational engine—guiding cross-functional squads from initial stages of product development. You are part creative facilitator, part data-driven strategist, and part agile project manager.

Key Responsibilities

• Facilitate Co-Creation: Design and lead design-thinking workshops, hackathons, and cross-departmental brainstorming sessions to extract high-value ideas.
• Validate & De-Risk: Conduct market research, competitor analysis, and user interviews to validate assumptions and screen early-stage concepts.
• Coordinate Prototyping: Partner with engineering, design, and product teams to map out and build low-fidelity Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) for rapid testing.
• Manage the Innovation Pipeline: Own the day-to-day tracking of projects through our innovation funnel, ensuring clear documentation, metrics tracking, and milestone reviews.
• Influence Without Authority: Build strong relationships with traditional, risk-averse departments (Legal, Finance, Compliance) to clear roadblocks for experimental projects.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 3–5 years of experience in innovation consulting, product management, corporate strategy, or an agile project management role.
• Methodologies: Strong operational knowledge of Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Agile/Scrum frameworks.
• Soft Skills: Exceptional emotional intelligence, workshop facilitation skills, and a proven ability to influence and align diverse teams without direct authority.
• Tools: Proficiency with collaborative digital whiteboards and project tracking software.

About FET

FET (Forum Energy Technologies, Inc.) is a global company, serving the crude oil, natural gas, and renewable energy industries. FET is headquartered in Houston, TX with quality manufacturing, efficient distribution, and service facilities conveniently located to support the major energy-producing regions of the world. Forum’s products and services range from the underwater reservoir to the refinery, from the sea floor to the above ground transportation line. We pride ourselves on giving you a comprehensive offering of solutions to maximize your operations and improve your bottom line. Our customers are our partners and we work with them to solve their ever-changing challenges.

FET is an Equal Opportunity Employer. FET does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected under federal, state, or local law. All employment decisions and practices at FET are subject to the foregoing non-discrimination provisions and are based solely on merit, competence, performance, and business needs at the time.

As part of our hiring process, we may use technology, including AI-enabled tools, to help review and assess applications based on job-related criteria. All hiring decisions are made by our recruitment team and hiring managers.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.