Innovation Principal - Emerging Technology, Global Innovation Center

VSP Vision Care; United States; On-site; USD 84,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

VSP Vision Care seeks an Innovation Principal to partner with designers, ecosystem partners, and domain experts to reimagine eye care delivery. You’ll translate complex topics into clear guidance for stakeholders across the enterprise.

Lead projects in technology evaluation, business model innovation, prototyping, and proof-of-concept work, building domain expertise and delivering measurable business impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; Master's preferred.
• 6+ years of experience in Innovation, Emerging Tech, R&D, or Product Design.
• Healthcare, manufacturing, retail, or technology experience preferred.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including writing briefs and PowerPoint presentations.
• Ability to move projects forward amid ambiguity and pivot when needed.
• Experience working in creative cultures within consulting or large corporate environments.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead projects that explore and scale concepts with clear business impact.
• Monitor domain areas and assess their maturity and potential for the business.
• Present project findings clearly to all levels of the enterprise.
• Develop hypotheses and select appropriate testing methods to validate assumptions.
• Build cross-functional relationships with internal and external partners.
• Develop and pitch new project ideas and opportunities.

Skills

Innovation management

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Job description

The Innovation Principal works with designers, ecosystem partners, and other domain experts to reimagine the way eye care and eyewear are delivered to the world. The incumbent brings order, clarity, and thoughtfulness to project teams and can demystify complex, specialized topics. The Innovation Principal elevates understanding by presenting findings clearly to all levels of the enterprise, both in writing and verbally.

Design and lead projects that explore and scale concepts related to assigned domain area(s) with a clear business impact. Projects may involve technology evaluation, business model innovation, prototyping, and proof-of-concept creation.

Monitor assigned domain area(s) and build an understanding of their potential, maturity, and impact to our business.

Build on existing experience to quickly understand new technology, business models, markets, consumer trends, etc. needed to maintain domain expertise.

Proficient in concept testing and validation, user research, or other related experimentation methodologies.

Evaluate and compare products using custom scorecards that highlight capabilities and fit for specific business problems.

Identify and define problems and opportunity areas, develop hypotheses, and select appropriate testing methods to validate assumptions.

Develop and pitch new project ideas and opportunities.

Present project findings to all levels of the enterprise.

Maintain cross-functional relationships with internal and external partners that deepen current and future knowledge between the company and emerging markets.

Job Specifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; or equivalent experience. Master's degree preferred
• Minimum 6 years of experience in relevant topics including: Innovation, Emerging Technology, Research & Development, Product Design, or another relevant domain
• Industry experience in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and technology is preferred
• Deep expertise in a relevant subject matter domain and broad understanding of adjacent spaces, including healthcare, business models, and technology
• Experience in moving projects forward despite uncertainty and knowing when a pivot is required
• Has a \"Swiss army knife\" approach to problems. Creative problem solving
• Experience working in creative cultures in either consulting or large corporate environments
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, including writing research briefs and presentations (PowerPoint)
• Can discuss technical concepts with non-technical people, including the relevance to their work or business
• Enjoys developing and sharing project pitches
• Skilled at providing and receiving thoughtful and constructive feedback
• For roles that are remote (i.e., Work From Home (WFM)) or hybrid (i.e., partial onsite at a VSP location and WFM), must demonstrate a high level of engagement in virtual environments, including maintaining camera presence during meetings to support effective communication and team alignment

Preferred Skills

• Experience in corporate innovation environments, with familiarity navigating ambiguity, structured decision-making processes, and the transition of pilots into scaled business outcomes
• Proven ability to monitor technology and business trends to create an informed point of view of where the trend is headed and how it could impact our business
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more emerging technology domains, such as Artificial Intelligence, Spatial Computing, Health Technology, Wearables, Oculomics

Compensation range for the role is listed below. Applicable salary ranges may differ across markets. Actual pay will be determined based on experience and other job-related factors permitted by law. As a part of the compensation package, this role may include eligible bonuses and commissions.

Salary Ranges: $84,000.00 - $141,750.00

VSP Vision is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to age, gender, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.

Unincorporated LA County Residents: Qualified Applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act, and any other similar laws.

As a regular part of doing business,VSPVision ("VSP")collects many different types ofpersonal information, including protected health information, about ouraudiences, includingmembers, doctors,clients, brokers, business partners,andemployees. VSP Vision employees will have access to this sensitive personal information and are subject to follow Information Security and Privacy Policies.