Innovation Tech Lead

Coca-Cola Co; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 202,000 - 229,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Job summary

The Coca-Cola Company is seeking a Senior Director, Innovation Technology Lead to steer the engineering strategy for its innovation portfolio. You will translate business priorities into scalable digital products, AI-enabled capabilities, and enterprise platforms that drive global growth.

Lead teams across Product, Data, and Technology to deliver centralized capabilities with security and reliability at the core.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience delivering AI-enabled products or platforms from concept to enterprise deployment.
• Deep data and AI engineering practices including data pipelines, MLOps, and CI/CD for ML/Software.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and translate concepts into business outcomes.
• Experience building scalable shared platforms supporting multiple products/teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the technology strategy enabling Coca‑Cola’s innovation agenda, including AI-powered products and platforms.
• Lead engineering teams to build, operate and scale innovation products and shared capabilities.
• Foster high-performance culture through coaching, leadership, and continuous learning.
• Partner with Product, Data and Business leaders to translate priorities into secure, scalable products.
• Advance engineering excellence across security, observability, and platform reliability.
• Apply metrics and feedback to improve developer experience and system efficiency.
• Drive delivery across a portfolio of innovation products and platforms.
• Coordinate cross-team dependencies and ensure secure-by-design solutions.

Skills

Technology strategy

AI/ML engineering

Leadership

Cloud architectures

Python

React/REST/GraphQL

CI/CD for ML/Software

Security & compliance

Data platforms

MLOps

Observability

Azure

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/Engineering

Job description

Job Description Summary: Role Overview

At The Coca‑Cola Company, digital innovation is accelerating how we connect people to our brands and create value across markets. We are shaping a global technology ecosystem that empowers data‑driven decision‑making, intelligent automation, and next‑generation consumer experiences. The Senior Director, Innovation Technology Lead plays a critical role in advancing this ambition— leading the engineering strategy, technical execution and evolution of Coca-Cola’s innovation technology portfolio, translating business priorities into scalable digital products, AI enabled capabilities and enterprise platforms that drive global growth and innovation. This role partners across Product Leadership, Data, and Technology teams to enable scalable technical solutions supporting business growth and operational excellence. The successful candidate combines deep engineering expertise with the ability to translate complex product goals into actionable technology plans. Working within Coca-Cola’s global Digital organization, they will drive the engineering strategy and execution of AI-powered innovation capabilities, leveraging large language models, machine learning, and modern data platforms to enhance innovation science, accelerate experimentation, and improve innovation outcomes. Ideal candidates will bring technical fluency, hands‑on problem‑solving skills, and collaborative leadership. This position offers the opportunity to work across a diverse global environment at the forefront of digital transformation within one of the world’s most iconic brands.

What You’ll Do for Us

• Own the technology strategy that enables Coca-Cola’s innovation agenda, including AI-powered products, decision intelligence capabilities, experimentation platforms and emerging technology investments.
• Lead the engineering teams responsible for building, operating and scaling innovation products and shared capabilities.
• Foster a high-performance engineering culture through coaching, talent development, technical leadership and continuous learning while managing relationships with critical technology partners to accelerate innovation outcomes.
• Partner with Product, Data and Business leaders to translate innovation priorities into secure, scalable products and platforms – guiding technical decisions and ensuring successful delivery of centralized innovation capabilities across global markets.
• Establish a culture of engineering excellence by advancing modern software engineering, AI engineering, platform reliability, security, observability and operating practices.
• Apply technical metrics, insights, and feedback loops to measure and improve developer experience and system efficiency, contributing to Coca‑Cola’s ongoing evolution toward intelligent digital operations.
• Lead delivery across a portfolio of innovation products and platforms, partnering with product management to align technology investments with business and product priorities.
• Drive informed decisions on technical tradeoffs, manage cross-team dependencies, and ensure solutions are secure by design, scalable, resilient and adaptable within an evolving technology ecosystem.
• Strengthen collaboration across Product, Engineering, Data, Security, Architecture and Innovation business teams, fostering shared accountability, knowledge exchange, and the successful adoption and scaling of innovation capabilities across the enterprise.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Demonstrated experience delivering AI-enabled products, platforms or decision intelligence capabilities from concept through enterprise-scale deployment.
• Deep understanding of modern data and AI engineering practices, including data pipeline architecture, MLOps frameworks, and CI/CD principles for ML and software components.
• Proven ability to influence technical and investment decisions with senior business and technology leaders, translating complex technical concepts into clear business outcomes.
• Experience building and scaling shared platforms, services or technical capabilities that support multiple products, teams or business functions.
• Extensive experience (10+ years) in software engineering, data engineering, or technical leadership within enterprise‑scale digital environments.
• Proven capability in designing and operationalizing cloud‑native architectures in Azure or other major platforms (AWS, GCP).
• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with application development models including React, REST or GraphQL APIs, and microservices architecture.
• Familiarity with secure and compliant deployment frameworks for multi‑market data and application environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting technology solutions in consumer products, retail, or marketing analytics ecosystems.
• Practical knowledge of region‑specific data governance and permissioning in global technology environments.
• Background integrating AI‑enabled components into scalable enterprise platforms aligned with commercial product strategies.

What We’ll Do for You

• Enable partnership across global teams dedicated to shaping Coca‑Cola’s digital and AI transformation journey.
• Provide access to advanced technology environments and professional development focused on cloud, data, and machine learning innovation.
• Offer opportunities to influence enterprise technology integration that advances consumer connection and business agility worldwide.
• Support continuous learning, collaboration, and experimentation in a global setting that values curiosity, creativity, and inclusion.

Sponsorship Information

The Coca-Cola Company will not offer sponsorship for employment status (including, but not limited to, H1‑B visa status and other employment‑based nonimmigrant visas) for this position. Accordingly, all applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis and must not require The Coca‑Cola Company's sponsorship to continue to work legally in the United States.

Skills

• Agile Methodology
• Application Development
• Budgeting
• Business Processes
• Business Value Creation
• Change Management
• Decision Making
• Financial Forecasting
• Leadership
• Long Term Planning
• Microsoft Azure
• Microsoft Office
• Negotiation
• Process Improvements
• Risk Assessments
• Risk Management
• Software Development
• Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• Strategic Alignment
• Strategic IT
• Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Vendor Management
• Waterfall Model

Pay Range

United States: 202,000 - 229,000 USD Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Benefits

A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Location(s)

United States of America

City/Cities: Atlanta

Travel Required: 00% - 25%

Relocation Provided: Yes

Job Posting End Date: November 26, 2026

Our Purpose and Growth Culture

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca‑Cola.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.

Privacy Statement

When we collect your personal information as part of a job application or offer of employment, we do so in accordance with industry standards and best practices and in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

Company Overview

The Coca‑Cola Company is a global community of passionate employees who are refreshing the world and making a difference every day. Innovation has been at the heart of our story since 1886. It goes beyond new flavors and brands. Learn more about our system and how we’re making an impact. As a global organization, we seek opportunities to embrace and champion progress. Our careers span across functions and are globally connected to give you an unmatched career experience. We’re glad you’ve chosen to explore your next career opportunity with The Coca-Cola Company. Learn more about our hiring process and pick up tips on how to showcase your experience and skills so you can stand out and thrive.

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