Senior Director, Technical Innovation and Commercialization

Manager: Vice President, GC&M TI&SC 
Job Grade: cf-C 
Role Type: People Leader 
Language: Fluent English & Mandarin 
Relocation Provided: Limited relocation available (domestic location), we encourage all GCM employees to apply to internal posting.  

Please note: This role is not fully remote. The selected candidate will need to be based in Shanghai and follow our hybrid work setup 

Job Description Summary: 

At The Coca-Cola Company, we have been refreshing the world and making a difference for 139 years. With a portfolio of more than 200 brands enjoyed by billions of consumers globally, we are committed to driving sustainable growth and creating value for our customers, communities, and stakeholders.  

The Senior Director, Technical Innovation & Commercialization leads the Operating Unit’s technical innovation agenda across products, packaging, and equipment, ensuring that all innovation concepts are translated into technically feasible, scalable, high‑quality solutions ready for commercialization. The role works in close partnership with the Senior Director, Innovation, Senior Manager, Packaging & Equipment Innovation, Channel & Category teams, GDI, CPS, Packaging, Franchise Operations, and bottlers to accelerate end‑to‑end technical readiness from concept to in‑market execution. 

This role ensures that all innovations meet technical specifications, operational requirements, regulatory compliance, and commercialization feasibility, providing strong technical leadership through pilot, line trials, cost/value engineering, and bottler implementation. It also leads the development of technical capabilities and systems that support fast, agile commercialization. 
 
 

What You’ll Do for Us 

• Own Innovation Strategy Execution & Pipeline Enablement: Own and drive the technical execution of the OU innovation strategy and innovation pipeline, partnering closely with Innovation leadership to shape technical pathways, sequencing, and execution priorities. Ensure the innovation pipeline is technically viable, system ready, and aligned with bottler capabilities, supply chain constraints, and long term platform strategies. 

• Lead Technical Innovation Across Products, Packs & Equipment: Partner closely with Innovation, Channel & Category, R&D, and Packaging teams to translate consumer driven concepts into technically feasible solutions, leading technical scoping, validation, feasibility assessments, and early risk identification for new product, packaging, and equipment initiatives. Oversee prototype development, formulation alignment, packaging material selection, equipment compatibility, and technical modelling to ensure solutions are robust, scalable, and ready for downstream commercialization. 

• Drive End‑to‑End Commercialization Excellence: Lead the full end-to-end commercialization journey, including technical trials, pilot runs, process validation, quality approvals, and bottler readiness assessments, ensuring all innovations meet KORE requirements, technical governance standards, and regulatory compliance. Build strong system alignment around technical specifications, value chain viability, sourcing readiness, and supply chain impacts to enable successful and scalable market execution. 

• Partner Closely with Innovation & Packaging Leadership: Collaborate closely with the Senior Director, Innovation to align technical development with strategic innovation priorities, and partner with the Senior Manager, Packaging & Equipment Innovation to ensure packaging and equipment innovations meet technical quality, manufacturability, and system capability requirements. Enable faster, more seamless integration between upstream innovation and downstream commercialization to accelerate end-to-end execution and market readiness. 

• Enable Bottler Technical Readiness & Capability Building: Lead bottler capability uplift across manufacturing processes, packaging operations, equipment installation, and technical service, partnering closely with bottlers to resolve technical barriers, optimize processes, and ensure a smooth transition from trial to full commercialization. Provide hands-on technical troubleshooting, issue containment, and rapid response during launch phases to safeguard launch success and operational readiness. 

• Lead Packaging Innovation & Technical Deployment: Oversee the technical development of new packaging formats, sustainable materials, line trials, and structural design validation, working closely with suppliers, Packaging, Procurement, and R&D to introduce new packaging technologies and improve package performance and cost efficiency. Ensure pack commercial viability and line compatibility across bottling plants to enable scalable and reliable commercialization. 

• Champion Technical Governance & Quality Compliance: Ensure all innovations meet QSE, regulatory, food safety, and operational compliance standards by leading technical risk assessments and enforcing robust governance routines, including trials, approvals, and documentation. Maintain fit for purpose technical governance models that effectively balance innovation agility with system risk mitigation 

• Strengthen System Innovation Capability & Technical Excellence: Lead systemwide capability building across technical commercialization, process engineering, packaging science, and new technology adoption, introducing digital tools and technical systems (e.g., Picasso, Coke Works) to enable data driven decision-making and faster execution. Identify and drive opportunities for productivity improvement, cost optimization, sustainability, and overall operational performance enhancement. 

• Lead Technical Partnerships & Ecosystem Development: Serve as the key technical liaison with suppliers, copackers, and equipment partners, driving alignment on specifications, performance expectations, technical trials, and commercialization timelines. Proactively bring external best practices, emerging technologies, and innovative manufacturing solutions into the system to strengthen technical capability and commercialization outcomes packers, and equipment partners, driving alignment on specifications, performance expectations, technical trials, and commercialization timelines. Proactively bring external best practices, emerging technologies, and innovative manufacturing solutions into the system to strengthen technical capability and commercialization outcomes 

• Perform other job‑related duties as assigned, in response to evolving business needs and market dynamics.  

Requirements & Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s or above in Engineering, Food Science, Packaging Science, Processing Technology, or related technical discipline. 

• 12+ years’ of experience in Technical Commercialization, R&D, Packaging Development, Technical Operations, or related technical innovation roles within FMCG or beverage industries, with demonstrated experience working with bottlers or manufacturing partners on technical development and commercialization, and a strong foundation in technical governance, risk management, and process engineering. 

• Mastery of product & packaging commercialization processes, pilot trials, and manufacturing scale‑up. 

• Ability to influence and coach across a complex system including bottlers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders. 

• Strong cross‑functional collaboration skills with ability to align diverse teams. 

• Proven team leadership experience in technical, engineering, or commercialization environments. 

• Fluent in both Mandarin and English, with the ability to operate effectively in a business environment. 

What We'll Do for You  

• Empower Your Career: Lead critical commercial finance operations with opportunities for growth and impact in a global, dynamic environment.  

• Collaborative Culture: Work cross-functionally with diverse teams, leveraging best-in-class tools and resources to enable sound business decisions.  

• Global Reach: Influence financial strategies across markets and gain exposure to advanced financial modeling and analytics that set industry standards.  

• Continuous Learning: Access leadership development programs, LinkedIn Learning, and resources designed to help you grow professionally.