Senior Manager, Product, GDI

Job Purpose Summary

As a Senior Manager, Product Development, you will lead the execution of the most impactful product development initiatives to accelerate bottom- and top-line growth, bringing concepts to life through advanced formulation, testing, and commercialization. As the most senior individual contributor on the team, you will support the team lead by coaching and guiding scientists, sharing deep technical expertise, and helping shape team strategy and ways of working. You will partner closely with cross-functional stakeholders to drive local and regional projects, applying strong technical judgment, market insights, and digital tools to ensure products meet consumer expectations, quality standards, regulatory requirements, and manufacturing realities. This is a highly hands-on role for a trusted technical leader who influences through expertise, mentorship, and collaboration while delivering high-impact beverage innovations.

What You’ll Do

• Product Design – Work as part of functional team to align on objective (new product launch, superiority, tax and regulation, productivity) and success criteria’s with OU Innovation Hub, OU TISC and Global category Leads
• Create Prototypes & Formulations – Coach scientists and develop lab-scale recipes driven by consumer insights and technical/supply chain requirements, following GMP and company protocols. Incorporate local insights, new ingredients, and regulatory needs into final product design.
• Test, Learn, Improve – Conduct sensory, analytical, and shelf-life testing together with the Micro and stability teams; use data and basic statistics to guide optimization.
• Scale Up for Market – Lead support from GDI for pilot and commercial production trials, ensuring processes and packaging compatibility.
• Collaborate Broadly – Partner with Marketing, SRA, Supply Chain, Packaging, and Quality for seamless delivery; connect with global technical experts to import best practices.
• Maintain Excellence – Over the full process, keep lab equipment in top condition; follow safety, compliance, and documentation standards.

What You’ll Need

• Bachelor’s/Master’s in Food Science, Chemistry, Nutrition, Chemical Engineering, or similar.
• 8-10 years in product development for beverages/food
• Strong knowledge of the protein and dairy space
• Strong technical understanding of ingredient functionality within beverage systems.
• Experience managing multiple projects from ideation to launch in fast-paced environments.
• Familiarity with sensory evaluation, consumer testing, and data interpretation for decision-making.
• Ability to:
• Think end-to-end across initiatives and influences priorities aligned with strategy.
• Understand and apply the technical domain trends/ new technology at work.
• Encourage creativity within the team and removes barriers to idea generation.
• Leverage internal and external resources smartly.
• Act as a subject-matter expert and sets technical direction or standards.
• Solve complex, ambiguous problems and anticipate downstream impacts.
• Coach and supports others within and outside of the team, sharing expertise and constructive feedback.

Chemistry, Communication, Continual Improvement Process, Data Compilation, Environmental Science, Food Safety Management, Food Sciences, Food Technology, Green Solutions, Laboratory Testing, Leadership, Microbiology, Product Development, Quality Control (QC), Researching, Sensory Testing, Waterfall Model

Pay Range

United States of America: 131,000 USD – 153,000 USD

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage

15

Location(s)

United States of America

City/Cities: Atlanta

Travel Required

00% – 25%

Relocation Provided

No

Job Posting End Date

July 19, 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.

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